1. THE ORIGINS OF CHRISTIAN SPAIN (7-10th c.

)
From 711, the Muslims conquered most of the Iberian Peninsula, but they never took full control of the north. Many
visigothic nobles took refuge there and in the 8th c. some small Christian states appeared:
- In the Cantabrian Range: Asturias
- In the Pyrenees: Navarre, Aragon and Catalonia
1.1 The Kingdom of Asturias
1. After the defeat of Don Rodrigo in the battle of Guadalete (711) his followers took refuge in the Cantabrian
Mountains. In 722, those refugees, led by D. Pelayo, refused to pay taxes to Al-Andalus and won the Battle of
Covadonga (722). The Muslims did not return to defeat them, as an Arab-Berber civil war began. After it, Al Andalus
abandoned the control of the Cantabrian mountain range and the Duero Valley.
2. During 200 years, Asturias developed free of interference. This period of the formation of the kingdom of Asturias
and Leon was characterised by 3 kings called Alfonso I, II and III. They:
- Occupied the north of the Duero valley, changing the capital from Oviedo to León.
- Imposed the ideal of the Reconquista (they considered themselves to be heirs of the Visigoths);
- Created the myth of Santiago de Compostela
3. Alfonso III (866-910) moved the capital from Oviedo to León. During the process, 3 distinct regions appeared:
 GALICIA/PORTUGAL: given to nobles and monasteries.
 ASTURIAS/LEÓN: the king’s personal land.
 CANTABRIA/CASTILE: the most dangerous area, where many autonomous castles had to be built (This area
will declare an independent county in the 10th c.)
1.2. The Hispanic March
4. The Arabs were defeated in the Battle of Poitiers (732) by Charles Martel, founder of the Carolingian dynasty. His
grandson, Charlemagne, tried to conquer the Ebro valley, but failed. After so, he created a line of fortresses that
received the name of ‘The Hispanic March’ in the Pyrenees with 3 different areas:
a) WESTERN PYRENEES: given to the local Basque nobility.
b) CENTRAL PYRENEES: given the local Aragonese nobility.
c) EASTERN PYRENEES: given to French or Visigothic nobles.
5. THE BIRTH OF CATALONIA: Catalonia was a province of the Duchy of Aquitania. When Aquitaine rebelled in the 9th
c. against the emperor of the Carolingian Empire, the main count of Catalonia, Wifredo ‘el Velloso’ remained loyal
and received as a reward a great autonomy for Catalonia. At the end of the 10th c., when the Carolingian dynasty
disappears, the Catalan counts will not swear vassalage to the new kings of France.
THE BIRTH OF NAVARRA AND ARAGÓN: During the war between the Duke of Aquitaine and the King of France, Iñigo
Arista, in Pamplona, named himself king of Navarre. In Aragon, Aznar Galíndez declared also the independence.
6. THE KINGDOM OF NAVARRA: The Pyrenean territory that grew the most during the 10th and 11th centuries was
the kingdom of Navarra. Sancho III ‘el Mayor’ (1004-1035) was its most important king, because with him, Navarre
would reach its maximum expansion:
- He consolidated his territories in Navarra and La Rioja, with capital in Pamplona
- He annexed Aragón (central Pyrenees)
- He added Castile (directly) and Leon (indirectly), and developed the Camino de Santiago.
 2. THE EMERGENCE OF THE CHRISTIAN KINGDOMS (11-13th c.)
This period begins with the death of Sancho III ‘el Mayor’ in 1035. He divided his kingdom among his sons:
 García Sánchez, his oldest legitimate son, (1035-1054), inherited Navarre.
 Fernando I (1035-1065) inherited Castile, which became an independent kingdom.
 Ramiro I (1035-1063) inherited Aragón.
 Gonzalo (1035-1045) inherited the counties of Sobrarbe and Ribagorza
This period also start with the dissolution of the Caliphate of Córdoba into various Taifa kingdoms. The Christian
kingdoms took advantage of the situation to demand tribute (parias) from them and to advance in the Reconquista.
During this time, the Almoravid and Almohad invasions also took place.
