HISTORICAL DICTIONARY A–Z - Spain and Portugal: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present - page 185

King F ERDINAND VI to protect him specifi-
cally from interference by ecclesiastical
authorities. Feijoo was not, however, an
enemy of the church or a heretical thinker.
He was rather an advocate of progress who
derided the superstition, bigotry, and cen-
sorship that afflicted 18th-century Spain. In
this sense, he was not only a humanist with
a universal perspective but also a patriotic
Spaniard who shared with a small band of
his compatriots the mission of bringing the
Enlightenment across the Pyrenees. Among
the most important writings of Feijoo are
Teatro crítico universal (Critical universal the-
ater), a collective title for eight volumes of
essays written between 1726 and 1739, and
Cartas eruditas y curiosas (Letters on learned
and curious subjects), five volumes written
between 1742 and 1760.

suit of his father's plan to unite the kingdoms.
After marrying the infanta Isabel in 1469,
and more aggressively after she became
Queen I SABELLA I of Castile in 1474, he pur-
sued a policy of strengthening her power and
eliminating rivals for control of her realm.
When Ferdinand became king of Aragon in
1479 (under the designation Ferdinand II),
the project of unification began in earnest.
He was obliged to deal with recalcitrant
nobles, a decentralized government, lawless-
ness bred by years of civil strife, and the need
to create an effective military, civil, and fiscal
structure. Furthermore, as king consort of
Castile, he was limited by the need to work
in collaboration with his wife, who was
determined to preserve her own personal
sovereign status in Castile. Nevertheless, a
steady advance in strengthening the power
of government was pursued during the last
two decades of the 15th century.
The title “los Reyes Católicos” bestowed by
the pope in 1494 recognized not only Fer-
dinand and Isabella's commitment to the
faith but also their ability to work together
for common goals. Ferdinand was, how-
ever, not as interested in some of Isabella's
projects as in others. His use of the S PANISH
I NQUISITION (established as an instrument of
state power in 1483), for instance, was
more motivated by a desire for control of
dissidents than by his wife's zeal for reli-
gious purity. Although he joined with her
in waging war on G RANADA , the last Mus-
lim stronghold in Spain (which she annexed
in 1492), he was less preoccupied with the
expulsion of Jews and Muslims that began
soon after. Similarly the voyages of C HRIS -
TOPHER C OLUMBUS and the subsequent set-
tlement of the New World were reserved to
Castilian management, without much
interference from Aragon.

Felipe I

See P HILIP I .

Felipe II

See P HILIP II .

Felipe III See P HILIP III .

Felipe IV See P HILIP IV .

Felipe V

See P HILIP V .

Ferdinand V (Fernando V)
(1452-1516)
king of Aragon and first king of a united
Spain
Son of John (Juan) II of Aragon, Ferdinand
was betrothed to the heiress of Castile in pur-