Isabel the Queen: Life and Times

From Publishers Weekly
Remembered chiefly for her patronage of Columbus's voyages, Isabel I (1451-1504), who was the Queen of Castile from 1474-1504, together with her husband, Fernando of Aragon, greatly increased the power of the monarchy and unified Spain by their conquests and cruelty to the conquered. In a densely written academic biography, Liss draws on primary sources to present Isabel as a religious woman of her time, who instigated the Inquisition, drove the Jews from Spain and slaughtered Granada's Muslims because she was convinced she was fulfilling a pious duty to rid her country of heresy. Her sponsorship of explorations eventually led to the enslavement and slaughter of the indigenous populations of the Caribbean, as well as to the Age of Exploration. Liss, a visiting fellow at Johns Hopkins University, provides a wealth of detail documenting Isabel's love for Fernando, her devotion to her children, her ruthless ambition and her canny statecraft. This work will be of primary interest to historians and other scholars. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
In this magnificently researched, chronologically arranged political and social history of the queen of Renaissance Spain, the author ventures to explain Isabel's actions in the religious and social contexts of the time and to show her as a product of her environment. Liss makes no excuses for the often brutal reign and gives readers vast amounts of information so they can arrive at their own conclusions. She examines the evolution of Isabel and her realm, showing how transitory politics are, how the queen herself changed, and how history has misleadingly reflected the woman and her place in her society. Extensive footnotes would have better served the reader, but because of the organization, this work will function as a valuable reference book for the period and region. Strongly recommended for all academic and larger public libraries, especially in light of the Columbus quincentenary. For other Columbus books, see "Rediscovering Columbus," LJ 8/91, p. 120-22.--Ed.- Clay Williams, Bluefield State Coll. Lib., W. Va.Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.


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"Queen Isabel of Castile is perhaps best known for her patronage of Christopher Columbus and for the religious zeal that led to the Spanish Inquisition, the waging of holy war, and the expulsion of Jews and Muslims across the Iberian peninsula. In this biography, newly revised and annotated to coincide with the five-hundredth anniversary of Isabel's death, Peggy K. Liss draws upon an array of sources to untangle the facts, legends, and fiercely held opinions about this influential queen and her decisive role in the tumultuous politics of early modern Spain." As Liss shows, Isabel's piety and political ambition motivated her throughout her life, from her earliest struggles to claim her crown to her secret marriage to King Fernando of Aragon, a union that brought success in civil war, consolidated Christian hegemony over the Iberian peninsula, and set the stage for Spain to become a world empire.


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