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114-566: Although the region has long been settled, even pre-dating Roman occupation, the current population of the town are mostly of Basque extraction. The village is for many pilgrims the last stopping point before the last day trek into Santiago de Compostella . The French Way and the Northern Way (Camino del Norte) of Camino join in a single path in Arzúa before arriving to Santiago. The municipalities of Arzúa and A Ulloa are notable for being

228-539: A Renfe rail service. Santiago de Compostela Airport is the 2nd busiest airport in northern Spain after Bilbao Airport . The airport is located in the parish of Lavacolla, 12 km from the city center and handled 2,903,427 passengers in 2019. Santiago de Compostela railway station is linked to the Spanish High Speed Railway Network . Madrid is reached in 3 hours. Porto can also be reached in less than 5 hours changing to

342-411: A castle that was adorned with gold and silver. Isabella's basic education consisted of reading, spelling, writing, grammar, history, arithmetic, art, chess , dancing, embroidery, music, and religious instruction. She and her ladies-in-waiting entertained themselves with art, embroidery, and music. She lived a relaxed lifestyle, but she rarely left Segovia since King Henry forbade this. Her half-brother

456-403: A Sunday. Outside of Holy Years, the city still receives a remarkable number of pilgrims. In 2013, 215,880 people completed the pilgrimage. In 2014, there were 237,983 persons. In 2015, there were 262,513 persons and in 2016, there were 277,854 persons. Editorial Compostela owns daily newspaper El Correo Gallego , a local TV, and a radio station. Galician-language online news portal Galicia Hoxe

570-612: A deep reverence for religion under the supervision of her mother. When the king's wife, Joan of Portugal , was about to give birth to their daughter Joanna , Isabella and Alfonso were summoned to court in Segovia to come under the direct supervision of the king and to finish their education. Alfonso was placed in the care of a tutor while Isabella became part of the queen's household. Some of Isabella's living conditions improved in Segovia. She always had food and clothing and lived in

684-658: A kingdom and Alfonso II as king, and had also crafted close political and ecclesiastic ties. Around the place of the discovery a new settlement and centre of pilgrimage emerged, which was known to the author Usuard in 865 and which was called Compostella by the 10th century. The devotion to Saint James of Compostela was just one of many arising throughout northern Iberia during the 10th and 11th centuries, as rulers encouraged their own region-specific devotions, such as Saint Eulalia in Oviedo and Saint Aemilian in Castile. After

798-467: A less formal role. This role depended greatly on the individuals' political influence and personal influence with the monarch. During Isabella's reign, the role of this second category was completely eliminated. As mentioned previously, Isabella had little care for personal bribes or favors. Because of this, this second type of councillor, usually of the nobility, was only allowed to attend the council of Castile as an observer. Isabella began to rely more on

912-403: A mix of middle-aged residents and younger students maintain a lively presence until the early hours of the morning. Radiating from the centre of the city, the historic cathedral is surrounded by paved granite streets, tucked away in the old town, and separated from the newer part of the city by the largest of many parks throughout the city, Parque da Alameda . Santiago gives its name to one of

1026-665: A new and much more balanced sharing of the Atlantic at Tordesillas in 1494. As the orders received by Columbus in his first voyage (1492) show: "[the Catholic Monarchs] have always in mind that the limits signed in the share of Alcáçovas should not be overcome, and thus they insist with Columbus to sail along the parallel of Canary." Thus, by sponsoring the Columbian adventure to the west, the Spanish monarchs were trying

1140-622: A new form of personal justice that Castile had not seen before. The Council of State was reformed and presided over by the king and queen. This department of public affairs dealt mainly with foreign negotiations, hearing embassies, and transacting business with the Court of Rome. In addition to these departments, there was also a Supreme Court of the Santa Hermandad, a Council of Finance, and a Council for settling purely Aragonese matters. Although Isabella made many reforms that seem to have made

1254-550: A noted jurist, Alfonso Diaz de Montalvo , to undertake the task of clearing away legal rubbish and compiling what remained into a comprehensive code. Within four years the work stood completed in eight bulky volumes and the Ordenanzas Reales took their place on legal bookshelves. At the end of the Reconquista , only Granada was left for Isabella and Ferdinand to conquer. The Emirate of Granada had been held by

