Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand of Aragon formed one of the most famous married couples in history. Isabelle was beautiful. “She had blue eyes and brown hair.” “She was just hitting” (Isaacs). At the age of 18, she wore beautiful dresses and jewelry. “She wore them all her life” (Isaac). Ferdinand and Isabella ruled Spain jointly, converted Muslims to Christianity, sponsored Christopher Columbus' voyage to the New World, started a family, and Isabella even had time to get an education. Isabella and Ferdinand were devout Catholics who pushed and fought for Christianity in Spain. Despite their extreme efforts to promote Christianity, their reign was Spain's golden age. To begin with, Isabella was the daughter of King John II of Castile. Isabella was born on April 22, 1451. Ferdinand was the son of King John I of Aragon. He was born in 1452. Isabella was three years old when her father died. Henri IV, his half-brother, becomes king. “He named Isabelle his successor.” Henry didn't like Ferdinand very much. When Isabella married Ferdinand in 1469, Henry IV withdrew his support. In 1474, Henry died; bringing his daughter Juana to the throne. After the War of Succession ended in 1479, Isabella became Queen of Castile ("Queen Isabella"). She was queen of Castile from 1474 to 1505. “Isabella had to wage a civil war to secure her throne. Their marriage marked the beginning of a 35-year joint reign over a unified Spain, by the Catholic kings” (Isaac). For example, in 1481 the "Catholic Kings" were what were known as Ferdinand and Isabella. The kingdoms of Castile and Aragon were ruled together, but not as a country. It was a union of crowns (Isaac). "The two kingdoms maintained their separate space...... middle of paper ......s during its golden age. Isabella and Ferdinand formed the kingdom of Spain. Spain was not completely unified at the time of their deaths, but it was well on its way to becoming Europe. Works Cited Bard, Mitchell G. “Ferdinand & Isabella”. Jewish Virtual Library.org. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, nd Web. May 1, 2014. Bard, Rachel. “Queen Isabella of Castile.” Medievalqueen.com. MedievalQueens.com, 2013. Web. May 4, 2014. “Ferdinand and Isabelle get married”. History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. May 2, 2014. Isaacs, Lynn. “Queen Isabella I of Spain. » Site on the history of women by Professor Pavlac. King's College, May 31, 2008. Web. May 1, 2014. “Queen Isabella”. Historynet.com. Weider History Group, 2013. Web. May 2, 2014. “When worlds collide, the untold story of the Americas after Christopher Columbus.” Red Hill Productions. PBS.org, 2010.Web. April 30 2014.