GEOGRAPHY & HIISTORY 2

Contents:

1. Introduction: seven centuries of coexistence

2. The first Christian Kingdoms (8th-10th centuries)

3. The territorial expansion between 11th -12th centuries

4. The great Christian conquests in the 13th century

5. The repopulations

6. The Christian Kingdoms during the crisis of the late Middle Ages (14th – 15th cent.)

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 Introductory video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VudPny1Tkgg

Main idea of the topic:

Muslim control did not extend to the entire Iberian Peninsula. The lands north of the Duero
and the Ebro were not occupied by Muslim troops. A number of small Christian states were
formed in this horizontal strip. Slowly they moved southwards and repopulated the
conquered territories at the same time. These struggles and conflicts, which filled our
entire Middle Ages, are known as “the Reconquest”. After the Reconquest, practically in the
middle of the 13th century, the interests of the nobility were affected by the fact that they
were habituated to being enriched by the war against the Muslims. Thus, while the Crown
of Castile and the Crown of Aragon decided to open outwards-the first to the Atlantic and
the second to the Mediterranean-there was a parallel process of confrontations between
the nobility and the monarchy that the Catholic Monarchs would end it.

1. INTRODUCTION: SEVEN CENTURIES OF COEXISTENCE

For more than seven centuries

Christians and Muslims lived together
in Spain, but without the fusion of the
both, as happened with the Visigoths
in Hispano-Roman society.

There were moments of peaceful

coexistence, but there were also
moments of confrontation. Seen as a
whole, the beginnings were of a clear
Muslim predominance, followed a
period of balance to conclude with
another of Christian predominance, which ended in 1492 with the conquest of Granada.

The Christians moved slowly towards the south, through an armed struggle called Reconquest,
accompanied by the repopulation of the conquered territories. The military confrontation was

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followed by human settlement, although sometimes it was the opposite: new lands were being
colonized and the inhabitants had to defend themselves against possible Muslim attacks.

The Reconquest helped to make our history unique in the European context. The very
resistance to letting themselves to be dominated by the Muslims led to the formation of
different kingdoms, which, in the beginning, the most they could aspire to was resisting
Muslim attacks. Later on, after the fall of the Caliphate, the resistance to the Reconquest
moved on, with spectacular advances for the Christians.

2. THE FIRST CHRISTIAN KINGDOMS (8th - 10TH CENTURIES)

After the Muslim invasion of the Peninsula, various mountainous areas in the north were
unoccupied. Protected by the Cantabrian mountain range, Asturians, Cantabrians and
Basques had already demonstrated an attitude against being subjected to any invader. It is
here, in the 8th century, that the first nucleus of resistance, the kingdom of Asturias, was
constituted. Later, in the 9th century, in the eastern part, in the Pyrenees area, other Christian
centres appeared (Pamplona, Aragon and Catalan counties). In this part, however, the anti-
Muslim impulse that led them to become centres of resistance came from outside due to the
interest of Charlemagne, king of the Franks, interested in establishing a mark or fortified
border with the Muslims between the Pyrenees and the Ebro valley (Hispanic March)

2.1. THE ASTURLEONES KINGDOM OF AND THE BIRTH OF CASTILE

The kingdom of Asturias is the first to be formed. , noble Visigoths who fled from the Muslims
take refuge in the mountainous area of the Cantabrian mountain range. One of them, D.
Pelagius, the founder of the kingdom of Asturias, with the support of Asturian mountaineers,
organized the resistance and won the first victory over the Muslims (Battle of Covadonga,
722).

Pelagius´ successors, specifically the monarchs Alfonso I and Alfonso II (in the beginning of the
9th century) extended the kingdom to the west (Galicia) and east (Alava and north of Burgos).
With Alfonso II the capital was established in Oviedo. During his reign the supposed tomb of
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 Santiago was discovered and the city of Compostela was
founded. This event was the origin of the Way of Santiago.

With Alfonso III (2nd half of 9th century) the frontier

reached the Duero River; his successor García I (1st half
10th century) moved the capital to León, giving rise to the
kingdom of León. In the 10th century the Caliphate was
proclaimed and the Muslim power returned. In the
kingdom of León, on the other hand, there was a period of
social and political crisis, with clashes between the nobles
and the kings. In this context, the independence of the
County of Castile triumphed. It occupied the eastern part
of the kingdom, a border area in the face of Muslim
attacks by the Ebro valley; as a border area it had castles,
from which its name comes. In front of them were military chiefs who received the title of
counts and depended on the king of León.

