![]() Whether saintly or satanic, no female leader has done more to shape our modern world, where millions of people in two hemisphers speak Spanish and practice Catholicism. She also annihilated all who stood against her and against her faith by establishing a bloody religious Inquisition that would darken Spain's reputation for centuries. She sponsored the trips of Columbus and other explorers to the Americas and negotiated Spanish control over much of the New World with the help of Rodrigo Borgia, the infamous Pope Alexander VI. She laid the foundation for a unified Spain. She ended a 24-generation struggle between Muslims and Christians, forcing North African invaders back over the Mediterranean Sea. In 1474, when most women were almost powerless, 23-year-old Isabella defied a hostile brother and a mercurial husband to seize control of Castile. Born at a time when Christianity was dying out and the Ottoman Empire was aggressively expanding, Isabella was inspired in her youth by tales of Joan of Arc, a devout young woman who unified her people and led them to victory against foreign invaders. ![]() ![]() An engrossing and revolutionary biography of Queen Isabella of Castile, the controversial ruler of Spain who sponsored Christopher Columbus's journey to the New World, established the Spanish Inquisition, and became one of the most influential female rulers in history. ![]()
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