The Rise of Authoritarian Monarchy and the Catholic Monarchs

1. European Recovery in the 15th Century

Throughout the fifteenth century, Europe began a demographic and economic recovery, overcoming the serious crisis of the late Middle Ages. This momentum allowed monarchs to wrest much of the political power from the nobility and centralize it in their own hands.

2. Economic Growth and Commercial Capitalism

The disappearance of major epidemics and the recovery of crop fields allowed for population growth and increased agricultural production. Shipping routes in the Baltic and the North Sea resulted in an increase in artisan production and the growth of cities that served as commercial trade centers. The growth of trade resulted in the accumulation of large profits in the hands of the bourgeoisie. Their economic power was based on shareholding in productive investment activities, marking the beginning of so-called commercial capitalism.

3. The Rise of the Authoritarian Monarchy

During the fifteenth century, kings proposed to impose their authority over all subjects, consolidating a new model of power: the authoritarian monarchy.

The Union of Castile and Aragon

In 1469, Prince Ferdinand, son and heir of John II of Aragon, married Princess Isabella, sister of Henry IV of Castile. Upon the death of his father in 1479, Ferdinand became King of the Crown of Aragon, the same year Isabella became Queen of Castile. The union of both kingdoms did not involve total unification; both kingdoms kept their own borders, currency, tax systems, laws, and institutions.

4. Territorial Expansion

The Catholic Monarchs sought to unite the remaining peninsular territories under their crown:

• Granada: After a war that lasted for years, they conquered the Moorish Kingdom of Granada.
• Navarre: The Kingdom of Navarre was incorporated in 1515, while maintaining its own laws under the Catholic Monarchs.
• Canary Islands: The conquest of the Canary Islands was also carried out.
• Diplomacy: The Catholic Monarchs developed a policy of matrimonial alliances with Portugal.

5. Foreign Policy

The Catholic Monarchs played an important role in European politics, orienting their international policy in two directions:

• The Mediterranean: They continued the traditional intervention of the Crown of Aragon. In 1505, they conquered the Kingdom of Naples, covering all of southern Italy, and occupied various locations in North Africa to curb Berber influence.
• The Atlantic: Expansion looked towards the Atlantic, beginning with the conquest of the Canary Islands.

6. Consolidation of Royal Power

The rise of the Catholic Monarchs meant the imposition of the new model of authoritarian monarchy, especially in Castile. Ferdinand and Isabella sought to impose royal authority throughout their states, though the results varied. It was in Castile where the monarchy most effectively solidified its authority.