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1368-595: A pair of oxen she allegedly had by the Pico Sacro , a local sacred mountain where a dragon dwelt, hoping that the dragon would kill the Christians, but as soon as the beast attacked the disciples, at the sight of the cross, the dragon exploded. Then the disciples marched to collect the oxen, which were actually wild bulls which the queen used to punish her enemies; but again, at the sight of the Christian's cross,

1482-525: A pilgrims' hospice (now a Parador ). The Obradoiro façade of the cathedral, the best known, is depicted on the Spanish euro coins of 1 cent, 2 cents, and 5 cents (€0.01, €0.02, and €0.05). Santiago is the site of the University of Santiago de Compostela , established in the early 16th century. The main campus can be seen best from an alcove in the large municipal park in the centre of the city. Within

1596-541: A pivotal role in shaping the Spanish linguistic legacy in the New World. In 1492, she endorsed the first grammar of the Castilian language titled Gramática de la lengua castellana , written by Elio Antonio de Nebrija, the father of Spanish grammar. This grammar was intended to spread the Spanish language across the newly discovered lands, aligning with Spain's imperial ambitions, as Nebrija himself declared it would teach

1710-499: A reality. If Isabella married Afonso, Henry's daughter Joanna would marry Afonso's son John II and thus, after the death of the old king, John and Joanna could inherit Portugal and Castile. Isabella refused and made a secret promise to marry her cousin and very first betrothed, Ferdinand of Aragon. After this failed attempt, Henry once again went against his promises and tried to marry Isabella to Louis XI 's brother Charles, Duke of Berry . In Henry's eyes, this alliance would cement

1824-402: A reward for services were to be restored without compensation, while those that had been sold at a price far below their real value were to be bought back at the same sum. While many of the nobility were forced to pay large sums of money for their estates, the royal treasury became even richer. Isabella's one stipulation was that there would be no revocation of gifts made to churches, hospitals, or

1938-550: A very mild climate for its latitude with heavy winter rainfall courtesy of its relative proximity to the prevailing winds from Atlantic low-pressure systems . According to Richard Fletcher scholars now agree that the origin of the name Compostela comes from the Latin compositum tella , meaning a well-ordered burial ground, possibly referring to an ancient burial ground on the site of the Church of Santiago de Compostela that pre-dates

2052-508: Is also based in the city. Televisión de Galicia , the public broadcaster corporation of Galicia, has its headquarters in Santiago. During medieval times, the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage emerged as one of the most significant Christian journeys in Europe, attracting thousands of pilgrims seeking spiritual redemption and fulfillment. Believed to be the final resting place of Saint James

2166-558: Is becoming increasingly diversified. New industries such as timber transformation (FINSA), the automotive industry ( UROVESA ), and telecommunications and electronics (Blusens and Televés) have been established. Banco Gallego, a banking institution owned by Novacaixagalicia , has its headquarters in downtown rúa do Hórreo . Tourism is very important thanks to the Way of St. James , particularly in Holy Compostelan Years (when

2280-499: Is governed by a mayor–council form of government . Following the 2023 Spanish local elections the mayor of Santiago is Goretti Sanmartín , of BNG . The population of the city in 2019 was 96,260 inhabitants, while the metropolitan area reaches 178,695. In 2010 there were 4,111 foreigners living in the city, representing 4.3% of the total population. The main nationalities are Brazilians (11%), Portuguese (8%) and Colombians (7%). By language, according to 2008 data, 21.17% of

2394-487: Is set in the historic part of Santiago de Compostela. A pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela provides the narrative framework of the Luis Buñuel film La Voie lactée (The Milky Way) . A mystic pilgrimage was portrayed in the autobiography and romance The Pilgrimage ("O Diário de um Mago") of Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho , published in 1987. Santiago de Compostela is served by Santiago de Compostela Airport and

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2508-583: The Atlantic and the surrounding mountains combine to give Santiago some of Spain's highest rainfall: about 1,800 millimetres (70.9 in) annually. The winters are mild, despite being far inland and at an altitude of 370 metres (1,210 ft) frosts are only common in December, January and February, with an average of just 13 days per year. Snow is uncommon, with 2-3 snowy days per year. Temperatures above 35 °C (95 °F) are very exceptional. The city

