What was the conquest of Granada

The January 2, 1492 there was one of the most important events within the Iberian Peninsula: the end of Muslim rule within this territory after almost eight centuries. In this lesson from a TEACHER we will give you a summary about what was the conquest of Granada delving into the internal problems that made the Muslim dominance in the Peninsula less and less. In the same way, we will try to explain some of the capitulations that occurred and that, in the long run, brought problems well into the Modern Age.

Undoubtedly, within this summary of what the conquest of Granada was, we must know the situation of the Iberian Peninsula at the time of the arrival to power of the Catholic kings.

Castilla, during the reign of Enrique IV, had stopped the Reconquest, reaching commercial treaties with the Nasrid kingdom of Granada. With the arrival of Elizabeth, the queen understood that the palace intrigues would end if the war against the infidel was resumed. Furthermore, the accession to the throne of the queen was facilitated in large part by the support of the papacy, which was promised

a holy war against the infidel since he had been cohabiting with Christians in the Peninsula for too long.

For this reason, and thanks to the support of Ferdinand the Catholic, an army was formed that he was almost professional and in the service of the king, for the kings longed not to be accountable to the nobles.

The border with the Nasrid kingdom was always an unstable place as well as rich, because it was in that place where we will find the commercial exchanges of luxurious products that came from the East via the Mediterranean. Then it was exchanged or for slaves from northern Europe, as for other products that were not in the Nasrid kingdom.

This, therefore, was one of the reasons why the Reconquest in Spain took so long, since on many occasions the monarchs themselves made peace treaties to trade with its Muslim neighbors.

In this other lesson we offer you a summary of the Spanish Reconquest.

Next, within the summary on the conquest of Granada, we will mention the historical figures from both sides who acted in the conflict lasted from 1482-1492:

• Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba: undoubtedly a great character in the history of Spain for carrying out a series of campaigns in Italy that helped him to be known as the great captain. Belonging to a family of high birth, he was a second son, therefore, glory was not assigned to him, but his ambition and his good to do so they positioned him in the highest echelons of Castilian society, becoming one of the advisers of the queen and the king.
• Hernán Pérez del Pulgar: also known as the Alcaide de las Hazañas he got personal glory from him for capturing a series of squares in Malaga and Baza after the war years.
• Alonso de Cárdenas: he was the master of the order of Santiago and from Écija began the first attacks on the kingdom of Granada in the part of Malaga.
• Abu Abd-Alah, Mohamed XII "Boabdil": the last king of GranadaHe handed over the city to the Catholic Monarchs in exchange for allowing his people to stay, keeping his Faith and naming him Lord of the Alpujarras.
• Cid Hiaya el Nayyar: Cousin of Boabdil, had the position of viceroy in Almería, Baza and Guadix. He was one of the supporters in having a friendly relationship with Christians, in fact, he came to hand over the squares and convert to Christianity to maintain his life status. He was baptized as Pedro de Granada, initiating the lineage of the Granada Venegas.

Within the summary of the conquest of Granada we will find three well differentiated stages:

1482-1487

During this period we will find the first confrontations with the kingdom of Granada, starting the conquests from 1485 in the current provinces of Malaga, Loja and the Vega de Granada.

During this period, the forces settled within the new assimilated territories due to the fact that the circumstances within the Nasrid monarchy was marked as such, as it was a period in which there was a series of palace intrigues, so the internal political crisis was increased.

At this time we will find the war against the abencerrages, a radicalized internal group that sought open war against Christians by bringing in new troops from North Africa.

1488-1490

It was in those years when the territory of Almería was annexed, thanks to the aforementioned Pedro de Granada and the entire territory of Granada, except the capital. In this period, therefore, we will find great importance on the Castilian nobility that was located in the border of Murcia and Granada, since these were the promoters of the great Christian advance on the ranks Muslim.

In the same way, we must place the negotiations started by Fernández de Córdoba and Boabdil, Negotiations that seem to have served to forge a strong friendship with the Nasrid king, these would be the ones that would serve the Catholic Monarchs to surrender Granada.

1490-1492

Focused on the siege of the city of Granada, the Catholic Monarchs moved their court to the well-known city of Santa Fe. It was there, the December 25, 1491 when would the capitulations of Granada, a pact that allowed the delivery of the city in a couple of months, but a rebellion within the city, caused the faithful to Boabdil and the Christians to act and the Nasrid king could surrender the city on January 2, 1492.