I’m a fan of badass women who are historical figures. And this monthly post that I have decided to write will focus upon just that.
The first woman I have chosen is Isabel, the Queen of Castile in the 15th century. She, along with her husband, Ferdinand of Aragon, are known as the Catholic King and Queen, or ‘los reyes católicos’ in Spanish.
Recently here in Spain there was a series made about her and not only her many years reigning as queen, but also detailing the years before she became queen.
Isabel is a big deal. For those of you who don’t know, here’s a brief history lesson: she became queen against the will of the majority, simply because she was a woman; she maintained her rule over Castile, declaring her husband as consort only should she die; she united Spain as a country for the first time, conquering Granada and the south from the Muslims and bringing the Inquisition against the Jews; she funded the voyages of Christopher Columbus to the New World and later punished him upon hearing of his horrid treatment of the indigenous…all while bearing five children, staying a pious Catholic, and demanding her husband’s fidelity to her, a virtual unknown in those times.
She was not a woman who seemed power for power itself, but rather to protect her land and her people. Isabel loved Castile and hated to be away from it. She loved the flowing yellow plains and every person who lived in them. She took pains to exact justice and protect her people not only from foreign enemies, but also from themselves.
The series Isabel, which has three seasons and continues now with her son Carlos in a new series, portrays her as such. Beautiful, bold, and fiercely protective, she is always the main story line, with Ferdinand coming in second. Every time. It can be hard to find TV series and movies that have a woman as the center story line–even when they are supposed to be about women–and Isabel is all about Isabel, all the time.
It is clear that the people of Spain still love their first queen to this day, and I share my love for her with them. Every time I look out at the plains of Castile, I think of her and how this is exactly what she saw, and I revel in her kindred spirit.
Oh yeah, and it’s on Netflix…so go watch it! With subtitles, of course. 😉
