Queen Isabella :: biography

Queen Isabella was born in 1451, in the city of Castile, Spain (Leon 75). She was the daughter of King John II and Arevalo (Maltby par 1). Her family was very strong Catholics and she was born and raised a Catholic. Her brother, Alfonso, became King. He banished her mother, younger brother, and her from the kingdom (Leon 75, 77). Isabella had chestnut hair with natural red highlights and her look was demure and soft. She went to school with nuns at Santa Ana Convent. At school, she fancied reading, writing, music, and painting. In her free time, she was tutored at home with her older brother. After her childhood, she learned treachery was everywhere. As a teenager, her family forced her to marry a scoundrel. That day, she prayed to God for deliverance. On the way to their wedding, he choked and died from bronchitis. From that day on, she was ready for what was coming her way. Queen Isabella had many accomplishments as an adult. One of them was she tried to change the religion of Castile as much as she could. Isabella banned all religions other than Roman Catholic. Most of Castile was Muslim and if you weren’t willing to change to Catholic, then you would be punished or banned. She made war on Muslims who held part of Southern Spain. Also, all Jews had to be baptized in a church. Obviously, religion took a major role in the Renaissance (Phillips par 4). Queen Isabella also took part in the voyage with Christopher Columbus. She gave him support when he was about to leave for sea. Christopher Columbus discovered the New World, which led to the establishment of a Spanish empire in America. Isabella supported many people, but Christopher Columbus was her most important (Maltby par 2). I don’t think he could have done that voyage without her. When she was about to become Queen, she had to get some things straight with her father. He had made a treaty, which is like a contract. On the treaty, he gave her many rights normal women would never have. The first right was to let Isabella be a legal heir since her brother was, too. Right #2 was the award of seven cities including Avila, her hometown. Last, but certainly not least, she was to marry whoever she chooses (Leon 77). When she was about 20, she married her second cousin, Fernando and he was roughly three inches shorter than she.