FERDINAND THE CATHOLIC, 5th of Castile, 2d of Aragon, 3d of Naples, and 2d of Sicily, was b. 10th Mar., 1452. He was the son of John II. king of Navarre and Ara gon; and in 1469 married, at Valladolid, Isabella, sister of Henry IV. of Castile. Even in the lifetime of his father, events were paving the way for the subsequent union of the two kingdoms of Castile and Aragon. On the death of Henry IV. of Castile in 1474, the tortes refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of his daughter Juana, and pro claimed Isabella and her husband F. joint-sovereigns. A war ensued, in which they were completely successful. In 1479, F. becoming king of Aragon on the death of his father, the two kingdoms of Aragon and Castile were united in the persons of F. and Isabella. Isabella, however, as long as she lived, maintained her position as queen of Castile, and allowed her husband no other share in the government than the privilege of affixing his signature to the decrees, and of unitino. his arms with her own. F.'s whole reign was an uninterrupted series of successful wars. In Castile, he distin guished himself by the effectual suppression of the banditti, who had become formida ble in the confusion resulting from the civil wars. This he accomplished by reorgan izing and putting in force against them the hermandad, or brotherhood, a kind of Spanish militia, composed of the citizens and the country-people. But F., whose craft and vigor were quite Machiavelian, was not content with taking strong measures against the. Castilian outlaws; he also resolved to break the power of the feudal nobility, and make good use of the hermandad in carrying out this design. Cities and towns were encouraged to make themselves independent of the nobles, who were deprived of many important privileges. Among other humiliations, they were subjected to the ordinary tribunals of justice. The establishment of the inquisition in 1478-80, although prima rily and mainly intended to further "religious" ends, likewise helped to lessen their influence. F. also strengthened his power by vesting in his successors the grand-mastership of the military orders of Calatrava, Alcantara, and Santiago. In all
his schemes, F. was ably seconded by his queen Isabella, and by the celebrated cardinal Ximenes. The year 1492 was the most brilliant in his reign, and is one of the most important in the history of the material progress of the world. It was signalized by the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, though the honor of having aided the great navigator belongs not to F., but to Isabella. The same year witnessed the capture of Granada, and the retreat of the last Moorish monarch into Africa. F., who had a true Spanish hatred of heresy, immediately issued an order for the expulsion of the Jews from the conquered kingdom; and, in consequence, 160,000—some say 800,000 —of his new subjects were compelled to scatter themselves over Europe This act was neither wise nor Christian, but it was in accordance with the religious barbarism of the age, and especially of Spain. It was followed, several years after, by the persecution and expulsion of the Moors—an act still more unwise than the former, for the Moors of Granada were unquestionably the most industrious, civilized, and refined inhabitants of the peninsula. F. was as successful abroad as at home. He was victorious over Alfonso V., king of Portugal; while his general, Gonzalvo de Cordova, twice wrested Naples from the French—the second time in 1503—after which it remained permanently in F.'s possession. In the following year, Isabella died; and in 1505, he married Germaine de Foix, a niece of Louis XII. of France. He took part in the famous league of Cambrai formed against Venice in 1508; made himself master of various towns and fortresses in Africa; and in 1512, conquered the kingdom of Navarre; thus becoming monarch of Spain from the Pyrenees to the rock of Gibraltar. He died at Madrigalejo, Jan. 23, 1516; and was succeeded by his grandson, Charles V. To F. and Isabella, Spain owes her unity and greatness as a nation; and, in the no less skillful hands of their successor, she exercised an imperial influence over Europe, which it required Luther and the reformation to check. See Prescott's History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain (1838).