. Six thousand years of history. n powergained much on the Mohammedan, and after the defeatof the Moors at Tolosa in 1212 there remained to theinfidels only the Kingdoms of Cordova and two Kingdoms of Aragon and Castile were now thechief Christian States of Spain; and in the end theyabsorbed all the others, Valencia being annexed byAragon in 1239. Aragon was the first Christian Statein which the people received due recognition in a repre-sentative assembly. The Cortes, made up of membersrepresenting the nobility, the clergy, and the towns,exercised for a time an effective control o
. Six thousand years of history. n powergained much on the Mohammedan, and after the defeatof the Moors at Tolosa in 1212 there remained to theinfidels only the Kingdoms of Cordova and two Kingdoms of Aragon and Castile were now thechief Christian States of Spain; and in the end theyabsorbed all the others, Valencia being annexed byAragon in 1239. Aragon was the first Christian Statein which the people received due recognition in a repre-sentative assembly. The Cortes, made up of membersrepresenting the nobility, the clergy, and the towns,exercised for a time an effective control over the sov-ereign. In 1412 a Castilian Prince was elected King ofAragon by the Cortes, and his descendants ruled therefor some time. Meanwhile, during the Eleventh,Twelfth, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth Centuries, Castilehad waged successful war with the Moors, aided in theEleventh Century by the bravery of the Cid. In Castilealso (in the Thirteenth Century) a free parliament orCortes, representing all classes, was established. At. coZ o co CO W COCO O PL|CO CO fa tf - ~ < D co co — |3 Z -W z ^< o z c tf fa wofego Hco > bo c fa DEVELOPMENT OF EUROPEAN NATIONS 393 last, in 1471, the marriage of Isabella, Queen of Castile,with Ferdinand, Infant (or heir to the crown) of Aragon,led to the formation of the one compact Spanish King-dom. The able minister, Cardinal Ximenes, workedzealously along with Ferdinand and Isabella in bringingall the States into a political and ecclesiastical unity,while they strengthened the royal authority at the ex-pense of the clergy, the feudal aristocracy, and thetowns. Order was established throughout the land bythe use of a severe police and a strict administration ofjustice, and the establishment of the Inquisition inSpain in 1481 greatly aided the extension of the powerof the crown. But the Mohammedans still had a foot-hold in the land in their sole remaining realm of Gra-nada, and the Catholic Kings, as Ferdinand and Isabellawere styled, c
Size: 1193px × 2093px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectworldhistory, bookyea