2622-781: The Celta train in Vigo . On 24 July 2013 there was a serious rail accident near the city in which 79 people died and at least 130 were injured when a train derailed on a bend as it approached Compostela station. Santiago de Compostela is twinned with: [REDACTED]   This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain :  Chisholm, Hugh , ed. (1911). " Santiago de Compostela ". Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 24 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 191–192. Isabella of Castille Isabella I ( Spanish : Isabel I ; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella

2736-584: The Feast of Saint James falls on a Sunday). Following the Xunta's considerable investment and hugely successful advertising campaign for the Holy Year of 1993, the number of pilgrims completing the route has been steadily rising. More than 272,000 pilgrims made the trip during the course of the Holy Year of 2010. Following 2010, the next Holy Year will not be for another 11 years when St James feast day again falls on

2850-516: The Holy Land after preaching in Galicia. There he was beheaded, but his disciples got his body to Jaffa , where they found a marvelous stone ship which miraculously conducted them and the apostle's body to Iria Flavia , back in Galicia. There, the disciples asked the local pagan queen Loba ('She-wolf') for permission to bury the body; she, annoyed, decided to deceive them, sending them to pick

2964-593: The Iberian Peninsula and had preached there is one of a number of early traditions concerning the missionary activities and final resting places of the apostles of Jesus. Although the 1884 Bull of Pope Leo XIII Omnipotens Deus accepted the authenticity of the relics at Compostela, the Vatican remains uncommitted as to whether the relics are those of Saint James the Greater , while continuing to promote

3078-542: The New World on 12 October. He returned the next year and presented his findings to the monarchs, bringing natives and gold under a hero's welcome. Although Columbus was sponsored by the Castilian queen, treasury accounts show no royal payments to him until 1493, after his first voyage was complete. Spain then entered a Golden Age of exploration and colonization —the period of the Spanish Empire . In 1494, by

3192-622: The Treaty of Tordesillas , Isabella and Ferdinand agreed to divide the Earth, outside of Europe, with King John II of Portugal . The Portuguese did not recognize that South America belonged to the Spanish because it was in Portugal's sphere of influence, and King John II threatened to send an army to claim the land for the Portuguese. Beyond her support for Columbus, Queen Isabella also played

3306-488: The Apostle, the pilgrimage route traversed many countries and scenic locations. The pilgrimage not only fostered spiritual growth but also facilitated cultural exchange, as towns along the route thrived with the influx of visitors, leading to the construction of churches, and further development of the towns. This sacred journey symbolized a profound devotion to faith, enduring trials, and the hope of divine grace. A symbol of

3420-709: The Atlantic and was deprived of the gold of Guinea, which induced anger in Andalusia . Spanish academic Antonio Rumeu de Armas claims that with the peace treaty of Alcáçovas in 1479, the Catholic Monarchs "... buy the peace at an excessively expensive price ..." and historian Mª Monserrat León Guerrero added that they "... find themselves forced to abandon their expansion by the Atlantic ;...". Christopher Columbus freed Castile from this difficult situation, because his New World discovery led to

3534-572: The Camino de Santiago, is one of the world's most significant and historical Christian pilgrimages. This sacred journey leads to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in the Galicia region of northwest Spain, where the remains of Saint James the Apostle are believed to be buried. The pilgrimage dates back to the Middle Ages and continues to draw thousands of pilgrims annually from all corners of

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3648-489: The Castilian and Portuguese fleets fought for hegemony in the Atlantic Ocean and for the wealth of Guinea (gold and slaves), where the decisive naval Battle of Guinea was fought. The war dragged on for another three years and ended with a Castilian victory on land and a Portuguese victory on the sea. The four separate peace treaties signed at Alcáçovas (4 September 1479) reflected that result: Portugal gave up

3762-545: The Castilian right wing and remained in possession of the battlefield. But despite its uncertain outcome, the Battle of Toro represented a great political victory for the Catholic Monarchs , assuring them the throne since the supporters of Joanna la Beltraneja disbanded and the Portuguese army, without allies, left Castile. As summarized by the historian Justo L. González : Both armies faced each other at

