Isabel the Queen
Life and Times
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- $32.99
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- $32.99
Publisher Description
Queen Isabel of Castile is perhaps best known for her patronage of Christopher Columbus and for the religious zeal that led to the Spanish Inquisition, the waging of holy war, and the expulsion of Jews and Muslims across the Iberian peninsula. In this sweeping biography, newly revised and annotated to coincide with the five-hundredth anniversary of Isabel's death, Peggy K. Liss draws upon a rich array of sources to untangle the facts, legends, and fiercely held opinions about this influential queen and her decisive role in the tumultuous politics of early modern Spain.
Isabel the Queen reveals a monarch who was a woman of ruthless determination and strong religious beliefs, a devoted wife and mother, and a formidable leader. As Liss shows, Isabel's piety and political ambition motivated her throughout her life, from her earliest struggles to claim her crown to her secret marriage to King Fernando of Aragón, a union that brought success in civil war, consolidated Christian hegemony over the Iberian peninsula, and set the stage for Spain to become a world empire.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Remembered chiefly for her patronage of Columbus's voyages, Isabel I (1451-1504), who was the Queen of Castile from 1474-1504, together with her husband, Fernando of Aragon, greatly increased the power of the monarchy and unified Spain by their conquests and cruelty to the conquered. In a densely written academic biography, Liss draws on primary sources to present Isabel as a religious woman of her time, who instigated the Inquisition, drove the Jews from Spain and slaughtered Granada's Muslims because she was convinced she was fulfilling a pious duty to rid her country of heresy. Her sponsorship of explorations eventually led to the enslavement and slaughter of the indigenous populations of the Caribbean, as well as to the Age of Exploration. Liss, a visiting fellow at Johns Hopkins University, provides a wealth of detail documenting Isabel's love for Fernando, her devotion to her children, her ruthless ambition and her canny statecraft. This work will be of primary interest to historians and other scholars.
