Foreign Policy under Isabella and Ferdinand Flashcards
what are the key judgements?
1) foreign affairs were a great contributer to unity of purpose and action between the kingdoms . . .
2) . . . yet, castile liked west and south in its business, whilst Aragon looked North and East
3) Ferdinand undertook most of the foreign policy business and increasingly he did so through Castilian forces
4) by 1516 the expression of spanish power beyond the iberian peninsula was great
in 1474 what was the situation in . . . ?
Granada - it was not incorporated into Castile, it was a separate muslim kingdom
Cerdagne/Rusillion - were French, thus northern boarders of Aragon were vulnerable
Portugal- a challenge to Isabella during the war of succession
Navarre - independent
New world - undiscovered
North africa - a threat as it was a muslim state
Naples - not spanish
what were the main methods used in foreign policy actions?
Military intervention - Granada, Naples and North Africa. the granada campaign lead to significant developments which were used in the italian wars
Marriage alliances - in particular to try to counter French influence in both the iberian peninsula and Italy e.g. philip of burgundy married their second daughter Joanna in 1496 and in 1501 cathrine of aragon married Henry VIII
Diplomacy - Ferdinand was considered an expert negotiator he made treaties with any enemy of france to secure his objectives, also he exploited his allies
Ambassadors - were used to aid marriage and diplomacy, put ambassadors in foreign courts.
how did the foreign policy change over time?
1474-92 - foreign policy measures were focused mainly on domestic consolidation of power
1492-1504 - Castile and Aragon made spectacular gains. Granada spend up African possibilities, the new world also now appealed to Castilians. Aragon gained Cerdagne/Rousillion and Naples from the French.
1504-1516 - Ferdinand less secure in Castile so had to for the first time give some support to Cisneros’s idea of a crusade in North Africa, his main concern however was Navarre and Milan as well as securing his hold on Naples
What happened with Portugal?
following the civil war in which Portugal were against Castile - portugal declared that there would be no further claims to castile and that Castile should have the rights to the Canary Islands
Portugal was scarcely a threat to Castile afterward although they did compete for the New world
marriage agreements were a large art of the relationship
1490- marriage between isabella and Prince alfonso
1497- then married his cousin King Manuel
1500- then her younger sister Maria married Manuel
Treaty of Tordesillas
what happened with Rousillon and Cardagne?
Catalan provinces in the pyrenees had been taken when Aragon was weak
in 1489 Ferdinand signed a treaty with Henry VII in which the english would prevent the French from Taking Brittany and he would take back rousillion and the other from France (fails) hand them on a plate when France who were interested in preventing spain in Italy
what happened with Navarre
it had been ruled by Aragon until 1479. after Isabella’s death Ferdinand married Germaine de Foix - deliberate move to secure Navarre
in 1512 Ferdinand lead an invasion to Navarre when Gaston de Foix died, by 1515 Navarre had been incorporated into Castile
what happened with France?
the treaty of Medina del Campo, 1489 was a deliberate attempt to try and outflank France by securing and agreement with England to act against it.
what happened with Naples and Italy?
During the period of 1516 the actions in Italy were the most notable foreign policy enterprise which brought spain into the European affairs as a significant power.
Aragon had a Large involvement in Italy
Ferdinand used skilful diplomacy in the formation of the Holy League in 1495
united with Pope Alexander, Venice, Millan and Emperor Maximilian to force the French to retreat from Naples. the treaty of granada agreed to portion Naples but when was broke out in 1501 Spain was victorious - made French remove Claims from Naples with the treaty of Blois in 1505
the New Holy league formed against france by 1511
Spanish Forces strong - Gonzalo de Cordoba
what happened with North Africa?
by takin control of portions of North Africa spain could protect trade with Sicily and prevent muslim invasion of Granada
they were also interested in things such as Gold, ivory, shells, fish, slaves and land
Cisneros wanted a full scale war but Ferdinand knew there would be Financial and logistic problems with this and so settled for a few garrisons to deter attacks
what happened with America?
the Papal Bull ‘Inter Caetara’ gave the spanish rights to south America
it was given little priority by the monarchs - true wealth not discovered till after 1516
what was the impact of the discovery of the New World?
the Americas were attached to the crown f Castile not Aragon (in 1501 non-castilians were banned) the council of Idies was set up in 1511 and was part of the council of Castile
within 10 years 6,000 spanish colonists had arrived in the New World- a Casa de la Contratacion was set up and seville became the centre for all Trade.
Kamen claims that 30 tonnes of gold came back by 1520 this was to be a major source of royal revenue form 1540s.
in1519 the city of Panama was founded
Desieses killed 90% of natives by the end of the 16th century - 90% of carabean islanders were dead 20 years after columbus arrived - this lead to concerns about morality of the settlers who were often lawless, disobeyed boundaries and were ruthless.
what were the aspects of Unity in foreign affairs?
the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella ended a traditional rivalry between the two kingdoms
Ferdinand dominated and determine the foreign policy of both kingdoms, he also exploited the resources of both kingdoms.
Diplomatic relations were conducted i the name of both realmsForeigners increasingly perceived the concept of ‘Spain’ as existing in the conduct of foreign policy.
what were the aspects of disunity in foreign affairs?
they generally had contrasting outlooks
the New world was attached to the crown of Castile and the Aragonese were barred from the trade and settlement yet Naples was attached to the crown of Aragon and the Castilians were thrown out of Naples.