3876-477: The Catholic (Spanish: Isabel la Católica ), was Queen of Castile and León from 1474 until her death in 1504. She was also Queen of Aragon from 1479 until her death as the wife of King Ferdinand II . Reigning together over a dynastically unified Spain , Isabella and Ferdinand are known as the Catholic Monarchs . After a struggle to claim the throne, Isabella reorganized the governmental system, brought

3990-561: The Catholic Monarchs ;– who had proclaimed themselves rulers of Portugal and donated lands to noblemen inside this country  – had to give up the Portuguese crown. At Alcáçovas, Isabella and Ferdinand had secured the throne, but the Portuguese exclusive right of navigation and commerce in all of the Atlantic Ocean south of the Canary Islands meant that Spain was practically blocked out of

4104-517: The Christian building. Santiago is the local Galician evolution of Vulgar Latin Sanctus Iacobus "Saint James ". According to folk etymology Compostela derives from the Latin : Campus Stellae ('field of the star'). According to a medieval legend, the remains of the apostle James, son of Zebedee were brought to Galicia for burial, where they were lost. Eight hundred years later

4218-455: The Cortes stronger, in actuality the Cortes lost political power during the reigns of Isabella and Ferdinand. Isabella and her husband moved in the direction of a non-parliamentary government and the Cortes became an almost passive advisory body, giving automatic assent to legislation which had been drafted by the royal administration. After the reforms of the Cortes of Toledo, the queen ordered

4332-734: The Indians [indigenous Americans] to receive any wrong in their persons and property, but rather that they be treated well and fairly, and if they have received any wrong, remedy it." With the institution of the Catholic Inquisition in Spain, and with the Dominican friar Tomás de Torquemada as the first Inquisitor General , the Catholic Monarchs pursued a policy of religious and national unity. Though Isabella opposed taking harsh measures against Jews on economic grounds, Torquemada

4446-584: The Muslim Nasrid dynasty since the mid-13th century. Protected by natural barriers and fortified towns, it had withstood the long process of the Reconquista. On 1 February 1482, the king and queen reached Medina del Campo and this is generally considered the beginning of the Granada War . While Isabella's and Ferdinand's involvement in the war was apparent from the start, Granada's leadership

4560-539: The Pilgrimage is the scallop shell, as seen in a sculpture, depicted below, in Santo Domingo de Silos, in which Jesus is shown as a pilgrim with a satchel that is embroidered with the scallop shell. The Scallop shell comes from a legend about St. James’s arrival: he frightened a horse, scaring it into the sea, and the horse reemerged with the shell covering itself. Santiago de Compostela’s pilgrimage, known as

4674-402: The alliance was that a marriage was to be arranged between Charles and Isabella. When John II learned of this arranged marriage, he was outraged. Isabella had been intended for his favorite younger son, Ferdinand, and in his eyes, this alliance was still valid. John II had his son Charles thrown in prison on charges of plotting against his father's life. Charles died in 1461. In 1465, an attempt

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4788-480: The bishopric of Iria was incorporated into the Kingdom of Asturias c.  750 . At some point between 818 and 842, during the reign of Alfonso II of Asturias , bishop Theodemar of Iria (d. 847) claimed to have found some remains which were attributed to Saint James the Greater . This discovery was accepted in part because Pope Leo III and Charlemagne —who had died in 814—had acknowledged Asturias as

4902-478: The bulls calmed down, and after being subjected to a yoke they carried the apostle's body to the place where now Compostela is. The legend was again referred with minor changes by the Czech traveller Jaroslav Lev of Rožmitál , in the 15th century. The relics were said to have been later rediscovered in the 9th century by a hermit named Pelagius, who after observing strange lights in a local forest went for help after

5016-518: The camps of Toro resulting in an indecisive battle. But while the Portuguese King reorganized his troops, Ferdinand sent news to all the cities of Castile and to several foreign kingdoms informing them about a huge victory where the Portuguese were crushed. Faced with these news, the party of "la Beltraneja" [Joanna] was dissolved and the Portuguese were forced to return to their kingdom. With great political vision, Isabella took advantage of

5130-466: The castle in Arévalo were poor, and they suffered from a shortage of money. Although her father arranged in his will for his children to be financially well taken care of, Henry did not comply with their father's wishes, either from a desire to keep his half-siblings restricted or from ineptitude. Even though her living conditions were difficult, Isabella was instructed in lessons of practical piety and in