2.1. The kingdom of Castille and Leon
Fernando I conquered Leon, becoming the most powerful king in the peninsula. For this reason, he demanded tribute
(parias) from the Taifa kingdoms. He also divided his kingdom among his 3 sons, but his son Sancho II reunified again
the territories. Sancho II was assassinated probably by his brother, who became Alfonso VI.
7. Alfonso VI conquered the taifa of Toledo (1085), and raised the tributes to the rest of the taifas (sending the Cid
Campeador to collect them). The Taifa kingdoms asked for help to the ultra-orthodox North African Muslim empire
of the Almoravids. The Almoravids defeated Alfonso in Sagrajas (1086) and Ucles (1108), killing his only son. Alfonso
VI sought the help of two powerful French nobles, who married his two daughters. Nevertheless, his elder daughter’s
husband also died, and he married his elder daughter (Urraca) to the King of Aragon (Alfonso I el Batallador)
8. The marriage of Alfonso I of Aragon to Urraca was a disgrace that led to civil war in Castile. After the civil war, the
kingdom was divided into three parts: Portugal, Leon and Castile. The Almoravids did not take advantage of the
weakness, as they were fighting against the Almohads in Africa. The Almohads finally won and entered Al-Andalus.
However, the Castilians defeated them at the Battle of Navas de Tolosa (1212).
9. After this battle, Fernando III (1217-1252) came to the throne and reunified Castile and León, conquered the
Guadalquivir valley and received the vassalage of the Nasrid kingdom of Granada (the last Muslim kingdom). His son
Alfonso X (1252-1284) established the legal foundations of the Crown of Castile (Las 7 Partidas) and regulated the
wool production and trade with Flanders (with a new institution of powerful sheep farmers: La Mesta)
2.2. The kingdom of Aragón
10. Ramiro I's son, Sancho Ramírez, united Aragon with Navarre. His three sons became kings:
1) Pedro I: he conquered Huesca
2) Alfonso I: he conquered Zaragoza (1118). He married Urraca, taking part in the Castilian civil war. He died
leaving his kingdom of Aragon to the Crusaders. His will was not accepted and this led to the separation of
Aragon and Navarre.
3) Ramiro II ‘el monje’: he accepted on the condition that he would be allowed to return to the monastery
once he had a child. He had a daughter, Doña Petronila, who married the Count of Barcelona, Ramon
Berenguer IV.
With Doña Petronila and Ramón Berenguer, it was born the Crown of Aragon, which expanded during the rest parto
of the 12th c. southwards towards Teruel and Tarragona, and later towards the south of France. The Pope of Rome
sides with the French, who defeat the Catalans on the other side of the Pyrenees, holding hostage the crown-prince,
Jaime I ‘el conquistador’.
11. Jaime I ‘el Conquistador’ (1213-1276) had to earn the respect of his subjects, conquering:
- The Balearic Islands for Catalonia.
- Valencia for Aragon
However, he finally decided to transform these new territories in new independent kingdoms attached to his crown.
Thus, the Crown of Aragon was formed by 4 territories: Aragón, Catalonia, Valencia and Mallorca.
His son, Pedro III ‘el Grande’, began the expansion in the Mediterranean, when Sicily asked to join the Crown of
Aragon.
2.2. The kingdom of Navarre
After rejecting the will of Alfonso I 'the Battler', the Navarrese once again became independent. In the 13th century,
Castile took the Basque Country from Navarre and Navarre sought protection from France. In the 14th century, the
marriages of its kings brought the kingdom closer to Aragon. In 1512, Ferdinand 'the Catholic', King of Aragon,
conquered Navarre and handed it over to Castile.
