At the same time, the restlessness of his 20 years drove him into other women's arms, by whom he sired at least two female children, whose birth dates are not recorded.īetween the ages of 20 and 30, Ferdinand performed a series of heroic deeds. Ferdinand, often away in the Castilian towns or on journeys to Aragon, reproached his wife for the comfort of her life. The marriage began, however, with almost continual separation. She quickly bore him children: the infanta Isabella was born in 1470 the heir apparent, John, in 1478 and the infantas Juana (called Juana la Loca-Joan the Mad), Catalina (later called-as the first wife of Henry VIII of England-Catherine of Aragon), and María followed. Despite the political nature of the union, he loved Isabella sincerely. The marriage initiated a dark and troubled life, in which Ferdinand fought on the Castilian and Aragonese fronts in order to impose his authority over the noble oligarchies, shifting his basis of support from one kingdom to the other according to the intensity of the danger. The court of Aragon dreamed of a return to Castile, and Isabella needed help to gain succession to the throne. This was a marriage of political opportunism, not romance. He married the princess Isabella of Castile in Valladolid in October 1469. Under the responsibility of kingship he had to conceal his stronger passions and adopt a cold, impenetrable mask. From his father he acquired sagacity, integrity, courage, and a calculated reserve from his mother, an impulsive emotionality, which he generally repressed. Ferdinand had no apparent bent for formal studies, but he was a patron of the arts and a devotee of vocal and instrumental music.įerdinand had an imposing personality but was never very genial. He also provided him with teachers who taught him humanistic attitudes and wrote him treatises on the art of government. John II was careful about Ferdinand's education and took personal charge of it, making sure that Ferdinand learned as much as possible from experience. In the summer of 1468, beginning to sow his wild oats, he went courting the first fruits of these adventures were Alfonso of Aragon, future archbishop of Zaragoza and his father's favourite, and Juana of Aragon. In addition to participating in court life, the young prince saw battle during the Catalonian wars. Ferdinand's future was assured when he came of age, in 1466, and when he was named king of Sicily, in 1468, in order to impress the court of Castile, where his father ultimately wished to place him. In 1461, in the midst of a bitterly contested succession, John II named him heir apparent and governor of all his kingdoms and lands. (As Spanish ruler of southern Italy, he was also known as Ferdinand III of Naples and Ferdinand II of Sicily.) He united the Spanish kingdoms into the nation of Spain and began Spain's entry into the modern period of imperial expansion.įerdinand was the son of John II of Aragon and Juana Enríquez, both of Castilian origin. 1516, Madrigalejo, Spain), king of Aragon and king of Castile (as Ferdinand V) from 1479, joint sovereign with Queen Isabella I. Ferdinand II (Ferdinand the Catholic) (b.
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