For centuries Spain had been an outlier in Europe due to its religious diversity; Christians, Jews, and Muslims all existed reasonably peacefully across the Iberian peninsula. Under Isabelle of Castile that all changed. She began the Spanish Inquisition and brought to the fore a religious fundamentalism that would eventually force out of the country the musl ... Show More
Feb 3
330. The Iranian Revolution: 1979 vs. 2026 (Ep 1)
In recent weeks, protestors have swarmed the streets in Iran in defiance of the regime, and it feels as if the country is on the precipice of a transformative change. Yet these scenes feel familiar. In the 1970s, mass protests led to a religious revolution which replaced a monarc ... Show More
33m 11s
Nov 2014
The Expulsion of the Jews From Spain
<p>In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue ... and Ferdinand, king of Aragon, and Isabella, queen of Castile expelled the Jewish population from Spain.</p><p> </p> Learn more about your ad-choices at <a href="https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com">https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork. ... Show More
29m 55s
Apr 2019
Queen Isabella of Spain and the End of the Reconquista
<p>Queen Isabella of Castile was the greatest of the state-building rulers of the late Middle Ages. During her rule, she sent Columbus to America, married Ferdinand of Aragon to launch modern Spain, and finished the centuries-long Reconquista, ending centuries of Muslim rule in I ... Show More
52m 34s
Jul 2020
Convert or Leave
July 31, 1492. In cities, towns and villages across late medieval Spain, whole districts have emptied out. Houses abandoned, stores closed, and synagogues—which until recently had been alive with singing and prayer—now sit quiet. Exactly four months earlier, the King and Queen of ... Show More
28m 44s
Sep 2020
Queen Isabella Pt. 1: Castile and Aragon
She was never supposed to be queen. But in 1474, when Isabella of Castile’s half-brother King Enrique died, she seized her chance to take what was hers. And after holding onto the crown from Portuguese invaders, Isabella set out to do what no other Spanish monarch had been able t ... Show More
44m 10s
Apr 2019
The Spanish Inquisition, the Expulsion of the Jews, and the Rise of Spain
<p>Queen Isabella of Castile was one of the great state-building monarchs of the later Middle Ages, but state-building had a dark side: the Spanish Inquisition, the expulsion of the Jews, and the beginnings of a decades-long war that would consume western Europe for three generat ... Show More
48m 49s