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Queen Isabella	King Ferdinand
King Charles I	King Philip

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Queen Isabella

        Isabella, born to King John II of Castile on April 22, 1451. By marrying Ferdinand II, Spain was united into one kingdom. When she married Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Aragon, she was crowned queen of Castile on December 13, 1474. They were known as Catholic kings.
       For generations to come, Isabella's policies within Castile set the pattern of Spanish policy at home. She enlisted the nobility in restoring order to the countryside and reformed both the court and the royal administration. She was aided but not dominated by her husband, who had few political rights in Castile. Her deep religious conviction made her a guiding spirit behind the founding of the Inquisition and the expulsion of the Jews. Her convictions also led her to be a supporter of Cardinal Francisco Jimmenez de Cisneros as he tried to reform the church. Christopher Columbus, whose discovery of America led to a Spanish empire being established in this New World, was also someone she supported. In 1492 she took an active part in the wars leading to the conquest of Granada.
       Isabella had much sadness in her final years with the deaths of her son, her oldest daughter and her infant grandson. She also had to worry about the increasing instability of her second daughter, Joan the Mad. Isabella died in 1504 and left Castile to Joan. Joan's son Charles I, who became the Holy Roman emperor Charles V, finally united the Spanish kingdoms in 1516.
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King Ferdinand II (Ferdinand the Catholic)
      Ferdinand II gained rule over Aragon in 1479 and ruled until his death . He was King John II of Aragon’s second born son . His older brother died in 1461, making him heir to the throne of Aragon. In 1461, he married Isabella I who in 1474 became Queen of Castile, when she succeeded her brother. Together they restored order in Castile after the civil wars of the preceding reign. He sent the Jews out of Spain in 1492.
       Even through his policies were important for Spain's achievement, his primary goals were in diplomacy and in war. Being cold and very devious, he was one model in Machiavelli’s book, The Prince. His best accomplishment was making Spanish predominant in Italy. He also made an elaborate system of alliance to weaken France.
        After Isabella died, he claimed regency on behalf of Joan the Mad, his daughter, but was opposed by Philip I, Isabella’s husband. When Philip I died, Ferdinand gained his prize but was now against Philip's son, Charles I, his own grandson.

King Charles I

King Charles I of Spain ruled his country from 1516-1556. After receiving financial help from Cortes of La Coruna, he traveled to Germany in 1520 and was given the title Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire. The reign of Charles V brought Spain to its maturity. The three major conflicts were against the Muslims, the Lutherans, and the French. The conflicts with France were partly from what his father, Philip I, had left for him and partly from his personal conflict with Francis I, king of France. About four of Charles's five wars were against Francis. The other European conflicts happened with the Muslims and the Lutherans. The Lutheran conflict happened as a result of Lutheran reformation in Germany. The ruler of a Mediterranean and Roman Catholic country, Charles also got into conflicts and wars with the Muslims, which included the Barbary pirates, great menaces to Barbarosa, a city in Spain.
The king of Spain, Charles, intended to give reign to his subjects. In the time of his reign, they added most of central America and northern and western South America to the crown. In 1555-1556, Charles V, a long reigning king, retired, renouncing his throne, and moved to the Monastery of San Jeronimo de Yuste.
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Philip II
        Philip II was born May 21, 1527. When his brother, Ferdinand I, received the imperial crown, Philip II was surrounded by hostile powers. France and Ottoman empire were the most dangerous. The French were defeated in 1557 at St. Quentin. Turkish skirmishes in the western Mediterranean also caused problems during his reign.
       Revolts broke out in the "low countries" in 1566. Philip became involved in a war that lasted until 1648. Even his excellent army could not defeat the Dutch. The English and the French support of the Dutch led up to the disastrous invasion England by the armada. Even though he lost the war, he succeeded in protecting his American properties.
       He was a hard working king. He insisted on everybody being Catholic and was loved by his subjects. He ruled the Portuguese when their king died and let them maintain their institutions.
       Philip had a horrible family life. His wife died in 1545, leaving him with an extremely violent son whom he imprisoned for his behavior. This son, Don Carlos, died in prison. Philip's second marriage lasted four years until his wife died. His third wife died a few months after Don Carlos and he was falsely accused of both of their murders. He remarried and they had four sons, three of whom died. When he died, Philip III, his only remaining son, inherited the empire.