A History of Spain: From the Crown of Aragon to the Age of Exploration

The Iberian Peninsula: Kingdoms and Conquests

The Rise of Asturias and León

1. Who moved the capital to León, and renamed Asturias as the Kingdom of León?

○ Ordoño II

2. When was Asturias renamed as León?

○ In the 10th century

3. Who made Castile an independent county and when?

○ Fernán González in the 10th century

4. Who unified Castile with León and when?

○ Ferdinand I unified them in 1038

5. From which kingdom did Aragon become independent and when?

○ From Navarre in the 11th century

6. What were the first two capitals of the Kingdom of Asturias?

○ Cangas de Onís and Oviedo

7. What was the Hispanic March?

○ A zone established by Charlemagne in 795 as a defensive barrier between the Al-Andalus and the Carolingian Empire.

8. Who conquered Galicia and expanded the Asturian territories up to the Duero Valley?

○ Alfonso III

The Reconquista and the Formation of Kingdoms

9. What was the repopulation?

○ The occupation of the population of the conquered territories.

10. What happened in 1212?

○ The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa

11. What privileges did the monarchs give to the peasants who moved to empty areas?

○ They could be free from the lord, paid fewer taxes, and received a plot of land.

12. What privileges did the monarchs give to the new cities in empty areas?

○ New cities created had special fueros (local laws and privileges).

13. In what year was the Crown of Aragon created? What two states came together to create it?

○ In 1137. The Kingdom of Aragon and the Catalan Counties.

14. In what year was the Crown of Castile created and with which territories?

○ In 1230, unifying Castile and León.

The Crowns of Castile and Aragon

15. Why was Aragon an important trading country?

○ Due to its geographical location in the Mediterranean.

16. Main institutions of Castile?

• Parliament
• Royal Council
• High Court

17. Who created the "Honest Council of the Mesta"?

○ Alfonso X, "el Sabio"

18. What were the territories that formed the Crown of Aragon called?

• Kingdom of Majorca
• Sardinia
• Valencia
• Aragon
• Catalan Counties

19. Where did the king need the approval of the parliament of each territory?

○ Aragon

20. Where did the king have more power, Castile or Aragon?

○ Castile

Culture and Art in Medieval Spain

21. What cultures coexisted in the medieval peninsula?

• Muslim
• Jewish
• Christian

22. What art was a continuation of Visigothic art?

○ Asturian art

23. What were the Mozarabs?

○ Christians who stayed in Muslim territories.

24. What were the Mudejars?

○ Muslims who stayed in the territories conquered by the Christians.

25. What fused Mudejar art?

○ Christian and Moorish styles in the Peninsula.

26. When did the cathedral become the most important building in the city?

○ Gothic period

27. What were the main buildings of Romanesque art?

○ Monasteries and churches used for pilgrimages.

The Age of Exploration: Columbus and Beyond

28. In what year was the Crown of Aragon created and with which territories?

○ In 1137, unifying Aragon and the Catalan counties.

29. In what century was Portugal independent and from what Kingdom?

○ In the 12th century from Castile.

30. How was Toledo known?

○ As the city of the three cultures.

31. From where and when did the ship of Columbus depart to America?

○ On August 3rd, 1492, from Palos de la Frontera in Huelva.

32. Where and when did Columbus arrive in America?

○ On October 12, 1492, he reached the Caribbean islands.

33. Where did Columbus think he had arrived?

○ Asia

34. Where and when was the treaty between Castile and Portugal signed?

○ In 1494, in Tordesillas.

35. Where was the line which divided the world?

○ On the Atlantic Ocean.

36. How many voyages did Columbus make?

○ Four voyages.

37. Who is America named after?

○ Amerigo Vespucci

38. Who were the first men to circumnavigate the world?

○ Juan Sebastian Elcano

39. When was the first circumnavigation made?

○ Between 1519 and 1522.

40. Who started to finance new exploration in the Spanish monarchy?

○ The Catholic Monarchs.

41. What centuries are considered as the Age of Discoveries?

○ 15th and 16th centuries.

Pre-Columbian Civilizations and Spanish Conquest

42. What were the three main pre-Columbian civilizations?

• Mayan
• Aztec
• Inca

43. Where did the Mayans live?

○ Around the Yucatan Peninsula.

44. Where did the Aztecs live?

○ In part of present-day Mexico.

45. Where did the Incas live?

○ Around the Andes.

46. Who conquered Mexico and when did he reach it?

○ Hernán Cortés in 1519.

47. Who and when conquered the Inca Empire?

○ Francisco Pizarro in 1531.

48. What was discovered in 1513 by Vasco Núñez de Balboa?

○ Pacific Ocean.

49. What were the five main social groups in America?

• Spaniards
• Creoles
• Mestizos
• Amerindians
• Black people