521 years ago today, November 26, 1504 (October 20, 1504, the 1504 lunar calendar), Queen Isabel I of Spain passed away. Isabel I (April 22, 1451-November 26, 1504), Queen Custer (1474-1504), the Queen of Spain (1479-1504), for certain reasons and purposes, we sent the noble Cristobal Columbus to lead three well-equipped sailboats and carry some gifts across the ocean to India--Pass issued by Isabel I and his wife to Columbus In 1492 AD, Spain suddenly seemed to have become the center of the world. This year, one miracle after another has befallen this country on the Iberian Peninsula. All this is obviously due to the efforts of Queen Isabel I and her husband Ferdinand II. During the Middle Ages, there were many small Islamic and Catholic countries on the Iberian Peninsula. After hundreds of years of annexation, by the mid-15th century, there were mainly three kingdoms of Portugal in the west, Caster in the center and Aragon in the east, plus the small Muslim country of Grenada at the southernmost tip of the peninsula, the most powerful of which was the Kingdom of Caster. Isabel is the daughter of King Juan II of Castel and the Princess of Portugal. In 1454, Juan II died and Isabel's half-brother Enrique IV (nicknamed the "Incapable") succeeded him. Isabel's teenage years were not going well. After Enrique ascended the throne, she moved to a claustrophobic castle in Arevalo with her mother and brother Alfonso. His mother (named after her daughter, also named Isabel) suffers from mental illness and sometimes suffers from episodes. But this did not affect Isabel's good education from teachers from the University of Salamanca. In 1468, aristocrats dissatisfied with Enrique IV supported Alfonso as king, and a civil war between brothers began. Soon after Alfonso died suddenly, and the aristocrats opposed to Enrique IV raised Princess Isabel to continue to fight her. In the end, the two sides finally reached a peace agreement and stopped the civil war. All aristocrats had to swear allegiance to Enrique IV, and Princess Isabel became heir to the throne, but stipulated that her marriage must be approved by her brother. The very scheming Princess Isabel sent her trusted servants to various countries to visit the young prince privately. The feedback came back and the conclusion was that Prince Ferdinand of Aragon was outstanding in appearance and was brave and good at fighting. Isabel corresponded with Ferdinand and finally settled for life privately. But Enrique IV wanted to marry her to Afonso V, the widowed king of Portugal, in an attempt to arrest Isabel. So, in 1469, Isabel quickly became engaged to Prince Ferdinand, and then relied on Aragon's army to resist her brother's interference. This seemingly dramatic affair ultimately completed the unity of Spain as a country. Enrique IV stripped Isabel of her inheritance rights on the grounds that she did not abide by the agreement and replaced his own daughter Juana. However, due to Enrique's reputation for sexual incompetence, most aristocrats believed that Juana's blood was in doubt. In 1474, when Enrique died, Isabel and Juana both announced their successors. They relied on the power of their husbands, Aragon and Portugal respectively, and received the support of some aristocrats in the country. After four years of war, the Portugal army was defeated and Isabel finally secured the throne. In 1479, Ferdinand also inherited the throne of Aragon, and the two countries merged to become the Kingdom of Spain (although the two countries still maintained their own independent parliaments, laws, and tax systems). Isabel was born to a mentally ill queen, and among her daughters was Juana, a "crazy girl", but she herself had quick thinking and strong will. She and Ferdinand are both kings, a typical example of a strong alliance. Most of the opposition aristocrats in the country had been eliminated during the civil war, allowing Isabel to successfully strengthen centralization. She returned the power of mayor appointment to the king, established the Holy Brotherhood to arm control municipal life, made parliament act in vain, destroyed aristocratic castles, confiscated the royal lands acquired by the nobles in the era of Enrique IV, etc., and maintained a strong standing army on the grounds of using military forces in Grenada. Spain's kingship reached an unprecedented level. The history of Spain since the 11th century has been the history of Christian princes constantly seizing territory from small Islamic kingdoms. It is known as the "Re-Conquest Movement." By Isabel's time, Muslims had only the southernmost stronghold in Spain-the Kingdom of Grenada. History handed this honor to Isabel and his wife. In 1490, the two kings personally led an army to the border. Ferdinand II fought on the front line, while Isabel was in the middle, responsible for logistics supplies, and established a field hospital. In 1492, after eight months of siege, Grenada ran out of ammunition and food. The last King Baladur surrendered, and the peninsula was finally unified under the protection of Christ. On this day, the bells ring in all Catholic churches in Europe. But as a devout Catholic couple king, they persecuted infidels in their country, including Jews and Muslims, and established the Inquisition. In 1492, 200,000 Jews with wealth and technology were deported, and the Moors suffered the same fate 10 years later. This was perhaps a shortcoming common to all pious kings of the Middle Ages, who were widely respected in the Catholic world, but were content to commit crimes against infidels. Their religious policies were continued by their successors, reaching their peak during the times of Carlos I and Philip II. Under the Inquisition system, Spain lost its aura and gradually became a dead corner (while the dazzling Renaissance movement was spreading in other European countries). But Isabel's greatest influence on history was not in these things, but in her funding of Columbus's feat. After 10 years of stumbling blocks, this down-and-out prodigal son finally gained an ideal rebirth in Isabel's court. Columbus's great ideas were appreciated by the Queen and generously funded. It is said that Isabel even took out her own secret money. Columbus was made commander of the Ocean Fleet and governor who would discover land. In 1492, the greatest year in Spanish history, Columbus's expedition finally reached the Bahamas Islands in North America after a 70-day voyage. The discovery of the New World has brought Spain broad future space. In the following century, Spain established world hegemony relying on its vast overseas territory and continuous imports of gold. Isabel's own marriage influenced history, and the marriages she arranged for her children were also based on political considerations. Her daughter,"Crazy Girl" Juana, was married to Philip, the king of the Netherlands, son of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian. Their son Carlos I (also known as the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V) inherited a huge empire including Spain, Netherlands, and Austria. Isabel worked hard all her life, and all five of her children were born during the journey. She may have a cleanliness freak and always wears white clothes. She is famous as the "Queen in White". For every couple of kings in history, it has been difficult to strictly delineate their respective roles. She and Ferdinand II were a "strong combination", but traditionally her role was believed to be more prominent. In the meantime, many of Ferdinand II's efforts may have also been attributed to Isabel. In terms of sponsoring Columbus 'voyages alone, she was ranked among the most influential emperors in the world. At present, there are several hypotheses that people from the Old World arrived in America before Columbus, but in any case, only Columbus's feat opened up new routes and connected the old and new continents. On the other hand, it was Spain, not other countries, who took the lead in occupying the Americas, which branded the culture of most parts of the Americas with the brand of Spain and continues to this day. In addition, Isabel laid the foundation for political unity for Spain and strived to unify Spain ideologically. Since Spain established hegemony over the next 100 years, her influence also went beyond the Iberian Peninsula, reaching as far as Latin America, the Netherlands and other places. Isabel ranks the highest among the female emperors in this book. Comments: The fanaticism for Catholicism and the strong desire for Catholicism to dominate the world were the main guiding ideology and spiritual motivation for Isabel I's rule. This irrational governing idea became the driving force for unifying Spain, strengthening national cohesion, and establishing overseas undertakings in the Isabel era. However, a century later, this ruling idea clearly showed a negative side and became the root cause of Spain's decline. This shows that even if any wrong ruling idea can bring temporary results, it is not a long-term strategy after all.