5244-529: The cathedral, namely Fernando II and Alfonso IX , last of the Kings of León and Galicia before both kingdoms were united with the Kingdom of Castile . During this same 10th century and in the first years of the 11th century Viking raiders tried to assault the town —Galicia is known in the Nordic sagas as Jackobsland or Gallizaland —and bishop Sisenand II, who was killed in battle against them in 968, ordered

5358-541: The centre Saint James riding a white horse and wearing a white cloak, sword in hand: The legend of the miraculous armed intervention of Saint James, disguised as a white knight to help the Christians when battling the Muslims, was a recurrent myth during the High Middle Ages. As the lowest-lying land on that stretch of coast, the city's site took on added significance. Legends supposed of Celtic origin made it

5472-525: The centre of Asturian political power moved from Oviedo to León in 910, Compostela became more politically relevant, and several kings of Galicia and of León were acclaimed by the Galician noblemen and crowned and anointed by the local bishop at the cathedral, among them Ordoño IV in 958, Bermudo II in 982, and Alfonso VII in 1111, by which time Compostela had become capital of the Kingdom of Galicia . Later, 12th-century kings were also sepulchered in

5586-573: The city—who fought for self-government—against the local bishop, the secular and jurisdictional lord of the city and of its fief, the semi-independent Terra de Santiago ("land of Saint James"). The culminating moment in this confrontation was reached in the 14th century, when the new prelate, the Frenchman Bérenger de Landore , treacherously executed the counselors of the city in his castle of A Rocha Forte ("the strong rock, castle"), after inviting them for talks. Santiago de Compostela

5700-454: The coinage had to approximate . By shutting down many of the mints and taking royal control over the production of money, Isabella restored the confidence of the public in the Crown's ability to handle the kingdom's finances. Both Isabella and Ferdinand established very few new governmental and administrative institutions in their respective kingdoms. Especially in Castile, their main achievement

5814-467: The construction of a walled fortress to protect the sacred place. In 997 Compostela was assaulted and partially destroyed by Ibn Abi Aamir (known as al-Mansur), Andalusian leader accompanied in his raid by Christian lords, who all received a share of the booty. However, the Andalusian commander showed no interest in the alleged relics of St James. In response to these challenges bishop Cresconio , in

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5928-548: The cortes of Madrigal in 1476 in the form of a police force, La Santa Hermandad (the Holy Brotherhood). Although 1476 was not the first time that Castile had seen the Hermandad, it was the first time that the police force was used by the crown. During the late medieval period, the expression hermandad had been used to describe groups of men who came together of their own accord to regulate law and order by patrolling

6042-400: The course of the following century a main Catholic shrine second only to Rome and Jerusalem . In the 12th century, under the impulse of bishop Diego Gelmírez , Compostela became an archbishopric, attracting a large and multinational population. Under the rule of this prelate , the townspeople rebelled, headed by the local council, beginning a secular tradition of confrontation by the people of

6156-562: The court of Henry with the excuse of visiting her brother Alfonso's tomb in Ávila . Ferdinand, on the other hand, crossed Castile in secret disguised as a servant. They married immediately upon reuniting on 19 October 1469 in the Palacio de los Vivero in the city of Valladolid . On 12 December 1474, news of King Henry IV's death in Madrid (which had happened on 11 December ) reached Segovia . This prompted Isabella to take refuge within

6270-399: The crime rate down, and unburdened the kingdom of the debt which her half-brother King Henry IV had left behind. Isabella's marriage to Ferdinand of Aragon in 1469 created the basis of the de facto unification of Spain. Her reforms and those she made with her husband had an influence that extended well beyond the borders of their united kingdoms. Isabella and Ferdinand are known for being

6384-536: The first monarchs to be referred to as the queen and king of Spain, respectively. Their actions included completion of the Reconquista , the Alhambra Decree which ordered the mass expulsion of Jews from Spain, initiating the Spanish Inquisition , financing Christopher Columbus 's 1492 voyage to the New World , and establishing the Spanish empire , making Spain a major power in Europe and