 3. RECONQUEST AND SETTLEMENT
1. The Reconquest
Over many centuries, the Christian kingdoms expanded southwards by conquering Muslim lands. This process was
called the Reconquest (Reconquista) because the Christian kings believed that they were the heirs of the Visigoths,
and the Iberian Peninsula belonged to them historically. The Reconquest was a long and irregular process. There are
4 different stages in the conquest that coincide with large rivers as natural frontier:
a) 12. The Duero’s frontier: occupied during the 9-10th c. after the Muslims had abandoned this lands. In the west
part, groups of peasants built villages in peace, while in the east part, Muslims raided the area frequently
(razias). As a result, it was occupied by shepherds on horseback who, over time, had to build numerous castles
to occupy the land.
b) 13. The Tajo and Ebro’s frontier: The break-up of the Caliphate of Córdoba in 1031 was followed by rapid
Christian advances because the taifas could not offer united resistance. The Muslim rulers gave parias to avoid
attacks. However, the kings of Castile and Aragon used that gold to build stronger armies and during the 11th c.
and continuing the advance into the Tajo river valley (conquest of the Taifa de Toledo) and into the Ebro river
valley (conquest of the Taifa of Zaragoza)
c) 14. The Guadiana’s frontier: The 12th century saw the Almoravid and Almohad invasions that turned the areas
of Extremadura and Castile-La Mancha into areas in a perpetual state of alert. For this reason, the Castilian-
Leonese kings occupied these lands with crusaders (Military Orders of Santiago, Calatrava, Alcántara...),
reserving some villages to which they gave the surname of Real: Ciudad Real, Villa Real...
d) 15. The Guadalquivir and Levante’s frontier: After the battle of Navas de Tolosa (1212), the King of Castile-
León quickly occupied the Guadalquivir valley, giving latifundios (very large territories) to the nobles who had
helped him in his conquest. For his part, the king of the Crown of Aragon conquered the Levant (Valencia),
turning it into his own kingdom, which angered his nobles. As a result, he would have to allow many Muslims
to remain in his lands. These Muslims in Christian lands were called 'Mudejars'.
2. The settlements
1) 16. Fueros o Cartas de Poblamiento: from the 9-10th c. and to attract settlers to the new conquered lands, the
kings built new villages and granted privileges to newcomers (free lands and houses, freedom from servitude,
excemption from taxes…). Each new town or village had its privileges written in a document called ‘Carta de
Poblamiento’
2) 17. Mudejars: In some regions, the Muslims were allowed to keep their land in return for the payment of special
taxes. This was common in the Ebro valley and the kingdom of Valencia.
3) 18. Military Orders: In the dangerous frontier areas of Extremadrua, Castilla-La Mancha and Teruel, the kings
gave the military orders of warrior-monks the responsibility for conquering and defending territories. The
Military Orders in charge were Alcantara, Calatrava, Santiago and Montesa. They were not interested in
attracting settlers and dedicated this land to sheep farming.
4) 17. Large estates (latifundios): In Andalusia, Valencia, Murcia and the Balearic Islands, Muslim land was mainly
given to nobles or to the Church in return for their role in the Reconquest. They created large estates
(latifundios), which sometimes stayed in their families for several generations.
 4. THE ORGANISATION OF THE CROWN OF CASTILLE
4.1. Government of the Crown of Castile
19. The kingdoms that formed the Crown of Castile were Castile and Leon. They were governed by the same
institutions, and laws.
The monarch was very powerful in this territories. He could
- Declare war
- Make laws
- Act as a judge.
- Was assisted by a group of advisors (the Royal Council)
20. The main institutions that participated in Castilian government were:
 PARLIAMENT (Cortes): made up of the 3 estates: noblemen, clergy and representatives from cities. It could
not make laws or pass taxes, only discuss the ones proposed by the king.
 THE ROYAL COUNCIL (Consejo Real), which advised the king.
 THE HIGH COURT (Audiencia), which held judicial authority.
21. The municipal government (government o the cities) was controlled by lesser noblemen and wealthy merchants
that could be chosen by the citizens or by the king. The building to celebrate the meetings was called the city council.
