Spanish monarchy: Encyclopedia II - Spanish monarchy - History

Spanish monarchy - History

The History of the Spanish monarchy can be traced back to the end of the middle ages, specifically to the alliance between Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, the Catholic Monarchs, Reyes Catolicos. Their daughter Joanna of Castile (who married Philip the Handsome) inherited the kingdom of Castile, although of course not Aragon, which Ferdinand, still alive, kept, and later left it directly to Joanna's son Charles. Succession custom of Aragon actually was restricted to males only, and it was not totally certain that Charles was entitled to inherit, being son of a daughter. However, no male heir was alive at that moment and Charles's accession was felt natural. After all, he at least was a male. (A century earlier, when King John I of Aragon died, his brother Martin inherited, not John's daughter Yolande nor Yolande's sons. When King Martin of Aragon died in turn, without surviving issue, Estates of Aragon chose his sister's son Ferdinand, second son of King of Castile, as next monarch, and not Yolande nor Yolande's son.)

Son of Joanna, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, was the first person to be monarch of both Castile and Aragon, and he is commonly considered to be the first king of Spain. Charles son, Philip II, kept both crowns and also acquired the kingdom of Portugal. It was then that the concept of "The Spains" (referring to the different kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula) started to be used—which makes Philip II in a sense the first king of Spain. However, after 60 years, Portugal seceded.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki