Restoration of Royal Authority (+ Government)

Question 1

What were the different chambers of government?

Answer 1

• foreign policy
• justice
• hermandades (until 1498)
• finance
• letrados
• nobles

Question 2

When was the Supreme Inquisition added?

Answer 2

1483

Question 3

When was the Council of Orders integrated?

Answer 3

1489

Question 4

What did all members of the Royal Council have to be by 1493?

Answer 4

Letrados

Question 5

When was the Council of Aragon established?

Answer 5

1494

Question 6

How many times did the Castilian cortes meet under Isabella?

Answer 6

16

Question 7

Cortes in Aragon vs Castile?

Answer 7

Aragon had 3 cortes and they were more powerful than the one in Castile as castilian monarchs could ignore the cortes however Aragonese kings could not act without the consent of the cortes.

Question 8

How many laws had Ferdinand ratified in Castile?

Answer 8

83 by 1503

Question 9

Personal Presence

Answer 9

Instead of having a fixed court, F&I moved around and visited each town in Castile at least once. Although this increased relations with their people, it would have had an adverse impact on communication.

Question 10

When was an audiencia set up in Valladollid?

Answer 10

1489

Question 11

When and where was the Santa Hermandad established?

Answer 11

1476 - in every town or village with more than 50 inhabitants

Question 12

How many towns had corregidores by 1494? What about 1515?

Answer 12

54 by 1494 and then a further 32 were added by 1515 (86 in total).

Question 13

What power was Ferdinand granted in 1475?

Answer 13

He was now allowed to appoint royal officials and him and Isabella appointed secretaries such as Zafra and Santangel.

Question 14

What improvements were made to military organisation?

Answer 14

• Granada war provided both the monarchs and soldiers with invaluable experience particularly with regards to ensuring the men remained fed, armed and paid
• crown income was used to pay them meaning they could directly control the forces rather than relying on investments from nobles
• private armies ceased to be of importance after the Granada war
• those in the forces understood the need to be present at inspections and to keep equipment in good order

Question 15

Improvements to weaponry?

Answer 15

• increased quality of weapons
• Ferdinand was responsible for employing specialists from France and Germany with state of the art knowledge at newly established armament works
• traditional arms such as trebuchets continued to be used
• guns became more efficient
• infantry formations using pikes and missile weapons replaced heavy cavalry

Question 16

The use of ambassadors?

Answer 16

• Ferdinand was the first European monarch (outside of the Italian states) to use resident ambassadors regularly
• ambassadors could discover any relevant information about the country in which they were stationed and present the spanish position to the ruler

Question 17

What nations had Spanish ambassadors residing in them by the 1490s?

Answer 17

England, the Papal States, Burgundy, Venice, and Germany.

Question 18

Act of Resumption

Answer 18

Passed i 1480 at the Cortes of Toledo, allowed Ferdinand and Isabella to directly appoint bureaucrats, rather than letting the independent and erratic nobles rule.