Unification+of+Spain+During+the+Renaissance

Unification of Spain During the Renaissance by Trevor Muehring __Beginnings__ · Aragon and Castile were the strongest Spanish kingdoms · Marriage of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon · Maintained their own customs · Had to strengthen the government of Castile __Actions for Unification__ · Towns were enlisted into the policy of state building · // Hermandades //(“brotherhood”; maintained law and order) · Transformed the // hermandades // into a militia · Stopped the wealthy landed aristocrats from disturbing the peace · // Corregidores // (replaced corrupt municipal officials) · Enabling the monarchs to extend the central authority of royal government into the town · Inherited a more professional royal army · Reorganized the military forces of Spain · Recognized the importance of controlling the Catholic Church · Gained the right to select the most important church officials in Spain · Made many Jews and Muslims convert to Christianity (// conversos //) · Expelled all professed Jews from Spain (Inquisition) · broke the power of the great nobles in Castile · working with the //cortes// to guarantee reliable tax revenues Ortiz-Griffin, Julia, and William D. Griffin. "The Lands and Peoples of Iberia." Spain and Portugal: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present, European Nations. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc. [] Spielvogel, Jackson J. "The Unification of Spain." //Western Civilization//. 4th ed. Stamford: Clark Baxter, 1999. 354-355. Print.