Granada, Spain: 1492

The second stop on our cruise, Malaga, is a well-known destination in its own right, but we would again be boarding an Oceania tour bus, this time a guided tour called "Granada, the Soul of Andalucia."

We were provided narration on our long bus ride, but when we arrived in Granada, a local specialist, Martin, greeted us.

Martin's amiable face resembled Dennis Quaid.  He must be about about 6'8", so it was easy to find him in a crowd.  Born in the Netherlands, he'd attended the world-renowned University of Granada, where he fell in love with his future wife and her hometown of Granada.

I doubt a native of Granada could have known its history or cherished the city more than its adopted son Martin.

Ahead of us we saw the Alhambra, which is the primary attraction of Granada.  Our guide soon explained that the Alhambra meant "the Red One" in Arabic, alluding to the color of the castle walls of sun-dried bricks formed from the red clay of the surrounding countryside.

With its massive walls and steep slope for relatively narrow approach roads, the Alhambra was deemed insurmountable, a reputation that discouraged enemy armies from even attempting an assault.  Nonetheless, on January 2, 1492, the last of the Moorish rulers in Spain surrendered the stronghold to Queen Isabella of Castile.  It was not a frontal assault, but rather a long siege, basically holding the Moors captive in their own city so their food stores gradually depleted, that eventually brought the Muslims to their knees.

Like me, you probably associate Queen Isabella and the date 1492 with another major event, but without the capture of Granada, which marked the successful conclusion for the Reconquista, the Spanish may not have found the military resolve or courage to explore the world.

Notably, it was also at the Alhambra where Queen Isabella empowered Christopher Columbus to seek a potentially lucrative ocean route to the East Indies.  That trip, of course, "discovered" America, which turned out to be extremely lucrative for Spain and the rest of  Europe for hundreds of years.  It's often said that Isabella used her royal jewels to finance the voyage.

That easy-to-remember story makes it sound like Queen Isabella was a pampered wife pawning gifts from her husband, when in fact she certainly brought much greater wealth into their marriage than her husband, King Ferdinand II, of the smaller kingdom of Aragon.

It had been a planned marriage to create a united Spain, but make no mistake, Isabella was one of the most powerful women in history in her own right.  The Moors surrendered to Queen Isabella, not King Ferdinand II.

Interestingly, at the tombs which we saw later at the Royal Chapel in Granada (photos not allowed inside), Isabella's head sinks deeper into the pillow than her husband's head.  Some say that was because she couldn't be higher than the King, but in fact, it was a metaphor for hers was the more substantial Crown.  There has been conjecture that she also had the larger brain.  Few monarchs of either sex have played such a monumental role in changing the world, that's for sure, because she authorized financing the explorations of Columbus.

A theory persists that it was actually rich Jews, hoping to escape the religious intolerance of the infamous Spanish Inquisition that began in 1478, who secretly financed the voyage of Columbus. More specifically, the persecution of Jews had come to a head with the Alhambra Decree on March 31, 1492, which gave Jews three months to either convert to Catholicism or leave Spain without any of their possessions, including gold and silver.

The wealthy Jews had strong incentive to convert, but Jews probably played at least some part financing the voyage of Columbus one way or another.  Some theorize that Christopher Columbus was a Jew himself who had motives beyond seeking a new trade route for Spain, such as finding a safe place for Jews or hiding their treasures to be retrieved later.

Trying to see the persecution of Jews in the most positive light, Catholic monarchs and clergy might have rationalized they were using temporal coercion to save immortal souls, but it is another example of why Israel needed to be re-established to give Jews a safe homeland, one where, contrary to popular belief, all religions are tolerated.

Regardless of motivations, soon after Christopher Columbus sailed boldly west, Spain would become the richest, most powerful country in Europe.

As an extended postscript to 1492, I found it fascinating that the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, Joanna of Castile, married Philip the Handsome, Archduke of the House of Habsburg, in 1496, when she was 16 years old.  Joanna moved to join her husband in Flanders (modern day Belgium), where they had three children together.

When Queen Isabella died in 1504, Joanna nominally became Queen of Castile, but Joanna's father claimed actual rule of Castile for himself as Governor.

King Ferdinand II could rationalize his actions to keep the kingdoms of Spain united as being for their mutual benefit, which after all had been been the intent of their arranged marriage in the first place. That union had, after all, proven to be highly successful.  Having been "King of Spain" as the co-ruler of the combined kingdoms of Castile and Aragon for 30 years, he certainly wouldn't want to split the kingdoms and give up the bigger portion before his own death.  He would reason that his daughter would have her chance to rightfully rule both kingdoms as Queen of Spain when he died.

Queen Joanna and her husband had different thoughts on the matter.  Philip I stood up to his father-in-law to claim his wife's place on the throne, with himself beside her as King rather than her father acting as a regent.  In 1506, Ferdinand II apparently had a change of heart and renounced his throne in Castile, clearing the way for his son-in-law to be King.

Shortly thereafter, however, Joanna's father and husband collaborated to declare Joanna insane and therefore unfit to rule.  That same year, Philip I died, and I don't think it strange to think some kind of monkey business was involved, especially considering the royal court of Castile didn't like the idea of a foreigner rather than a Spaniard becoming their King.  In any case, Joanna was sent to the nut house, and upon the death of her husband, her father continued to rule until his death in 1516.

Martin theorized that Joanna the Mad, as she became known, wasn't crazier than anyone deprived of her rightful life, especially one of great privilege in which she should have been ruling a rich and powerful kingdom as her mother had.  In any case, Joanna's son was crowned King Charles I of Spain and, with his Habsburg connection and incredible wealth, eventually he became Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire.  He left his mother imprisoned until her death in 1555.  Queen Joanna nominally remained co-monarch of Castile and Aragon.

In 1526, King Charles I enjoyed a wonderful extended honeymoon in Granada with his beautiful, intelligent new bride, Isabella of Portugal, who also happened to be his cousin. She was named after their mutual grandmother. Entranced by the magic of the moment, he decided to build a fabulous palace in the Roman Renaissance style within the Alhambra.

Unfortunately, a huge earthquake rattled Granada before they returned home, and Isabella reportedly refused to ever return again despite otherwise enjoying their stay.

Construction nonetheless commenced on the palace.  The project would not be completed in the lifetime of Emperor Charles V or used as a royal palace ever.

In fact, it didn't get completed until the 20th century, when the dictatorship of Francisco Franco restored and completed the building, putting it into service as a national museum.

Nonetheless, Habsburg rule in Spain continued several generations after Charles I passed away.

The last Habsburg King of Spain was Charles II, who suffered many physical problems attributed to inbreeding, though his sister wasn't similarly affected.

All eight of his great-grandparents were descendants of Philip the Handsome and Joanna the Mad.  His parents were also his great uncle and first cousin.

King Charles II of Spain died childless, leading to the War of Spanish Succession.  You may recall that turmoil set the stage for the reign of Empress Maria Theresa in Central Europe, which I wrote about previously.