European Kingdoms

Castile

Castile started as a march county of Leon, with local castellans as governors. Fernan Gonzalez was a Count of Castile who gained autonomy. After being part of Sancho the Great's Navarre, Castile was detached by him and then willed to his son Ferdinand I as a separate kingdom. Castile later absorbed Leon, Aragón, and then, briefly, Portugal. The kingdom comprised most of the central Spanish plateau. Reignal numbering was continued from Leon.

712 - 755

The region falls under the authority of the Islamic empire.

755 - c.800

The Umayyad caliphate in Spain controls the area around Cordoba.

c.850 - 910

The county is ruled by Asturias.

910 - 1029

The county is ruled by Leon. It is administered by local counts at Burgos from at least 930.

County of Castile
AD 930 - 1029

930 - 970

Fernan Gonzalez

944 - 947

Assur

970 - 995

Garcia I of the White Hands

995 - 1017

Sancho I of the Good Laws

1017 - 1029

Garcia II Sanchez

1029 - 1035

The country is annexed and ruled by Navarre.

Kingdom of Castile
AD 1035 - 1516

Ferdinand's accession also brought him overlordship of the county of Portugal from Navarre.

1035 - 1065

Ferdinand I the Great

Also king of Leon & Galicia.

1065

Ferdinand's kingdom is divided between his three sons: Sancho II receives Castile, Alfonso VI, Leon, and Galicia is once again sub-divided from Leon for Garcia. Sancho attacks Alfonso as he attempts to capture Leon, and Garcia takes the opportunity to proclaim the independence of Galicia and Portugal.

1065 - 1072

Sancho II the Strong

Forcibly gained Galicia.

1070 - 1157

Sancho defeats Alfonso in 1070 and drives him into exile, reassembling the whole of Ferdinand's kingdom, although Galicia and Portugal are still autonomous. In 1071 Garcia is able to defeat Count Nuno II Menendez of Portugal, claiming the title king of Galicia and Portugal. His victory is short-lived, as Sancho and Alfonso attack him and partition the kingdom, In 1072, Sancho dies, and the kingdom of Castile, Leon and Galicia immediately falls to Alfonso.

1157 - 1158

Sancho III the Desired

1158 - 1214

Alfonso VIII the Noble

1214 - 1217

Henry I

1217 - 1252

St Ferdinand III

San Fernando Rey de Espana. Joined Leon to Castile.

1235 - 1248

Castile captures Cordova in 1235. Seville is taken from the Omayyad caliphs in 1248.

1252

The kingdom of Leon becomes a permanent part of Castile, with Castile's rulers usually carrying the title, 'king of Castile and Leon'.

1252 - 1284

Alfonso X the Emperor

Elected HRE (1257) but never acceded the throne.

1262

The ancient city of Cadiz (formerly Gadir) is conquered from the Nasrid kings of Granada by Alfonso X.

1284 - 1295

Sancho IV the Brave

1295 - 1312

Ferdinand IV the Summoned

1312 - 1350

Alfonso XI the Just

1350 - 1366

Pedro the Cruel / Peter

1366 - 1367

Henry II the Bastard

Usurper.

1367 - 1369

Pedro the Cruel / Peter

Restored by Prince Edward of England. Later murdered.

1369

The death of Pedro triggers a fight for the throne. Ferdinand I of Portugal is among the competitors, as are the kings of Aragon and Navarre, and John of Gaunt, English duke of Lancaster. In the end it is Pedro's illegitimate brother who gains the throne, and all parties seek peace talks from Pope Gregory XI.

1369 - 1379

Henry II the Bastard

Restored.

1373

An unsuccessful war is fought by Portugal, thanks to the intrigues of the English John of Gaunt.

1379 - 1390

Juan / John I

1379 - 1385

Upon the death of Henry II, the English duke of Lancaster (now Richard II's regent), and Ferdinand of Portugal take to the field, but Ferdinand reaches a separate agreement by which his daughter will marry John I and unify the two crowns. Unfortunately, despite the marriage going ahead in 1383, Ferdinand's daughter is pushed aside by her uncle, John of Aviz. War follows in which Castile is heavily defeated (Beatrice dies in 1408).

1390 - 1406

Henry III the Infirm

1399

Benefiting from the anarchy within the Merinid kingdom, Henry III invades Morocco, seizes Tetouan, massacres half of the population and reduces it to slavery.

1406 - 1454

Juan / John II

1418 - 1419

Spanish sailors discover the island of Madeira (known to the Romans as the Purple Islands). A fort is soon built to protect the entrance to the main harbour which becomes an important stopping-off point for long-distance voyages, including those to the Americas within the century.

1454 - 1474

Henry IV the Impotent

Son.

1462

Henry takes Gibraltar from the Moroccan Merinids, making the most of the increasingly chaotic situation in the North African sultanate.

1474 - 1504

Isabella I / Isabel / Ysabel

Dau of John II.

1469

The marriage of Isabella, soon-to-be queen of Castile and Leon, to Ferdinand II, heir to the throne of Aragon, Navarre, and Sicily, on 19 October lays the foundation for the political unification of all of Spain under their grandson, Charles. However, Isabella makes it clear she is the senior partner in the marriage, and while honouring her duties as a wife to Ferdinand, she defines him as her consort. In 1474 she even goes ahead with her coronation without him, although she is careful to maintain the illusion of shared power.

1492 - 1494

The Islamic Nasrids of Granada are finally defeated in 1492, marking the end of the Reconquista. In the same year, on behalf of the Castillian court, Christopher Columbus discovers the Bahamas, Hispaniola, and Cuba. The first Spanish colony is founded on Hispaniola a year later. The Treaty of Tordesillas of 7 June 1494 divides the New World between Spain and Portugal, giving the latter the opportunity to exploit Brazil.

1501 - 1509

The daughter of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand, Catherine, marries Arthur Tudor, elder son of Henry VII of England. Arthur dies in 1502, and in 1509 Catherine marries his brother, the soon-to-be-crowned Henry VIII.

1503 - 1509

The small territory on the island of Hispaniola is increased when the rest of the island is secured. Spanish attempts to control the Americas now has a firm foothold and a base from which to expand further. Puerto Rico is captured in 1508 and Cuba is conquered in 1510. Also in 1509, the League of Cambrai is formed with France, Castile, Hungary, the Papal States, the Holy Roman Empire, and Ferrara against Venice. Venice is defeated at Agnadello.

1504 - 1516

Juana / Joanna the Mad

Second dau of Isabella & Ferdinand. Died 1555.

1504 - 1506

Philip I of Habsburg

Son of HRE Maximilian & Mary of Burgundy. Count of Holland.

1504 - 1507

Joanna rules as queen regnant of Castile and Aragon along with her husband, Philip I. When Philip dies in 1506, the couple's six year-old son Charles takes his place. Rumours of Joanna's mental stability are eventually used against her while her father, Ferdinand II of Aragon, waits patiently for matters to reach a head. In 1507, with the regency council clearly unable to solve the kingdom's problems, he returns to take control as Ferdinand V of Castille, ruling as regent in his grandson's name. Joanna remains queen in name but with no real power.

1507 - 1516

Ferdinand V

King of Aragon, Navarre & Sicily. Regent of Castile.

1506 - 1517

Charles I of Habsburg / Carlos

Son of Joanna and Philip I.

1516 - 1517

Alonso de Aragon

Son of Ferdinand V. Interim regent.

1516 - 1517

Upon Ferdinand's death, his bastard son, Alonso de Aragon, governed the country until Chares arrives. With his accession the kingdoms of Castile, Navarre & Aragon are merged, and Spain is united.