Cynda 's Reviews > Isabella: The Warrior Queen

Personal Note: According to my dad's DNA, we are of the 3 major social groups described in this book: European (in Spain), Middle Eastern (Ottoman Turks in Spain), Jewish (in Spain), and Native American (of the Columbian Exchange). I love all these ancestors with their spines and convictions.
Humans in the waning years of the Middle Ages lived in a brutal world and therefore were more brutal themselves.
I have waited to read a biography of Isabella of Castille until I found one I was comfortable with. The language was too complicated, the attitudes were to prevalent, things like that prevented me from bringing home a biography about Isabella. I found this copy at my local library and had to bring it home. As a amateur historian, I immediately noticed the readability of the text and the maps at the front of the book, so I took a risk. I am glad I did. I have read the one biography I plan to read in my lifetime. In the Afterword, Kirsten Downey says,

Queen Isabella's life is a Rorschach test for her biographers. Everyone brings a point of view, an internal bias, to the subject of her life. Catholics see her one way; Protestants, Muslims, and Jews see her very differently. . . . Consequently, Isabella is one of the world's most historically controversial rulers, both adored and demonized.
In reading this book, some bubbles were burst. Slavery was practiced by the Ottoman Turks and Christians-- don't know about the Jews. In fact, Isabella's children had several slaves in each of their encourages. The Ottoman Turks had slave markets that made the New Orleans slave market look take in their inhumanity. The marriage of Ferdinand of Arragon and Isabella of Castille was not a supportive relationship. He was to a large extent all about himself, and she blocked from any real power in Castille to prevent him from creating too many problems in her realm.

I had some ahhhhaaa moments. Talavera (ruling family) Family Character. The families of Portugal, Arragon, and Castille intermarry, attempting to create one Spain. They marry first cousins and grandnieces to keep the money in the family--maybe--more to work toward getting whole Iberian peninsula for themselves. Very likely--no autopsies--that Ferdinand poisoned all the other heirs to to the Arragon throne and went one to poison the only real contender to the Castille throne. He was not alone Mehemed of the Ottoman Turks made it law that all the each succeeding emir would kill all the other possible heirs. Isabella managed a kinder way to the crown-- coup. Slander the name of the other contender (also a woman), make deals and plans to be in the right place at the right time to have yourself declared queen along with people cheering to validate it. Different world.
Money-Grubbing Arragon. Isabella wanted riches and lands, of course, but she had religious reasons for doingnthings as well. For Ferdinand, the money and lanfpds came first and the religious concerns are important too, certainly. One way to gain lands was to kick the Ottoman Turks out of Granada. He showed up to support Isabella's most times battle commened--unless Arragon had a pressing issue. And the non-payment of the remainder of Catherine of Arragon's dowry to England was simply holding on to money at the expense of his daughter.
The Spanish Inquistion. Talavera, confessor to Isabella and her assistant in the Inquistion was a converso. Not himself. A couple of generations previous. By some accounts I have read, he encouraged the Kings of Spain. Yet after Isabella dies, Ferdinand increases the strength of the Inquisition and has Talavera killed in the auto-de-fe.

Relationship between Muslims, Jews, and Christians. Much of the Iberian Peninsula was held by Ottoman Turks about 700 years before Isabella's reign. She kicked them out of their last stronghold even as they were planning to re-conquer Spain from the the east and from the south. The threat was real as the Turks were holding land just further east on the Mediterranean and and south in Granada on the peninsula and just 7.7 nautical miles south of Granada in North Africa. But the Muslims were distracted by internal issues and could not focus on conquering Spain. Good thing for Isabella as she was not trained to be a ruler, 3rd in line and a girl child, so she had to learn how to conduct warfare as she went. For this endeavor, Ferdinand was supportive as possible. And more importantly, Isabella listened to her men-at-arms who told of new technology they were developing and of new ideas they would likemto try, such as surprise attacks. She was wise and humble in many of the right ways that allowed to her to listen and learn.

Improvements in Women's Education. Because she had had been given the education of a queen consort, never unintended to rule, she found her lack of Latin, statecraft, and warfare embarrassing. She called in tutors who taught her and her ladies and later her daughters Latin. She took wise advisors and a a wise confessor and learned on the job as quickly as possible, she was sharp. Henry VIII was able to confidently leave England in the care of Isabella's daughter Catherine of Arragon when he went off to war. And Catherine of Arragon's daughter Mary Tudor (Bloody Mary) was able to feel confident in her ability to rule England without her husband being present and away in Spain and other European places of enjoyment. Education for women, at least for the women in powerful families, became usual. We see it best perhaps in Elizabeth I.
Yet Isabella did drop the ball on the education of her daughter Juana. Juana was so inadept at ruling Castille at the time of Isabella's death that Juana's husband Phillip the Fair and her father Ferdinand of Arragon were able to sully her name so that the people called her Juana la Loca/Crazy Juana. Ferdinand would rule Castille until Juana's son reached majority. He just created problems for his grandson to address. Ferdinand could have told Juana to hire tutors and to help her select wise advisors, just like her mother did. Juana did a fine job educating her own daughter in a more traditional way, a way of privileged women of the aristocracy, not the nobility.

Relationship of Muslims and Jews. Jews were welcome to live and work in Ottoman-controlled area off they were willing to pay higher taxes and to accept being second-rate members of society. Many many converted to Islam because the religion is attractive. There are similarities between Judaism and Islam. There is the convenience of not paying same taxes as the Muslims and of having the same everyday respect of the Muslims. The relationship was much gentler between Muslims and Jews. There was no Ottoman Turk Inquistion. Convert and live comfortably. I can see how my Muslim and Jewish ancestors intermarriage and had had children who forgot all about any adversity so that that there is no memories of being Muslim or Jew. I say that. . . but. . . I have heard one little tiny remnant of Arabic (language of the Ottoman Turks) in my oldest aunt's language. Just the "ojala que" is left off of the subjective sentence that follows. It would have been dropped off when my dad's family wanted to re-jpin the mainstream Christian society. I grew up Catholic, and my family was far back as family memory goes. We are only this generation born mostly in the mid-20th century are changing that affiliation, each as he/she wishes.

These are the big topics for me who is looking for family experience and history. This is my last selection of my Hispanic Reading Challenge as I started this book in late December.

One final personal note. I had bought a copy of The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain. I map hoped to read it now after this emotionally challenging book. But I seem to have sent it out in some recycle stack. I will buy this book again soon in the hope of healing myself some.