In the middle of the 10th century, Count Fernán González managed to unite several Castilian
counties and obtain the independence of Castile (960). Fernán González thus managed to
make the county of Castile hereditary in his family, without the appointment depending on the
king of León.

2.2. The Christian centres of the Pyrenees: Pamplona, Aragon and

Catalan counties.
In the Pyrenees, the action of the Frankish Emperor Charlemagne contributed to the birth of
the Christian nuclei that appeared in this area. He wanted, in fact, to take the border of his
empire to Zaragoza but in his retreat his army was defeated by Basques in Roncesvalles (778).

 The kingdom of Pamplona and the County of Aragon.

In the western Pyrenees , the kingdom

of Pamplona (later called Navarre),
inhabited by Basque settlers, fought to
be no occupied by Muslims or the
Franks.

Different families took control of the

territory until, at the beginning of the
10th century, the Jimena family
managed to take over the kingdom
with Sancho Garcés I His successor succeeded in uniting Aragon with Navarre when he
married the Countess of Aragon, a town that had emerged in the central Pyrenees.

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  The Catalan counties.

The northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, that is, the territory of the future Catalonia, was
conquered by the Muslims. But the Franks, through Charlemagne, after the defeat in
Roncesvalles, returned to the Peninsula and conquered the north of Catalonia, until Barcelona
(at the beginning of the 9th century), being added to the Carolingian Empire as a protective
strip against the Muslims, which was called Hispanic March. The Catalan territory was divided
into counties (Roussillon, Cerdanya, Ampurias, Barcelona...)

When the Carolingian Empire broke down and went into crisis, the Catalan counts took
advantage and acted on the margin of the then French kings. This is how Count Wilfred the
Hairy (late 9th century), Count of Barcelona, began to do it and decided to pass on the counties
he owned to his sons. In the 10th century, his successors became de facto independent of the
French. Catalonia thus gained its political independence.

3. THE TERRITORIAL EXPANSION BETWEEN 11th – 12th

CENTURIES.

3.1. The advances of the 11th century.

The century began with the reign of Sancho III the Great of Navarre (1000-1035), which
coincided with the crisis of the Caliphate of Cordoba. Under his rule, the kingdom of Navarre
reached its peak and became the most influential state in Christian Spain. Sancho III
incorporated the counties of Castile, Sobrarbe and Ribagorza into Navarre. On his death, he
divided the kingdom among his sons: Navarra (to García, the first-born son), Castilla (to
Fernando, who will take the title of king), Aragón (to Ramiro, who will also be king) and
Sobrarbe and Ribagorza (to Gonzalo).

Therefore, two new kingdoms were created, Castile and Aragon, which extended
southwards, drowning Navarre in the Pyrenean area without any possibility of expansion.

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 The western kingdoms: Castile and Leon.
In the western part the characteristic is the magnification of Castile, converted into a kingdom
with Ferdinand I (1035-1065). Confronted with the king of León Bermudo III, he managed to
defeat him, also becoming king of León, uniting both crowns. Taking advantage of the
weakness of al-Andalus, turned into kingdoms of taifas, it took parias from them and began
the Reconquest of Portuguese lands (conquest of Coimbra).

His son Alfonso VI (1072-1109) made the great step took The Taifa of Toledo (1085) . The
Muslim kings, alarmed, asked for the help of the Almoravids of North Africa, who managed to
defeat Alfonso VI and stop the Christian Reconquest. In this context of defeat, the Castilian
knight Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, the Cid Campeador, exiled from Castile by King Alfonso VI, who
managed to conquer Valencia and govern it until his death (1099) to end up passing to the
Almoravids.

The Eastern Kingdoms: the progress of Aragon.

In this area, the characteristic is the crisis of Navarre that was divided between Castile and
Aragon, and the slow territorial expansion of Aragon, converted into a kingdom with Ramiro I
(1035-1063). He joined the counties of Sobrarbe and Ribagorza, and his grandson Pedro I
conquered Huesca (1096) and Barbastro (1100).

