Isabel the Queen

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Isabel of Castile was one of the most influential monarchs ever known, the central figure in some of the most potent and far reaching events in world history She supported the Spanish Inquisition which tortured and punished or had executed thousands of baptized Christians accused of practicing Judaism She waged a successful war against Muslim Granada And bent upon overseas expansion she was after all the grand niece of Prince Henry the Navigator , Isabel sponsored Christopher Columbus Yet questions remain as to her actual role in these and other events Why did she introduce the Inquisition Why did she expel the Jews from Spain and the Muslims from Castile Was it bigotry or piety or something else And how aware was she of the injustices committed against New World peoples For such a notable and controversial figure, much about Isabel has remained a mystery Now, in Isabel the Queen, Peggy K Liss proposes answers and provides both a sweeping biography of a Queen who had a profound impact on history, and a vivid portrait of a vanished, turbulent world We see young Isabel as a poor relation at the corrupt court of her half brother, Enrique IV known as The Impotent , where she became a pawn in a civil war between the king and the great nobles We learn how Isabel survived plots to disinherit her, how she won her way to succession, and why she secretly married Fernando, Prince of Aragon And we witness the unprecedented ceremony in which Isabel assumed the crown alone, without Fernando, thereby paving the way for her daughter and other women to rule in their own right Peggy Liss works through the fact and fiction, legend and opinion that have swirled around Isabel to reveal for the first time how her goals for Spain, her piety, and swelling power culminated in the remarkable year of 1492 A variety of sources documents, chronicles, literature, art, and architecture reveal Isabel s attitudes towards religion, politics, and royal policy And finally, she shows us the older Isabel, who, having won the respect of Europe, suffered a series of family tragedies ruining her plans and her health and bringing her unprecedented reign to an end in 1504 with her death at the age of fifty three Based on years of research, travel, and reflection, Isabel the Queen brings to life the people, places, and events that surrounded one of history s most dynamic monarchs In these pages we meet the mind of the ruler who left her country with an imperial legacy of power and glory, and a vision of conquest, that was to endure over the centuries. Free Read Isabel the Queen by Peggy K. Liss For Kindle ePUB or eBook – kino-fada.fr A few things to note before reading this review 1 I am a major history buff I read all sorts of history books, from non fiction to fiction, and first source documents I usually dislike heavily revisionist history, but I still read them all the same This isan academic book and extremely research heavy The writing can be dense at times, and simply unbearable for theaction driven readers If you re a fan of only fiction or streamline, popular non fiction, you may not enjoy this boo A few things to n...My knowledge of Isabel, Queen of Castile, has been limited to what you learn about her involvement in the discovery of the Americas and the Inquisition and the fictional interpretation of her life in The Queen s Vow by C.W Gortner I endeavored to read this book as an assignment from class and selected it from the class syllabus, but I was very pleased to find out that this book was referenced as one of Gortner s sources in his novel Isabel the Queen brings the reader into the world of Isabel My knowledge of Isabel, Queen of Castile, has been limited to what you learn about her involvement in the discovery of the Americas and the Inquisition and the fictional interpretation of her life in The Queen s Vow by C.W Gortner I endeavored to read this book as an assignment from class and selected it from the class syllabus, but I was very pleased to find out that this book was referenced as one of Gortner s sources in his novel Isabel the Queen brings the reader into the world of Isabel by introducing the rule and times of her father, Juan, and half brother, Enrique The author includes this information as a means of establishing what Isabel had as her professional examples and to show the differences when Isabel became the Queen I think that this worked well, but ...Mention Queen Isabel of Spain and where do people s minds jump Christopher Columbus, Inquisition, Reconquista.Where did this strong minded queen, who grew up in an extreme patriarchy, gain her determination to act as she did Events which took place during her early life may well have taught young Princess Isabel that a monarch must be strong When her father the king died, her half brother Enrique took the crown Princess Isabel lived with her mother also Isabel in a small, out of the way ca Mention Queen Isabel of Spain and where do people s minds jump Christopher Columbus, Inquisition,...An excellent biography of a pivotal Spanish queen The author explores Isabel s childhood, ascent to the throne of Castile, and the various policies she pursued as queen, such as the Reconquista, the Inquisition, and funding Columbus s explorations The personality of Isabel which emerges does not appear to have been pleasant, as Liss explains that Isabel viewed vengeance as justified and including Jewish expulsion from neighboring realms in the marriage negotiations of her children Leaving lit An excellent biography of a pivotal Spanish queen The author explores Isabel s childhood, ascent to the throne of Castile, and the various policies she pursued as queen, such as the Reconquista, the Inquisition, and funding Columbus s explorations The personality of Isabel which...A nice book, if a bit hagiographical The author spends a bit too much time on what I think are rather trivial concerns like the 4 pages of a speech given to Isabella by Talavera , but it s an excellent introduction to Isabella s personality.Thoroughly enjoyed, but, struggled rather a lot, although it did get better towards the end, with the way the book was written, because really, there were just so many commas.Easy to read and yet factually written, I learned fascinating stories about Isabel s world and life that I had never known before Very helpful in my report for Spanish classLink to my review of this bookWomen can rule as ruthlessly as men The writing is dense but the story of the conquest of Spain and the inquisition is amazing.

Isabel the Queen
  • English
  • 21 June 2017
  • Hardcover
  • 0195073568
  • Peggy K. Liss
  • Isabel the Queen