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The most important taifas to emerge in 1031 were those of Sevilla, Toledo, Badajoz and Zaragoza. -
For the feudal kings, the kingdom was part of their personal estate. They therefore divided their lands as an inheritance or granted part of them as a dowry
. This influenced the development of Hispanic kingdoms, as shown in the division of the lands of Sancho III el Mayor after his death -
This was inherited as a kingdom by Ramiro I, a son of Sancho III el Mayor. This monarch added the counties of Sobrarbe and Ribagorza to the Kingdom of Aragón. -
Although this was the heart of Sancho’s power, it was difficult to expand towards the south. It was ruled by the kings of Aragón between 1076 and 1134. -
After the Christian conquest of the Kingdom of Toledo (1085), the taifa kings were forced to seek help from the Almoravids, Muslims that had established an empire in North Africa. Their arrival stopped the Christian advance and achieved the reunification of the Andalusian territory until the early 12th century. -
The Kingdom of Castile was formed when Sancho III bequeathed this county to one of his sons, Fernando I. During his reign, being married to a Princess of León, the Kingdom of Castile was linked to the Kingdom of León.
However, both kingdoms maintained links after the death of Ferdinand I and suffered periods of unity and separation throughout the 12th century.
This city had a high symbolic value, since it was the center of a powerful Taifa and had been the capital of the Visigoth Kingdom. -
In 1118, Alfonso I of Aragon and Navarre conquered Zaragoza, occupied part of the Ebro valley and reached the Iberian System. In 1137, the marriage of Ramón Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona, and Petronila, the young queen of Aragon, brought about the union between the Catalan and Aragon counties. He and his son Alfonso II continue with the expansion of the Crown of Aragon to the south.
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This was a county belonging to the Kingdom of León that was given as a dowry to Henry of Burgundy when he married Alfonso VI’s daughter. Their son declared it independent in 1128 and it was established as a kingdom in 1143.
The borders of the Kingdom of Portugal extended to the banks of the Tajo after the conquest of the city of Lisbon in 1147. -
The kingdoms of León and Castile, united by the monarch Alfonso VI, had been strengthened by the conquest of Toledo. This expansion took place during the reign of Alfonso VII, although these kingdoms separated after his death in 1157.
The Almohads, who took advantage of the territorial fragmentation of al-Andalus, managed to unify the Andalusian territory in 1172 and established their capital in Seville. . -
In Castilla y León, the large migratory herds of Merino sheep were the center of intense economic activity. These herds were managed through a guild called the Mesta, which controlled a wide network of cañadas, or traditional routes for cattle. The wool from these sheep was sold at fairs, such as those in Medina del Campo and Burgos.
The Mesta organized the seasonal transhumance of large herds of Merino sheep. -
Maritime trade was promoted in the Crown of Aragon. They were essential ports for Mediterranean trade and were used to export products from the Iberian Peninsula and import others from the East, such as spices and silk, which were then resold to the rest of Europe.
The prosperity of trade in Aragon favored the appearance of courts that regulated maritime trade. -
The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212) was a major victory for the Christian kingdoms and made the occupation of the Guadalaquivir valley possible. In this battle, the kings of Castilla (Alfonso VIII), Navarra (Sancho el Fuerte) and Aragón (Pedro II) fought together -
Aragon lost almost all of its territory in the Midi after the defeat of the French at the Battle of Muret, in which Pedro II died. His successor, Jaime I of Aragon, conquered the Balearic Islands(1235) and Valencia(1245), which were added to the Crown of Aragon as kingdoms.
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The definitive union of Castilla and León came with Fernando III in 1230. This king conquered the two great Islamic capitals, Córdoba (1236) and Sevilla (1248). In addition, he took Murcia in 1243.
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The 14th and 15th centuries were marked by conflicts between Christian kingdoms and civil wars caused by rivalry between the nobility and the monarchy. On one hand, nobles sought to protect and increase their privileges. On the other hand, kings, usually with the support of the towns, wanted to restrict the power of the nobility, although they still needed their military support. In the end, kings reinforced their authority, but in exchange had to grant financial concessions to the nobility.
