Spanish queen (1451-1504). She married
Ferdinand of
Aragon in 1469, leading to the
unification of
Spain's two largest
kingdoms,
Castile and
Aragon, in 1479. During their
reign, new
roads were built, Spanish
coinage was made
standard, and the
power of the
aristocracy was reduced. Spanish
law was also codified, and
Ferdinand and Isabella themselves took over the
administration of
justice. They also made war on the
Moors, who held part of southern Spain, capturing the Moorish
stronghold of
Granada in 1492.
Speaking of
1492, Isabella is probably best known in
America as one of the few people who saw
merit in
Christopher Columbus' plan to sail
west from
Spain to establish a
route to the
Indies, leading, of course, to Columbus'
discovery of
America.