The highest positions were hold by the mayor and the councillors (regidores). In the late 14th century, the king
imposed the figure of a corregidor, with military and judicial functions, to oversee (spy) city council functions and
stop urban rebellions
4.2. The economy
22. As it was difficult to develop agriculture in frontier regions, kings decided to develop sheep farming. Sheep grazing
did not require a large work force and the sheep could be moved rapidly in case of raids (razias). It was also possible
to graze sheep on fairly poor soil. After Castile conquered Extremadura and Andalusia, transhumance (the seasonal
movement of sheep) developed on a very large scale. Sheep grazed in northern Castile in the summer, and were then
taken south in the winter. The special routes where they made these trips were called: cañadas
23. In the 13th century the merino sheep was introduced. The merino sheep gave high quality wool, which were sold
in Flanders (the Netherlands). In order to do so, they had to design new boats which were able to navigate the Atlantic
Ocean: the caravel. This produced huge profits for the Castilian aristocracy and the wool business expanded. In 1273,
the main sheep owners united in an association called the Mesta, which was granted many privileges by the monarch.
The sale of wool and cloth stimulated artisanal activity and trade. There was a boom in trade fairs, like the fair in
Medina del Campo, Valladolid.
 5. THE ORGANISATION OF THE CROWN OF ARAGON
1. Government of the Crown of Aragon
24. The kingdoms that formed the Crown of Aragon were Catalonia, Aragón, Valencia and Mallorca. Later on, they
were added to the kingdoms of Naples (Nápoles) and Sicily, the island of Sardinia (Cerdeña) and the duchies of Athens
and Neopatria.
The king was at the head of all institutions, but he had less power than in Castile. Indeed, it was a pact-based,
monarchy subjected to the law, which mean that any decision had to be agreed in the Parliament, and respecting
medieval laws called ‘fueros’
25. The main institutions were two:
- THE PAIRLAMENT: Each territory had its own parliament. In Aragón it was called ‘Cortes’ and in Catalonia
and Valencia, ‘Generalitat’. The king needed its approval to raise taxes or pass laws. In Catalonia and
Valencia, it had an administrative role too.
- EL JUSTICIA: In Aragon, there was an additional figure; an official called the Justicia de Aragón, who
defended people's rights and privileges when the king had broken the law
26. The municipal government (government o the cities) was made up of councillors from the three estates (nobility,
clergy and bourgeoisie). The highest positions were hold by the mayor and the councillors (regidores). the figure of
the corregidor did not exist here and so city councils developed considerable autonomy
. The most important city council was the one of Barcelona, which was called the ‘Consejo del Ciento'.
2. Expansion across the Mediterranean
In the expansion of the Crown of Aragon, it can be distinguished 3 important moments:
1. FIRST CONQUESTS (12th c.) : Alfonso I ‘El Batallador’ and his brothers (12th c.) conquered Huesca and the
Ebro valley (Zaragoza). Aragon and Catalonia were united just after them.
2. CREATION OF THE 4 KINGDOMS (13th c.) : Jaime I ‘el Conquistador’ conquered the kingdoms of Valencia
and Mallorca.
3. THE MEDITERRANEAN EXPANSIÓN (14th c.): Pedro III ‘el Grande’ and his successors conquered Sicily,
Sardinia and Naples. The Crown of Aragón became a major Mediterranean power
3. The economy
27. There were important differences between the economies of the kingdoms:
a) ARAGÓN was essentially rural. The economy mainly consisted of agriculture and livestock farming.
b) CATALONIA developed a manufacturing industry that specialised in textiles, ironwork and naval construction.
Barcelona became a great trading centre.
c) VALENCIA emerged as new important trading centre following an economic crisis in Barcelona in the 14th
and 15th centuries.
28. The Crown of Aragón maintained international trade links. Merchants from Catalonia, Valencia and Mallorca set
up ‘Consulados del Mar’ in other countries. These were offices that settled disputes between merchants. Their rules
were set out in the ‘Libro del Consulado del Mar’, which influenced international maritime law. Thanks to commercial
growth, there was a much more important bourgeoisie in the Crown of Aragón than in Castile.
 6. THE LATE MIDDLE AGES IN SPAIN
1. Introduction
The late Middle Ages on the peninsula were marked by several major events:
a) [Link] TRATADOS DE REPARTO: The reconquest was almost over. Portugal, Castile and Aragon divided up the
areas of influence so as not to enter into conflict. Portugal would advance through the South Atlantic (except
for the Canary Islands); Castile through the North Atlantic; and Aragón, through the Mediterranean Sea.
b) THE URBAN RENAISSANCE: with the support of the kings, the cities attracted the population driven out of the
countryside and became centres of wealth. There flourished a new social class: the bourgeoisie. They were a
series of families that made wealthy through craftsmanship, trade or finance, who did not belong to the
nobility.
c) 30. CRISIS OF FEUDALISM: during the late 14th c. began a small ice age that caused crop failure and famine.