3.2. The 12th century: the separation of Castile and Leon and the
foundation of the Crown of Aragon.

The first half of the 12th century.

 At the head of the kingdom of Castile and Leon was Alfonso VII (1126-
1157), grandson of Alfonso VI, who decided at his death to divide the kingdom among
his sons: Castile, for Sancho III (1157-1158), and Leon, for Fernando II (1157-1188).

 In the eastern part of the Peninsula, the most important fact is the
Kingdom of Aragon with Alfonso I the Battler (1104-1134), Pedro I's brother, who
conquered Zaragoza (1118) and the middle valley of the Ebro. When he died, having
no descendants, he was succeeded by his brother Ramiro II the Monk (1134-1137),
who had a daughter, Petronila, who was married to the Count of Barcelona Ramón
Berenguer IV (1135). Thus the Crown of Aragon was formed, constituted by the
dynastic union of Aragon and Catalonia.

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 The second half of the 12th century.
During this period, the first Hispanic military orders appeared to fight the Muslims and to
participate in the repopulation of the lands of the Southern Plateau.

The most remarkable is the victory of the Almohads over the Castilian king Alfonso VIII in the
battle of Alarcos (1195).

But later, the Muslims suffered the great defeat in the battle of Navas de Tolosa (1212), where
it was the first time that all the Christian kings were united.

La gran expansión de los reinos cristianos en el siglo XIII.

4. THE GREAT CHRISTIAN CONQUESTS OF THE 13TH

CENTURY.
In the 13th century, as a result of the Battle of Navas de Tolosa, the Christians began to quickly
reconquer what remained of the peninsular territory:

 The kingdom of Portugal occupied the Algarve (1249).

 In Castile Ferdinand III (1217-1252) who reunited Castile and Leon definitively and
he could reconquered the Guadalquivir valley: conquest of Cordoba (1236), Jaen
(1246) and Seville (1248). While his son, the King Alfonso X the Wise, occupied the
kingdom of Murcia (1243), Cadiz and Huelva.

 Before that, James I the Conqueror (1213-1276), king of the Crown of Aragon,
conquered the Balearic Islands and the kingdom of Valencia (1238).

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  The Muslims had been reduced to the kingdom of Granada ruled by the Nasrid
dynasty.

5. THE REPOPULATIONS
As the lands of Al-Andalus were reconquered,
they were repopulated, in other words, re-
inhabited with Christians.

The repopulation is the occupation of

uninhabited lands or lands recovered by the
Christian kings that were given to nobles,
monks or free peasants.

The Christian kings led the Reconquest and

organized the repopulation through three
models or systems:

1. Presura. This method consisted in the fact that the first one to arrive at a land kept it under
the condition of working it, cultivating it and protecting it. This system was mainly used in the
Duero valley and the south of the Pyrenees in the 9th-11th centuries. The advantage was that
the repopulators were free, but the disadvantage was that they had to protect themselves,
and this was the hardest time of the Reconquest. Many free peasants became the servants of
a feudal lord.

2. Councillor repopulation (repartición concejil). This was applied by the councils between the
Duero, Tajo and Ebro valleys in the 11th and 12th centuries. As this area was very populated,
large groups of settlers had to come, the councils, which formed towns and small cities and the
kings granted them privileges like fueros or cartas puebla to encourage more settlers.

3. Repartimientos. This form of repopulation was applied in Extremadura, La Mancha,

Andalusia, the Balearic Islands and the Levante in the 13th and 14th centuries. It consisted of
the kings rewarded the nobles and military orders that took part in the Reconquest by dividing
large estates (large extensions of land with their servants, usually Mudéjar or Muslims who
lived in Christian territory).

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6. THE CHRISTIAN KINGDOMS DURING THE CRISIS OF THE LATE
MIDDLE AGES (14TH AND 15TH CENTURIES).
6.1. THE BEGINNING OF EXTERNAL COMPANIES. ARAGONESE EXPANSION IN THE
MEDITERRANEAN. CASTILE AND THE BEGINNING OF THE CONQUEST OF THE CANARY
ISLANDS.

After the Reconquest for Aragon and Portugal, both kingdoms were oriented towards foreign
companies, beginning their maritime expansion. Portugal looking for the African Atlantic
coasts, and Aragon for the Mediterranean.

