Isabella

Isabella (1451-1504), the famous Queen of Spain, was daughter of Juan II., King of Castile. In 1469 she was married to Ferdinand V., King oi Arragon, and in 1474, on the death of her brother, Henry IV., she was chosen by the estates Queen of Castile, to the exclusion of her elder sister. Her husband established her in her kingdom by his victory over her opponents at Toro, in 1476; whereupon Ferdinand and Isabella assumed the styles and titles of King and Queen of Spain. With the assistance of Cardinal Ximenes she brought about the conquest of Granada and the expulsion of the Moors from Spain; while she exalted the royal prerogative and promoted public order by quelling the insolence of the grandees and restraining their petty wars against each other. This was effected by the maintenance of unbending personal dignity qualified by prudent graciousness, of rigid etiquette at Court, and of rigorous administration of justice. She was largely concerned in the introduction of the Inquisition into Spain (1480), and in the more beneficent transaction of tardily furnishing Columbus with the means of discovering America (1492) Her daughter and heiress Joanna was mother oi the Emperor Charles V. Isabella was a woman o remarkable talent and of indomitable energy and resolution.