FERDINAND V (surnamed THE CATHO LIC), king of Spain, II of Aragon, V of Cas tile: b. Sos, Aragon, 19 March 1452; d. Madrigalejo, Spain, 23 Jan. 1516. On 18 Oct. 1469 he married Isabella of Castile (q.v.) and thus brought about a close connection between Aragon and Castile, although both kingdoms continued to be governed separately, for Isa bella allowed her husband no other share in the government of Castile than the privilege of affixing his signature to the decrees and of uniting his arms with her own. He had none of the attractive qualities of his wife; but with Cardinal Ximenes they raised Spain to an emi nence which she had never before attained. After a fierce war of 10 years they conquered Granada (1491), the only kingdom of which the Moors yet retained possession in Spain; but the most brilliant event of their reign was the dis covery of America, for which Isabella had furnished the ships and which made them sovereigns of a new world. (See CoLandaus). This politic prince laid the foundation of the Spanish ascendency in Europe by the acquisition of Naples (1503), by means of his general, Gonsalvo of Cordova, and by the conquest of Navarre (1512) ; but he was lacking in gener osity, faithless to his covenants and unscrupu lous. These stains obscure the great qualities
which made him, next to his consort, the first monarch of his time. It was during his reign that the banditti were suppressed and the heri tablejurisdiction of the nobles suppressed. The king himself assumed the grand mastership of the military orders of Calatrava, Alcantara and Santiago. He founded universities; and estab lished in 1480 the court of the Spanish Inquisi tion. In 1492 he expelled the Jews from the king dom — a measure that was ultimately followed by disastrous consequences — and in 1501 gave the Moors the alternative of baptism or banish ment. Two years after the death of his wife, Is-. abella, which took place in 1504, he married Ger maine de Foix. Consult Prescott, 'Ferdinand and Isabella' (1837).