6498-490: The four military orders of Spain: Santiago , Calatrava , Alcántara and Montesa . One of the most important economic centres in Galicia, Santiago is the seat for organisations like Association for Equal and Fair Trade Pangaea . Under the Köppen climate classification , Santiago de Compostela has a temperate oceanic climate ( Cfb ) with mild to warm and somewhat dry summers and mild, wet winters. The prevailing winds from

6612-489: The friendship of Castile and France as well as remove Isabella from Castilian affairs. However, Isabella once again refused the proposal. Meanwhile, John II of Aragon negotiated in secret with Isabella a wedding to his son Ferdinand. After her marriage to Ferdinand, several anonymous journal entries claim the queen was unfaithful and plotted against the king. On 18 October 1469, the formal betrothal took place. Because Isabella and Ferdinand were second cousins, they stood within

6726-574: The globe. Participants embark on various routes, the most popular being the Camino Francés, traversing hundreds of kilometers on foot, by bicycle, or even on horseback. The journey is not just a physical challenge but also a profound spiritual and introspective experience, offering a sense of community, personal reflection, and fulfillment. Along the way, pilgrims pass through diverse landscapes and historic towns and encounter symbols of faith and support. The legend that St. James found his way to

6840-493: The great Castilian houses of nobility. While the nobles held the titles, individuals of lesser breeding did the real work. Traditionally, the main advisory body to the rulers of Castile was the Royal Council . The council, under the monarch, had full power to resolve all legal and political disputes. The council was responsible for supervising all senior administrative officials, such as the Crown representatives in all of

6954-559: The growth and development of the city. Along the western side of the Praza do Obradoiro is the elegant 18th-century Pazo de Raxoi, now the city hall. Across the square is the Pazo de Raxoi (Raxoi's Palace), the town hall, and on the right from the cathedral steps is the Hostal dos Reis Católicos , founded in 1492 by the Catholic Monarchs , Isabella of Castille and Ferdinand II of Aragon , as

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7068-457: The importance of restoring the Crown's finances. The reign of Henry IV had left the Kingdom of Castile in great debt. Upon examination, it was found that the chief cause of the nation's poverty was the wholesale alienation of royal estates during Henry's reign. To make money, Henry had sold off royal estates at prices well below their value. The Cortes of Toledo of 1480 came to the conclusion that

7182-583: The initial collapse of the Roman Empire . The area was later attributed to the bishopric of Iria Flavia in the 6th century, in the partition usually known as Parochiale Suevorum, ordered by King Theodemar . In 585, the settlement was annexed along with the rest of Suebi Kingdom by Leovigild as the sixth province of the Visigothic Kingdom . Possibly raided from 711 to 739 by the Arabs ,

7296-465: The islands of Sicily and Sardinia , were left to his brother John II. John now had a stronger position than ever before and no longer needed the security of Henry's friendship. Henry was now in need of a new alliance. He saw the chance for this much-needed new friendship in Charles of Viana , John's elder son. Charles was constantly at odds with his father, and because of this, he secretly entered into an alliance with Henry IV of Castile. A major part of

7410-484: The keys of the city and the principal mosque was consecrated as a church. The Treaty of Granada was signed later that year; in it, Ferdinand and Isabella gave their word to allow the Muslims and Jews of Granada to live in peace. During the war, Isabella noted the abilities and energy of Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba and made him one of the two commissioners for the negotiations. Under her patronage, De Córdoba went on to an extraordinary military career that revolutionized

7524-442: The language to the inhabitants of these territories. Isabella was not in favor of enslaving the American natives . She established the royal position on how the indigenous people should be treated by following the recent policies implemented in the Canary Islands (which had a small number of native inhabitants), which stated that all peoples were subjects of the Crown of Castile , and could not be enslaved in most situations. She

7638-434: The light of a bright star guided a shepherd, Pelagius the Hermit , who was watching his flock at night to the burial site in Santiago de Compostela. This site was originally called Mount Libredon  [ gl ] and its physical topography leads prevalent seaborne winds to clear the cloud deck immediately overhead. The shepherd quickly reported his discovery to the bishop of Iria, Theodemir . The bishop declared that

