Isabslla Of Castille
Isabslla Of Castille [1]
queen of Spain, one of the most celebrated characters of the 15th century, deserves our notice on account of the part she acted in the religious history of Spain, and those dominions subject to her rule. Isabella, born April 22, 1451, was the daughter of John II, king of Castile and Leon. In 1469 she married Ferdinand V, surnamed "the Catholic," king of Aragon. She was not the heir-apparent to the throne on the death of her father in 1481, am she had an elder sister. But, assisted by the powerful armies of her husband, a man of some sterling qualities, but of very little conscience, she succeeded in ascending the throne. Mr. Piescott and most modern historians seek to relieve her of the stigma that she was responsible for the cruelties that were inflicted on those of her subjects who chose to differ with the Church of Rome in their worship of their divine Maker. ‘ It seems certain that she was deceived by the Jesuits, and consented to these outrages only because, in her fervor for the Roman Catholic cause, she believed the very existence of the Church of Rome threatened; and, though we pity her weakness in the hour when resoluteness on her part was most needed to defend and protect her subjects, she saw that, Spain once reformed, Romanism would have passed from the world in the 16th century, instead of still lingering in our midst at this late hour. But if we excuse the conduct of queen Isabella of Castile on the ground of her piety and misled devotion to the Church of Rome, quite otherwise must we treat the conduct of her husband. He it is upon whom must fall the guilt of the outrages committed in the name of God in Spain and other lands under her dominion by the "Holy League." It was the desire of money, the longing for power, and extension of his government to the American shore that made him the docile follower of the Jesuits, and brought ruin upon Spain. But he was well rewarded for his low and parsimonious conduct by the disturbances which followed the death of Isabella (Nov. 26, 1504) in Castile, and his expulsion from that country, over which, by the will of his departed wife, he had been appointed regent. (See Spain). (J. H. W.)
