Now I know that my speciality period is 1469-1714. But I decided it is best to start with the foundation of medieval Spain, before I lead into Imperial Spain...The moorish occupation of the Iberian peninsula devastated arian christianity which had largely been eliminated in other parts of Europe that had been heavily romanticized but had found a safe haven in the Iberian peninsula even though the conversion of recarred in 587 technically eliminated it. The reason for this religious presence was because the Visigothic Monarchy (now Catholic) was detached from the public (arian) and so the arian undercurrent remained. However the effect the Moorish occupation played on the Visigothic monarchy meant that they had little defence against the moors in the south and the Carolingian empire (franks) in the north, this lead to the quick destruction of their northern province (the only one left) at the hands of the Franks.
Early Moorish occupation
After the conquest of the majority of the peninsula, in 711 the emirate chose to press forward into Gaul. At the battle of Poitiers in 732 the Moors were defeated, this signified a slow decline in the emirate and eliminated the possibility of further conquest in Europe. After a quick succession of battles in the 8th century the Franks had created a series of feudal counties which would later form the Principality of Catalonia and the kingdom of Aragon. Possibly the largest mistake of the emirate however was the inability, to finish of Christian resistance in the Basque county and Cantabrican mountains.
The two Christain resistances (Navarre and Asturias), although extremely small demonstrated an unparalled abilty to maintain independence. The moors had made the same fatal mistake that the Visigoths and the early Romans had made, and that was the inability to finish off rebel hide outs.
Asturias
By the end of the fifteenth century there had been a myriad of Christian autonomous kingdoms and principalities. The First Christian power was Asturias. The kingdom was established by Pelayo, who had returned to the land after the Battle of Guadalete in 711 where he was elected leader of Asturias and founded the Kingdom of Asturias. However, Pelayo's kingdom was little more than a meeting place for existing forces.
Because the Umayyad rulers based in Cordoba were unable to extend their power into Frankish territory, they decided to consolidate their power in Iberia. Therefor, Muslim forces made periodic incursions into Asturias. However the momentum was turning. Indeed if they tried to conquer the area eearlier they may have succeeded but the prime reason the Emirate didn't invade earlier however was because of the poor industrial capabilities, and the illusion that these counties could do nothing to fight back.
722 presented one of the first Asturian victories in the history of the Iberian peninsula, in the summer a Muslim army overran much of Pelayo's territory, forcing him to retreat deep into the mountains. Pelayo and a few hundred men retired into a narrow valley at Covadonga. There, they could defend against a broad frontal attack. Pelayo’s forces routed the Muslim army, inspiring local villagers to take up arms, as well. Despite further attempts, the Muslims were unable to conquer Pelayo's mountainous stronghold. Pelayo's victory at Covadonga is hailed by some as the first stage of the Reconquista.
During the first decades, the Asturian control over the different areas of the kingdom was still lax, and for this reason it had to be continually strengthened through matrimonial alliances with other powerful families from the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Thus, "Ermesinda, Pelayo's daughter, was married to Alfonso, Peter of Cantabria's son. Alphonse's sons, Fruela and Adosinda, married Munia, a Basque from Alava, and Silo, a local chief from the area of Pravia, respectively." (quote from 'The making of medieval Spain')
After Pelayo's death in 737, his son Fafila was elected king. Fafila, according to the chronicles, is killed by a bear in a courage trial.
Pelayo founded a dynasty in Asturias that survived for centuries and gradually expanded the kingdom's boundaries until all of northwest Iberia was included by roughly 775. However credit must be given to later counts and kings. Alfonso I (king from 739-757)managed to conquer Galicia and an area of what was to be Leon. The reign of Alfonso II from (791-842) saw further expansion of the kingdom to the south, almost as far as Lisbon.
It was not until King Alfonso II of Asturias (791-842) that the kingdom was firmly established with Alfonso's recognition as king of Asturias by Charlemagne and the Pope. This was succeeded by the subsequent conquest of parts of the Basques. During his reign, the holy bones of St. James the Great were declared to be found at Santiago de Compostela.
Navarre
Navarre was the second great Christian power in the Iberian Peninsula. Although relatively weak up until the late Tenth century where it peaked under the ambitious ruler Sancho III (1004-1035), Navarre took the dominant Christian role after the early Tenth century. The Kingdom of Navarre, originally the Kingdom of Pamplona occupied territories on either side of the pyrenees.
The kingdom of Navarre was formed when the local Basque leader Inigo Arista was elected or declared King in Pamplona in 824 and led a revolt against the Frankish authority. Throughout Navarrese early history there were frequent skirmishes with the Carolingian and Angevine Empire, and their fierce spirit of independence was the key feature in their history that helped them maintain independence until 1513. The Reign of Sancho the great not only expanded their dominions when they absolved Castile, Leon, and what was to be Aragon in addition to other small counties which would also unite and become the Principality of Catalonia, but it helped form the Galician independence. The conquest of Leon did not consume Galicia, as the Leonese king retreated and was left to temporary independence. Galicia was conquered soon after (it was conquered by Sancho's son Ferdinand around 1038) however this small period of independence meant that it was fashioned as it's own kingdom and the subsequent kings named their titles as king of Galicia and Leon, instead of merely king of Leon even though Galicia was never to be independent again for very long. (well at least to my knowledge, they were independent after Ferdinand's death as he divided his lands between his three sons, but they never were really governed as their own kingdom after Alfonso and Sancho both conquered it together as they felt that their brother shouuld not have any claim to that land).
Galicia
Galicia became a christian county after Alfonso I of Asturias led his armies into the area and conquered it. Like many of the rulers at the time he chose to make it a county, and if there is one lesson to be learnt from Spanish history it would be to destroy local autonomy. The forging of a western county had major effects on both Asturias (later Leon) and Galicia itself but the impact was neither negative or positive in the long run.
Galicia became it's own kingdom after the Death of Alfonso III (around 910) when the king divided his realm amongst his three sons. Ordono recieved Galicia whilst Garcia recieved Leon (creating the kingdom) and Fruela recieved Asturias. Galicia did unite with Leon after the death of Garcia however, and after Ordono died Fruela recieved both in addition to his current territory of asturias. The reign of Alfonso of Navarre however was an important milestone in Galician history, because of the Leonese conquest (as is already stated), but although one or two generations of independence doesn't seem like much, it did perpetuate a sense of regional pride which is still strong today.
Leon
Leon was the most powerful kngdom in the western portion of the Iberian peninsula until the seccesion of the counties of Castile and portugal of which both contained large populaces and power
Castile
Castile was the dominant kingdom in the Iberian peninsula, both in land mass and power, and this is shown in the fact that the national language of Spain is Castilian and not Catalan or many of the other dialects that were spoken. And as the great Ortega y Gasset said 'Castile has made Spain, and Castile has Destroyed it.' (I will provide more detail around that in one of my later blogs) And he is right because in Imperial Spain the crown of Aragon was the junior partner by far. Yet I feel it is unfair to blame Castile for the decline of Spain because the only reason it can be blamed is because Aragon played no significant part in the empire that was to decline. Castile was originally a county of the expanding Leonese kingdom, which had usurped the Galician and Asturian crowns in it's rise to power
This article is incomplete-be patient
