Giles Tremlett, Isabella of Castile ***

Isabella of Castile is a biography of "Europe's first great queen," the woman who seized the throne of Castile at age 23, merged the kingdoms of Spain through marriage and conquest, funded Columbus' voyages to the New World, kicked off the Inquisition, and expelled both Jews and Muslims from her dominion. She might more accurately be called "Europe's first ruthless queen" or "Europe's first consequential queen."

Isabella reigned for 35 years, providing a surfeit of momentous events and decisions to cover. As is typical for a general-audience royal biography, too much of the book is hastily sketched political intrigue.

The Grandees were self-interested and fickle, making them faster to jump ship and easier to manipulate than the cities. The Stunigas had been among the first of La Betraneja's supporters to swap sides. But her rival's two main backers were Lopez Pacheco and the archbishop of Toledo. ... Isabella decided to divide and rule, offering pardons to some in order to weaken Lopez Pacheco himself. The first to come over was his cousin Juan Tellez Giron, Count of Unreuna....   (zzzZZZ...)

As if Isabella's life isn't packed enough, Tremlett includes (admittedly entertaining) chapters on Columbus' disastrous follow-up voyages and the colorful debauchery of the Borgias in Italy. 

Tremlett does his best to insert tidbits that illuminate Isabella's personality and/or the significance of key decisions, but he doesn't have time to linger on anything in particular. The two subjects that I wanted more detail about were her relationship with Ferdinand and her gradual ratcheting up of pressure on religious minorities. A closer look at either of these would provide a clearer picture of Isabella as a person.

She chose Ferdinand over the objections of her advisors, demonstrating her strong will. Their innovative marriage contracts revealed her political acumen, and their lifelong collaboration showed unqualified trust. The most dramatic scenes in the first half of the book revolve around the couple. Ferdinand is off fighting in Aragon when Isabella first claims the crown, and everyone expects him to assert his masculine rights when he returns; instead they withdraw from the pressure of their advisors and jointly draw up a marriage contract. A few years later, Isabella publicly berates Ferdinand for retreating from a battle against Alfonso of Portugal, and he quietly but firmly explains how patience was the smarter course of action.

When Isabella came to power, Spain was known as a place where Christians, Jews, and Muslims lived in harmony. By the end of her reign, all Jews and Muslims had been expelled or forcibly converted, and Christians suffered under the Inquisition. To what extent were her various actions driven by sincere religious conviction versus political calculation? Why, for example, did she support forced conversions for Muslims in Granada but not for Muslims in Aragon where they were an integral part of the economy? Did she insist on the authority to reform the Spanish church because she was disgusted by its licentiousness or to increase her power?

By reforming in advance, Isabella can also be credited with helping prepare Spain to resist the impact of the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century. As a result, it remained an almost universally Roman Catholic country that would spread the faith through the Americas and to other Spanish lands like the Philippines.