Shortly after, the Black Death arrived, which killed 30% of the inhabitants of the peninsula. All this created a
climate of terror that led to numerous peasant and urban rebellions, and civil wars; as well as massacres of
Jews (who were blamed for the Wrath/Irritation of God). Those massacres received the name of pogroms.
2. History of the Crown of Castile
31. There are two main times during the Late Middle Ages in Castile
a) THE TIME OF THE AUTHORITARIAN KINGS (14th c.): After the conquest of Andalusia, Alfonso X ‘el Sabio’
established the legal foundations of the Crown of Castile (Las 7 Partidas), in which the king had immense
power. The next kings will continue to accumulate power.
b) THE TIME OF THE PUPPET KINGS (15th c.): Pedro I, called ‘the cruel’ for his immense power as a king, will
take part in the European ‘100 Years' War’, a moment that the Castilian nobility will take advantage of to
revolt and place the Trastamara family in power, whose kings were characterised by their weakness.
Despite it, during this time, the Canary Islands were conquered.
32. The most important Castilian conflicts of this period are two:
1. THE CASTILIAN CIVIL WAR (1359-1369): Pedro I 'the Cruel' came to the throne in the middle of the Black
Death epidemic. He took advantage of it to strengthen the king’s power even more. At the same time, he
launched a war against Aragon, in which England supported Castile and France supported Aragon (that is
why it is said that Castile got involved in the 100 Years' War). A majority of the Castilian nobility abandoned
the king and offered the throne to his half-brother: Enrique de Trastamara. Enrique was crown and he
rewarded the revolted nobles with a lot of privileges (Mercedes enriqueñas).
2. THE REVUELTA DE LOS IRMANDIÑOS (1467-1469): the climate change, bad harvest, famines and the Black
Plague cause many deaths. As a consequence, the nobles received less taxes, so they raised them. In
Galicia, peasants, city residents, members of the Church and lesser nobles formed Brotherhoods
(Irmandades = Hermandades) to oppose the abuses of the feudal nobility. The rebellion became a kind of
civil war. However, they were finally defeated
4. History of the Crown of Aragon
33. As in Castile, there are two main times during the Late Middle Ages in Aragon:
a) THE TIME OF THE AUTHORITARIAN KINGS (14th c.): in which Sardinia, Corsica, Athens and Neopatria were
conquered.
b) THE TIME OF THE WEAK KINGS (15th c.): After Martin ‘el Humano’, the Aragonese kings dynasty died out.
The nobility met in a General Cortes (all kingdoms of the crown of Aragon) and chose another member of
the Castilian Trastamara family as a new king (This event is called the Compromise of Caspe). During this
period, Naples is conquered, but France invade part of the Catalan Pyrenees (Rosellón and Cerdaña).
34. There were many conflicts in the Crown of Aragón. In 1348, the Black Death caused an extremely high number
of deaths in Catalonia, and it was followed by other epidemics. As in Castile, the nobility imposed extra taxes and
obligations on the remaining peasants, and wanted to control the cities. These caused:
1. The revolt of the Payeses de Remensa (1462-1486): The nobility imposed to the serfs of the Catalan fiefs
the 'right of maltreatment' (ius maletractandi) and a big payment (called ‘remensa’) if they wanted to
leave their lands. The peasants rebelled with the help of the monarchy.
2. The urban revolt of the Busca y Biga (1450-1461): In Barcelona, the nobles expelled the bourgeoisie from
the municipal government. The bourgeoisie sought the help of the king and revolted against the nobility.
3. The Catalonian Civil War (1462-1472): The peasant and urban revolts ended up generating a huge conflict
between the nobility and the king that led to an enormous civil war that weakened the Catalan economy.
Valencia benefited greatly, as all the crown's business moved to the kingdom.