7752-419: The local bishop, Theodemar of Iria , in the west of Galicia. The legend affirms that Theodemar was then guided to the spot by a star, drawing upon a familiar myth-element, hence "Compostela" was given an etymology as a corruption of Campus Stellae, "Field of Stars." In the 15th century, the red banner which guided the Galician armies to battle, was still preserved in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, in

7866-449: The location of origin of Arzúa-Ulloa cheese , which holds Protected designation of origin (PDO) status. 42°53′N 8°11′W  /  42.883°N 8.183°W  / 42.883; -8.183 This article about a location in the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Santiago de Compostella Santiago de Compostela , simply Santiago , or Compostela , in

7980-548: The major towns. It was also the supreme judicial tribunal of the kingdom. In 1480, during the Cortes of Toledo, Isabella made many reforms to the Royal Council. Previously there had been two distinct yet overlapping categories of royal councillor. One formed a group which possessed both judicial and administrative responsibilities. This portion consisted of some bishops, some nobles, and an increasingly important element of professional administrators with legal training known as letrados . The second category of traditional councillor had

8094-448: The mid-11th century, fortified the entire town, building walls and defensive towers. According to some authors, by the middle years of the 11th century the site had already become a pan-European "place of peregrination", while others maintain that the devotion to Saint James was before 11-12th centuries an essentially Galician affair, supported by Asturian and Leonese kings to win over faltering Galician loyalties. Santiago would become in

8208-414: The moment and convoked courts at Madrigal-Segovia (April–October 1476) where her eldest child and daughter Isabella was first sworn as heiress to Castile's crown. That was equivalent to legitimizing Isabella's own throne. In August of the same year, Isabella proved her abilities as a powerful ruler on her own. A rebellion broke out in Segovia, and Isabella rode out to suppress it, as her husband Ferdinand

8322-600: The more general benefits of pilgrimage to the site. Pope Benedict XVI undertook a ceremonial pilgrimage to the site on his visit to Spain in 2010. The 1,000-year-old pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James in the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral is known in English as the Way of St. James and in Spanish as the Camino de Santiago . Over 200,000 pilgrims travel to the city each year from points all over Europe and other parts of

8436-400: The nobility to choose whether to participate or not would weed out those who were not dedicated to the state and its cause. Isabella also saw the need to provide a personal relationship between herself as the monarch and her subjects. Therefore, Isabella and Ferdinand set aside a time every Friday during which they themselves would sit and allow people to come to them with complaints. This was

8550-543: The nobles asked Isabella to take his place as champion of the rebellion. However, support for the rebels had begun to wane, and Isabella preferred a negotiated settlement to continuing the war. She met with Henry at Toros de Guisando and they reached a compromise: the war would stop, Henry would name Isabella his heir presumptive instead of his daughter Joanna, and Isabella would not marry without her half-brother's consent, but he would not be able to force her to marry against her will. Isabella's side came out with most of what

8664-418: The nobles desired, though they did not go so far as to officially depose King Henry; they were not powerful enough to do so, and Isabella did not want to jeopardize the principle of fair inherited succession, since it was upon this idea that she had based her argument for legitimacy as heir-presumptive. The question of Isabella's marriage was not a new one. She had, at the age of six, a betrothal to Ferdinand ,

8778-526: The old town there are many narrow winding streets full of historic buildings. The new town all around it has less character though some of the older parts of the new town have some big flats in them. Santiago de Compostela has a substantial nightlife. Both in the new town ( a zona nova in Galician , la zona nueva in Spanish or ensanche ) and the old town ( Galician : a zona vella , Spanish : la zona vieja , trade-branded as zona monumental ),

8892-458: The only hope of lasting financial reform lay in a resumption of these alienated lands and rents. This decision was warmly approved by many leading nobles of the court, but Isabella was reluctant to take such drastic measures. It was decided that the Archbishop of Toledo would hold an enquiry into the tenure of estates and rents acquired during Henry IV's reign. Those that had not been granted as

9006-400: The only remaining path of expansion. Now that she had succeeded in securing her place on the Castilian throne, she could begin to institute the reforms that she planned for the kingdom. When Isabella came to the throne in 1474, Castile was in a state of despair due to her brother Henry's reign. It was known that Henry IV was a big spender and did little to enforce the laws of his kingdom. It