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Therefore, in 1412, representatives of institutions from every state in the Crown were convened to choose a new king. The resolution reached at this meeting, the Compromise of Caspe, meant that the House of Trastámara was put in place to rule Aragón. Its power was more limited by the institutions of the kingdoms that made up the Crown.
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One of the bloodiest civil wars was the one between King Pedro I of Castile and his half-brother Enrique de Trastámara, who aspired to the throne.
Enrique II was victorious and acceded to the throne of the Trastámara dynasty. -
The Courts of the states of the Crown of Aragon had special relevance since the king could not enact laws without their consent. In the Crown of Aragon, General Councils or Generalities were also established.
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Began the exploration of the Canary Islands and incorporated territories in the area of the Gibraltar Strait.
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Launched an expansion campaign in the Mediterranean to defend its commercial interests. To do this, it used fearsome warriors called Almogavars, and numerous trade consulates were established in North Africa.
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In the fourteenth century, the Spanish kingdoms suffered a serious demographic crisis caused by famine, wars and the Black Death. This demographic crisis had an economic impact.
Social conflicts were added to demographic and economic problems. The clashes between different groups brought to light the crisis of the feudal system, which tried to adapt its structure to the economic transformations that were taking place. -
Clashes between different factions of nobles were typical during this era. This created a situation of insecurity which adversely affected peasant and bourgeois economies alike.
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To reinforce their privileges, the nobles strengthened manorial rights over their serfs. This made the situation more difficult for peasants. For this reason, there were frequent uprisings against the lords, such as the Irmandiño revolts in Galicia and that of the Rebellion of the Remences in Cataluña.
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Power struggles between the urban oligarchy and craftsmen were at their height in Barcelona. Therefore, the textile artisans formed the Busca political block and the major merchants and bankers formed the Biga
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The most significant religious clashes were the assault on Jewish quarters and massacres of Jews in 1391. This happened in cities of the Crown of Castilla, such as Sevilla, Córdoba and Toledo, and the Crown of Aragón, such as Valencia, Mallorca and Barcelona.
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Lasted until 1492. It had a good economic situation, although it lost some territories close to the Strait of Gibraltar, such as Algeciras.
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Social organization in the Christian kingdoms was conditioned by their frontier nature.Everyone who dared to live in such conditions was granted advantages that they would not have been granted in other circumstances, in order to compensate them for the danger of war and incursions.It was a town with a large number of free men.
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That farmers were less powerful than livestock farmers. Herds and flocks of animals, in particular sheep, were easier to defend and protect against attacks, as they could be hidden behind the walls of castles and cities. Crops, however, were usually set alight during incursions.
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The people’s need for defence led to the establishment of military orders, with notable examples being those of Alcántara and Santiago. These were a combination of religious orders and chivalric institutions that existed to defend and repopulate the Submeseta Sur, the southeast of Aragón and the south of Cataluña.
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Repopulation consisted of the occupation by the Christian population of the lands that had been taken from the Muslims;
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Pressure
It meant that if someone could take a piece of land and cultivate it, they would be granted ownership. -
Concejos
The concejos were settlements concentrated in a certain area to which the king granted a fuero. They led to cities with a large dependent territory, known as an alfoz, such as Salamanca, Soria, Segovia and Ávila in Castilla and in León; or Calatayud, Daroca, Albarracín and Teruel in Aragón. -
Repartimiento
This involved the division, or repartimiento, of land, and each settler was granted a plot
In the Guadalquivir valley, this included cereal and olive fields. The dangers in this border area caused many beneficiaries to pass on their plots to the nobility and the clergy, who had more chances of defending them. -
Capitulaciones
This was a treaty which allowed the Muslim population, known as the Mudéjar, to remain, respecting their property and religion. These capitulaciones were granted due to the lack of Christian settlers and were practised in the Ebro valley and in Valencia.