Isabella I of Castile

Isabel I was Queen of Castille. She was married to Ferdinand II of Aragon. Their marriage became the basis for the political unification of Spain under their grandson, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. After a struggle to claim her right to the throne, she reorganized the governmental system, brought the crime rate to the lowest it had been in years, and unburdened the kingdom of the enormous debt her brother had left behind. Her reforms and those she made with her husband had an influence that extended well beyond the borders of their united kingdoms. Isabella and Ferdinand are known for completing the Reconquista, ordering conversion or exile of their Muslim and Jewish subjects in the Spanish Inquisition, and for supporting and financing Christopher Columbuss 1492 voyage that led to the opening of the New World and to the establishment of Spain as the first global power which dominated Europe and much of the world for more than a century. Isabella was granted the title Servant of God by

Isabel was born in Madrigal de las Altas Torres, vila, to John II of Castile and Isabella of Portugal onApril 1451. At the time of her birth, she was second in line to throne after her older halfbrother Henry. Henry wasat that time and married but childless. Her younger brother Alfonso was born two years later onNovember 1453, lowering her position to third in line. When her father died in 1454, her halfbrother ascended to the throne as Henry IV. Isabella and Alfonso were left in Henrys care. She, her mother and her brother Alfonso then moved to Arvalo.

Source: Wikipedia