By: Katy Hearne-Church
Unless you’re brand new to Queens Podcast, you’re likely familiar with Ferdinand II of Aragon. He’s been a player in three of our most popular podcast series: Isabella of Castile, Catherine of Aragon and Juana of Castile. Each and every one of them he screwed over in a particularly douchebaggery way.
Ferdinand was a jealous and cheating husband, a super shitty dad, and in a time of extreme antisemitism, he was like… particularly antisemitism. So, join us as we explore This Fucking Guy.
This Fucking Husband
Ferdinand was one part of a power couple. The problem, for him at least, is he was the lesser powerful person in this couple. When they married, Isabella was the heir apparent of the country of Castile- which was richer and more vast than his lands in Aragon. And since this was the 1400’s and he had a penis, he assumed that eventually, he’d be the most powerful man in all of Spain. All on his own. Just him. As king.
But, Ferdinand ain’t married to no average bitch, boy!
A few years into their marriage, in 1474 Ferdinand was away on business and Isabella’s brother died, leaving her as the next monarch. But 15th century Spain was basically Game of Thrones. There was so much drama that if she didn’t swoop in and claim her crown pronto, she could be usurped or even assassinated. So, Isabella did what a boss has to do and was crowned and anointed as quickly as possible.
But, when Ferdinand found out that she was crowned without him present, he threw the biggest temper tantrum. A coronation is a big deal, and this had signified to the people that Isabella was ruling solo. Isabella cooled his fiery outburst by allowing his name to be first on all documents. Honestly, all in all, Isabella was the more effective leader. She was calculated, stubborn and convicted. Her family, however, was her soft spot. She was fiercely loyal to her pack (typical Taurus) and made sure that all of her children were raised together by their parents. Also, she was madly in love with her husband.
That’s why it was so heartbreaking to Isabella when she would discover any of Ferdinand’s many infidelities. And honestly, in a time when poisoning was done on the reg and your wife is actually more powerful and popular than you… like maybe… don’t do that? Ferdinand had several illegitimate children while married to Isabella which mortified her. At the time, it was common for noble men to have affairs. That didn’t matter to Isabella. She was crushed and lashed out each time she learned of one.
Oh, and Ferdinand may have had a love child with a Muslim princess named Aixa, which would have been this huge taboo because they had just made this big show of running the Muslims out of Granada in the name of God, so….
Then, on Isabella’s deathbed, she had one request of Ferdinand. She begged her lover, her partner, the father of her children to please never remarry. If he were to remarry, any children he had with that woman would put their own children’s inheritance into jeopardy. “You got it babe,” he said.
He married a French teenager less than 2 years later.
This Fucking Inquisition
If you’re not familiar with this blemish on European history, I will attempt to sum it up. Spain had one of the largest Jewish populations in Europe in the 15th century. The Jewish people had not had an easy time of it living in Spain and most had been forced to convert or leave. Since there were no U-Haul trucks in the 1400s, most converted and everything was fine for a few decades.
Then, in 1478 Isabella and Ferdinand decided that actually, they didn’t think the jews had converted hard enough and needed to be questioned. With the blessing of the pope the poor Jewish people of Spain were mercilessly harassed and eventually expelled from Spain in 1492.
Look. No one looks good in this story. Both Isabella, Ferdinand and the pope were on the wrong side of history here. And before you come at me, I know this was by no means the first inquisition in Spanish history, but it’s arguably the most famous. And Ferdinand was definitely the ring leader here. By all contemporary accounts, Isabella and Pope Sixtus IV had been hesitant about all the torturing and harsh measures to force people to convert harder, but Ferdinand was like a dog with a bone.
Why though?
For fame? Ridding Spain of the Jews and the Muslims would certainly put him at an exalted spot in the realm of Christian rulers. For money? The crown would seize so much property that these people could not take with them when they left. Oh, and he had ussary declared a crime meaning that many of his friends in high places wouldn’t have to pay their debts. For power? Being famous for being the most strict enforcer of their religion would have the Pope eating out of the palm of his hands.
Short answer is: All of the above.
Eventually, Pope Sextus actually implored Ferdinand to maybe ease the fuck up a little there, buddy. Ferdinand responded by threatening to pull back the Sicilian army’s support (oh, he was also king of Sicily) of Rome- which the Pope desperately needed. In Machiavelli The Prince, Ferdinand is referred to as “always using religion as a plea, so as to undertake greater schemes” which has had a number of interpretations, but I’m tempted to believe it refers to Ferdinand’s lack of actual piety and concern for the souls of Castile and Aragon and speaks more of his schemes for power and money.
“Always using religion as a plea, so as to undertake greater schemes”
Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
Oh, and have I mentioned that Ferdinand may have been part Jewish himself? Ugh. This fucking guy.
This Fucking Father
Ferdinand did a lot of messed up things in his life, but it may be something that we can give him a pass on due to him being a product of his time. Noblemen were expected to have affairs and as a European king of the time, conquering lands and garnishing favor from the Pope was par for the course. His treatment of at least two of his daughters, however… Well, that was exceptionally horrible.
