TTC - Other 1492: Ferdinand, Isabella, and the Making of an Empire
by Teofilo F. Ruiz
12 lectures of 30 minutes - 80 mb - mp3
In 1492, there was no country called Spain and no language called Spanish.
The biggest event of the year, in the region that would become Spain, was the surrender of the last Muslim stronghold, Granada.
The Edict of Expulsion gave Jews three months to either convert to Christianity or leave the Kingdom of Castile and the Crown of Aragon.
In other words, there is a different 1492, than the one most of us know, one that is more complete and more complex.
This 12-lecture course uses 1492 as a focal point to follow events that enabled Spain to become a country and then an empire.
It examines centuries of developments that led up to that pivotal date in Spanish history, and analyzes the consequences of the events that took place in 1492 for both Spain and the New World.
A Year that Symbolizes Spanish History *
The rise of Castile as the strongest of the Spanish realms, and the reforms of Ferdinand and Isabella. Catholic monarchs built a popular and stable monarchy in Castile—through such measures as new taxes, control of the military, and reform of the church—that enabled Spain to emerge as the most powerful nation in Europe.
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The end of pluralism. For centuries, the Iberian Peninsula had been a multicultural mix of Christians, Muslims, and Jews. Beginning with the Christian victory over Muslim forces at Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212, and continuing with developments such as the conquest of Granada and the Edict of Expulsion, both in 1492, Muslims and Jews were either forced to convert to Christianity or sent into exile.
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The world of Columbus. Developments such as the recovery of classical knowledge of geography and astronomy, and new knowledge of maps and the use of the compass and astrolabe, enabled Columbus to set sail confidently across the Ocean Sea (Atlantic). Columbus's discoveries gave Spain a foothold in the Caribbean that it used to test colonial institutions, and to explore and conquer Mexico and Central America.
Course Lecture Titles 1.Europe and the New World in 1492
2.Reconquest, Pilgrimage, Crusade, Repopulation
3.The Transformation of Values
4.An Age of Crisis
5.Isabella and Ferdinand—An Age of Reform
6.Iberian Culture in the Fifteenth Century
7.The Conquest of Granada—Muslim Life in Iberia
8.The Edict of Expulsion—Jewish Life in Iberia
9.Jews, Conversos, and the Inquisition
10.The World of Christopher Columbus
11.The Shock of the New
12.Spain and Its Empire—The Aftermath of 1492
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