In the 13th century, the Crown of Aragon conquered Sicily; in the 14th century it
conquered Sardinia and the duchies of Athens and Neopatria. Finally, in the 15th
century, Alfonso V the Magnanimous invaded Naples.

Castile, competing with Portugal, began to demonstrate its interest in controlling the
neighbouring African coast and the Atlantic routes. At the beginning of the 15th
century, during the reign of Henry III (1390-1406), the conquest of the Canary Islands
(Lanzarote and Fuerteventura) began, and this caused relations with Portugal to
deteriorate as it was also very interested in these islands.

6.2. DEMOGRAPHIC AND ECONOMIC CRISIS. SOCIAL DISCONTENT

 The 14th century saw a serious economic and social crisis, which affected the whole of
Europe and also the Hispanic kingdoms. At the beginning of the century, agricultural
production began to decline, due to poor harvests that made more expensive
agricultural products and caused famine among the population. Under these
conditions, epidemics increased, especially the Black Plague, which spread throughout
the Peninsula from 1348 onwards.

 As the population declined, many farms were uncultivated due to the lack of peasants
and this caused the feudal lords to harden the conditions even more for the peasants,
who responded with revolts such as that of the "remensas" in Catalonia.

 Finally, there were also conflicts between the nobles themselves and against the
Crown, taking an active part in the civil war that, in Castile, allowed the change of
dynasty with the accession to the throne by the Trastámara family.

 Another of the effects of the crisis was the rupture of the already deteriorating
coexistence of Christians with the Jewish community. As the crisis spread among the
lower classes, the Jews were accused of being the cause of the misery, and very cruel
persecutions of the Jewish communities developed, ending in massacres and
destruction known as "pogroms" (pogromos). Many Jews, in order to survive,
converted to Christianity and were known as "converts” (conversos) who later became
victims of the Inquisition.

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6.3. THE NOBLE CONFRONTATIONS IN CASTILE: THE TRASTÁMARA DINASTY

The high Castilian nobility, owner of the lands, from the end of the 13th century, began to
confront the authority of the monarch.. In the 14th century Pedro I (1350-1369), known as “the
Cruel" faced the nobility. They opposed the monarch and supported his stepbrother, Enrique
de Trastámara, as king. This led to a Civil War (1366-1369), which ended with the killing of
Peter I by his stepbrother, who was crowned Enrique II (1369-1379). With this monarch the
Trastámara dynasty began in Castile,

During the 15th century, Castile experienced a strong demographic and economic recovery,
but with weak monarchs, Juan II and his son Enrique IV, dominated by the power and ambition
of the nobility.

Enrique IV "The Impotent" considered his

daughter Juana la Beltraneja to be illegitimate
and accepted, in the Pact of the Toros of
Guisando (1468), that she should be
succeeded by her stepsister Isabel. But when
Isabel got married with Ferdinand, heir to the
Crown of Aragon, the following year, Enrique
IV disowned his sister and proclaimed his
daughter Juana as his successor. After the
king's death, Isabel's supporters and Juana's
supporters began a Civil War (War of Castilian
Succession 1475 -1479) in which Isabel was managed to win. It is the beginning of the reign of
the Catholic Monarchs.

6.3. THE SOCIAL CONFLICTS IN THE CROWN OF ARAGON. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE
TRASTÁMARA DINASTY.

At the beginning of the 15th century King Martin I the Human died without descendants. To
resolve the crisis of succession, Fernando de Antequera was chosen as the new king of
Aragon. He was the brother of Enrique III de Castilla, a member of the Trastámara dynasty.
Ferdinand I (1412-1416) was succeeded by his son Alfonso V the Magnanimous (1416-1458),
who conquered Naples, and his brother Juan II (1458-1479), who had to face a hard civil war
and rebellions of the peasants ("payeses de remensa") against the nobles who hardened the
conditions of servitude.

The last monarchs, Henry IV of Castile and John II of Aragon, put an end to the Middle Ages.
Castile and Aragon were united by the marriage of Isabel and Fernando and this was a step
towards the formation of the Spanish State, but the union brought together two crowns with a
very unequal situation: Castile was growing and was experiencing a strong recovery, but the
Crown of Aragon, on the other hand, was still undergoing an economic crisis.

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