King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella
The Spanish Reconquest
Lesson 12-5
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• TN SPI
– 6.1.8 Recognize how migration and cultural
diffusion influenced the character of world
societies (i.e., spread of religions, empire building,
exploration, languages).
– 6.6.2 Recognize the impact of individuals on world
history – King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella
– 6.6.1 Identify examples of groups impacting world
history (i.e., Muslims, Christians)
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Christians Fight the Moors
• The Crusades in Jerusalem was not the only place
where Christians fought against Muslims.
• In Spain and Portugal, armed Christian warriors
fought to drive the Muslim Moors out of their
lands.
• The Moors population consisted of people from
North Africa and Arab descent who settled in the
lands of Spain for more than 800 years.
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Weakening of Muslim Control
• By 1002 the once powerful Muslim
government of Spain weakened due to battles
for power between political and religious
leaders.
• Caught up in fighting among themselves,
Muslim leaders were too busy to guard against
the Christian kingdoms of northern Spain.
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Reconquista
• The Spanish Reconquista
(reconquest) was an effort
to retake Spain from the
Muslim Moors.
• At the time, Spain was
divided into several small
kingdoms:
–
–
–
–
Castile
Aragon
Granada
Portugal
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The Reconquest of Spain
• Christian armies won victory after victory. By
the 1250s, the Moors were nearly pushed
completely out of Spain and Europe.
• In Spain the celebration of 1492 is not for
Columbus, but a celebration of the fall of
Granada – the last hold that Muslims had on
Spain.
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An End to the Reconquest
• In 1469 Ferdinand, the prince of Aragon,
married Isabella, a Castilian princess.
• Ten years later in 1479, they became the king
and queen of their countries.
• Together they ruled all of Spain as King
Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.
• They brought an end to the Reconquista when
the last of the Muslims were forced from
Granada.
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A Christian Kingdom
• Ferdinand and Isabella only wanted Catholic
Christians in their kingdom.
• To ensure that Christianity alone was
practiced, they created the Spanish
Inquisition – an organization of priests that
looked for and punished anyone in Spain
suspected of practicing non-Christian
religions.
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Spanish Inquisition
• The Spanish Inquisition was ruthless in seeking
Muslims and Jews.
• People found guilty of heresy (failure to follow
church beliefs) were sentenced in public, tortured,
and killed.
• Many were burned to death.
• In total the Spanish sentenced 2,000 people to die,
while the Portuguese put 1,400 to death.
• The number of people who died in the various
inquisitions across Europe are difficult to determine,
but the number of victims can be numbered in the
10
thousands.
Jews Face Discrimination
• European Christians wanted to punish Jews
because they believed the Jews were responsible
for the death of Jesus.
• Jews were also blamed with the arrival of the
Black Death in Europe.
• During the Inquisition, many Jews were killed and
forced to leaves their homes. They were not
wanted in Christian cities and towns.
• Later added to the list of those wanted in the
Inquisition were witches.
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Torture Devices Used in the
Inquisition
• During the Middle Ages (AD 500-1500),
torture was a very common way to punish
offenders.
• Many devices and methods were invented to
slowly punish those accused of crimes, and
those arrested during the Inquisition.
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Knee Splitter
• The knee splitter does what it
says: split victims' knees and
render them useless.
• Built from two spiked wood
blocks, the knee splitter is
placed on top of and behind
the knee of its victims.
• Two large screws connecting
the blocks are then turned,
causing the two blocks to
close towards each other and
effectively destroy a victim's
knee.
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Iron Gag
• The Iron Gag was used to stifle
the screams of a victim. A small
hole in the front allowed air to
pass in and out but muffled any
screams.
• A torturer could press a single
fingertip to the air-hole and
create an extremely distressing
situation for the accused.
• This was used often during the
Inquisition so the accused would
not interrupt the ceremony with
their irritating cries of distress.
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Foot Press
• The foot press was
designed to
uncomfortably fit a single
foot between a sharp,
ribbed iron plate and a
bar of metal attached to a
long screw.
• When the screw was
turned, the bar crushed
the foot into a mangled
pulp.
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Tongue Tearer
• First, the mouth is forced
open with the Mouth Opener.
• Next, the iron Tongue Tearer
was used to grab the tongue
within it's rough grippers.
• Once a firm hold was
maintained, the screw could
be firmly tightened and the
tongue was roughly torn from
the prisoner's head.
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Ear Chopper
• Used as an efficient way
to cut the ears from the
victim.
• The helmet was placed on
the head; the ears sticking
out just under the blades.
• All it took was a quick
chop and the ears would
be amputated.
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The Boots
• The boots was made up of
wedges that fitted the legs
from ankles to knees.
• Pure pain ensues when the
torturer violently pounds
the wedges with a large,
heavy hammer.
• A process that is done
repeatedly until flesh and
bone are completely
destroyed.
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Spanish Ladder
• The wrists were tied to
one of the rungs, the
feet tied to the bottom
cylinder.
• Each turn stretched the
victim further and
further until the
shoulders were
dislocated.
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Inquisitional Chair
• The chair was wooden
construction with up to 2,000
metal spikes.
• The victim was strapped within
the chair using tight leather
straps.
• The initial pain of hundreds of
sharp rusty spikes penetrating
the flesh could always be
increased by the torturer
pressing the prisoner down or
back against the spikes.
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Cat's Paw
• The Cat's Paw was used
by the Spanish.
• It was attached to a
handle and was an
extension of the
torturer's hand.
• It was used to rip and tear
flesh away from the bone,
from any part of the
body.
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Guillotine
• The blade would be
dropped separating the
head from the body.
• The head would neatly
drop into a waiting
basket, to be retrieved
by the executioner and
displayed to the crowd
gathered to watch.
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The Saw
• Victims of this brutal device
were made to hang upside
down.
• This position has a purpose:
to fill the victims' heads
with blood, and therefore
allow them to remain
conscious as the torturers
work the saw sometimes up
to their midsection before
they pass out or die.
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Of course……
• Most recall Ferdinand and Isabella as the
monarch to sponsor the Columbus expedition
in 1492.
– Columbus was to claim new lands for Spain
– Spread the Christian religion to those he came in
contact with
– Return with new wealth (gold and silver) from
newly discovered lands
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