Catherine of Aragon
If you’re a fan of Queens Podcast, chances are this is a name you’re incredibly familiar with. Catherine of Aragon was Ferdinand’s daughter who had been betrothed to the heir of the English throne from the time she could walk. However, things didn’t go as planned and Ferdinand’s complete abandonment of his daughter is deplorable.
When Catherine’s newlywed husband died in 1502, Catherine was incredibly vulnerable. She was in England, a place she’d only called home for a few months, and did not know what the future held for her. I can tell you what it held for her: two men that did not view her as anything but debt, fighting over whose debt she was. Her quality of life suffered tremendously. Sadly, one of those men was her own father.
Here’s the gist of the situation: Catherine came with a big ol’ dowry. Half of it was paid upon her arrival and the other half would be paid eventually. Well, Arthur died before the agreed-upon terms of “eventually” came to fruition. Her mother passed away a couple of years later and with her, she took Catherine’s protection as being viewed as a person. Now, she was just a burden and a bargaining chip. Over the next four years Catherine wrote to her father begging for assistance as she fell deeper and deeper into poverty (granted, not what you and I would consider poverty, but she lived a pretty shitty existence nonetheless).
Ferdinand, turning a totally cold heart to his youngest child, not only neglected to pay any of her remaining dowry, but also tip-toed around her requests for funds. In fact, at one point he even tried to dump Catherine’s dowry responsibilities onto his son-in-law, Philip, since he was the new monarch in Castile. Philip was just as much as a dick as Ferdinand, if not more so, meaning Ferdinand never actually expected the new Castilian rulers to help.
So, here’s Catherine in a land where she has no security net, no manner of income, but is still expected to pay for her herself, to pay her staff, and to fund her own appearance as a royal princess (which ain’t cheap). Luckily (debatable), Catherine was saved by her new handsome husband-to-be, Henry VIII upon the death of Henry VII. She finally became queen of England, no thanks to her father.
Juana of Castile
Of all the women in this tale that Ferdinand did wrong, the saddest story is that of his daughter, Juana. In fact, all the men in Juana’s life pretty heartily fucked her over. Her father, her husband and her son all used her as a pawn to their own gains. Those other relationships may not have gone that way if Ferdinand hadn’t set the precedent that Juana was disposable.
Ferdinand’s daughter was prone to bouts of depression and extreme temper tantrums. For years there had been whispers at court that she perhaps was mad. She wasn’t. Recent historians believe she probably had depression, postpartum depression, bi-polar disorder or some combination of the above. All of which is nothing more than some kings have had who were allowed to keep their throne. But poor Juana had her birthright ripped from her by the men that should have had her best interest at heart. Most notably: Her dad.
“Those other relationships may not have gone that way if Ferdinand hadn’t set the precedent that Juana was disposable.”
After over thirty years of marriage to Isabella, you would think that he’d be comfortable with a woman leader. And I think he was. But while Isabella was alive he knew that his power laid in her admiration for him. Isabella died in 1504 leaving their daughter, with a less than stellar reputation for stability, as the new monarch. Ferdinand saw his opportunity to finally be the king of both Aragon and Castile. All on his own. Just him. As king. He took that opportunity.
When Juana’s’ super shitty husband died, Juana was grief-stricken. Ferdinand took this time to further the rumors that flew about her mental stability at court and beyond. That paired with forgery of documents and some convenient timing with the plague in Castile had Ferdinand on the up and up again. He had never been popular in Castile, but due to his shrewd manipulation of his daughter’s situation he was now seen as the savior of Castile. But what do you do with a daughter that you can’t outright depose (this would risk foreign powers coming in to rule as regents for Juana’s young son)?
Out of sight, out of mind was Ferdinand’s response. Juana was locked away in an old dusty castle where she would remain for the next four decades. Juana would write to Ferdinand pleading for her release. I honestly don’t even think she wanted to rule anymore. She just wanted to leave the grounds of her prison-castle and the hands of her guardians that Ferdinand had put in charge of her (OMG, that guy sucked, too). But the thing is… everyone that saw Juana commented on the fact that hey… she didn’t look or act insane at all. In fact, she seems perfectly pleasant and lucid. So, just like Catherine’s letters just a few years before, Juana’s went unanswered while her father served as her “co-ruler” for the rest of his life.
Ferdinand’s grandson, Charles, would follow in Ferdinand’s footsteps. After Ferdinand’s death, Charles visited his mother and (I’m sure to his disappointment) found her rather sane. But instead of allowing her to join court as his co-ruler (which remember…she is still queen), he continued her imprisonment in Tordesillas. For the rest of her life.
She spent 46 years a prisoner. These fucking guys.
Sources:
Sister Queens by Julia Fox
Drinks with Dead People
Wikipedia, obvi
Lit2Go
The Free Lance History Writer
La Córdoba que llevo dentro, where I went down the Aixa rabbit hole.
The Purification of Medieval Spain
The Tragic Daughters of Isabella