Spanish Monarchs

A history of Spanish monarchs.

Iberian Kingdoms

The Iberian peninsula was divided between the Christian kingdoms of Portugal, Leon, Aragon, and Castile; and the Moorish province of al-Andalus.

After the death of Alfonso IX of Leon in 1230, Ferdinand III of Castile conquered the kingdom and brought them into a permanent personal union.

Al-Andalus was established by the Umayyad Caliphate and governed by successive empires: Córdoba (an emirate until 929, then a caliphate), the Almoravid Empire, the Almohad Empire, and finally the emirate of Granada.

Through the Reconquista, al-Andalus was dismantled entirely by 1491.

Catholic Monarchy

The marriage of Ferdinand II and Isabella I in 1469 established a union between Aragon and Castile known variably as the Catholic Monarchy or the Hispanic Monarchy.

When Isabella died in 1504, their daughter Joanna nominally succeeded. Ferdinand instead appointed himself governor of Castile. When he also died in 1516, her son Charles I usurped the thrones of both Aragon and Castile, which the respective nobilities tolerated as a co-monarchy. This began the Spanish Habsburg dynasty.

Philip II established a personal union of Portugal and Spain in 1580. A degree of separation remained through the councils.

The Spanish crown was passed from the Spanish Habsburgs to the new Bourbon dynasty through the War of the Spanish Succession.

New World

Commissions for expeditions and encomiendas were granted by the crown to conquer and settle the New World. These colonies were then reorganized and administered by a complex system involving:

• the Council of the Indies based in Madrid

• viceroyalties based in the New World

• real audencias as courts of appeal to enforce royal laws and edicts

Iberian Union

Philip III died in 1621, and Philip IV inherited the throne of both Spain and Portugal. By 1640 the nobility of Portugal were in revolt; the Restoration War ended with Philip conceding Portuguese sovereignty in 1668.

Dynasties

Trastámara

TODO: history of Trastámaran monarchs!

Habsburg

Charles I usurped the thrones of both Aragon and Castile from his mother Joanna, which the respective nobilities tolerated as a co-monarchy. This began the Spanish Habsburg dynasty.

While Charles II never had children, the crown was inheritable through a female line. When Charles died in 1700, in accordance with his will, the Spanish nobility offered the crown to Maria Theresa's grandson, Philip V. This ended the Spanish Habburg line (although the War of Spanish Succession attempted to prop up the Habsburgs again through Charles).

Bourbon

Charles II died childless, but had designated Philip V as his heir. This Bourbon dynasty was interrupted twice: first by the Napoleonic Wars, and again by the Glorious Revolution.

Bonaparte

Napoleon imposed the reign of Joseph I during the Napoleonic Wars.

Savoy

After Isabella II was deposed in the Glorious Revolution, a provisional government and a regency by Amadeo I were established.

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