9120-616: The organization and tactics of the emerging Spanish military, changing the nature of warfare and altering the European balance of power. Just three months after entering Granada, Queen Isabella agreed to sponsor Christopher Columbus on an expedition to reach the East Indies by sailing west (for a distance of 2,000 miles, according to Columbus). The crown agreed to pay a sum of money as a concession from monarch to subject. Columbus's expedition departed on 3 August 1492, and arrived in

9234-759: The place where the souls of the dead gathered to follow the sun across the sea. Those unworthy of going to the Land of the Dead haunted Galicia as the Santa Compaña or Estadea . Santiago de Compostela is featured prominently in the 1988 historical fiction novel Sharpe's Rifles , by Bernard Cornwell , which takes place during the French Invasion of Galicia, January 1809, during the Napoleonic Wars. The music video for Una Cerveza , by Ráfaga ,

9348-409: The poor. Another issue of money was the overproduction of coinage and the abundance of mints in the kingdom. During Henry's reign, the number of mints regularly producing money had increased from just five to 150. Much of the coinage produced in these mints was nearly worthless. During the first year of her reign, Isabella established a monopoly over the royal mints and fixed a legal standard to which

9462-517: The population always speak in Galician , 15% always speak in Spanish, 31% mostly in Galician and the 32.17% mostly in Spanish. According to a Xunta de Galicia 2010 study the 38.5% of the city primary and secondary education students had Galician as their mother tongue . The area of Santiago de Compostela was a Roman cemetery by the 4th century and was occupied by the Suebi in the early 5th century, when they settled in Galicia and Portugal during

9576-456: The prey of tyrant nobles since the days of Isabella's father, John II. Robbers had infested the highways and oppressed the smaller towns and villages. The officials Isabella charged set off with the Herculean task of restoring peace for the province and were ultimately successful. Indeed, they drove over 1,500 robbers from Galicia. From the very beginning of her reign, Isabella fully grasped

9690-422: The professional administrators than ever before. These men were mostly of the bourgeoisie or lesser nobility. The council was also rearranged and it was officially settled that one bishop, three caballeros , and eight or nine lawyers would serve on the council at a time. While the nobles were no longer directly involved in the matters of state, they were welcome to attend the meetings. Isabella hoped that forcing

9804-614: The prohibited degrees of consanguinity and the marriage would not be legal unless a dispensation from the Pope was obtained. With the help of the Valencian Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia (later Pope Alexander VI ), Isabella and Ferdinand were presented with a supposed papal bull by Pope Pius II (who had actually died in 1464), authorizing Ferdinand to marry within the third degree of consanguinity, making their marriage legal. Afraid of opposition, Isabella eloped from

9918-545: The province of A Coruña , is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia , in northwestern Spain . The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great , now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela , as the destination of the Way of St. James , a leading Catholic pilgrimage route since the 9th century. In 1985, the city's Old Town was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site . Santiago de Compostela has

10032-517: The remains were those of the apostle James and immediately notified King Alfonso II in Oviedo . To honour St. James, the cathedral was built on the spot where his remains were said to have been found. The legend , which included numerous miraculous events, enabled the Catholic faithful to bolster support for their stronghold in northern Spain during the Christian crusades against the Moors, but also led to

10146-424: The roads and countryside and punishing malefactors. These brotherhoods had usually been suppressed by the monarch, however. Furthermore, before 1476, the justice system in most parts of the country was effectively under the control of dissident members of the nobility rather than royal officials. To fix this problem, during 1476, a general Hermandad was established for Castile, Leon , and Asturias . The police force

10260-635: The throne of Castile in favor of Isabella in exchange for a very favorable share of the Atlantic territories disputed with Castile (they all went to Portugal with the exception of the Canary Islands : Guinea with its mines of gold, Cape Verde , Madeira , Azores , and the right of conquest over the Kingdom of Fez ) plus a large war compensation: 106.676 dobles of gold. The Catholic Monarchs also had to accept that Joanna la Beltraneja remain in Portugal instead of Spain and to pardon all rebellious subjects who had supported Joanna and King Afonso. And

10374-630: The throne. The nobles, now in control of Alfonso and claiming that he was the true heir, clashed with King Henry's forces at the Second Battle of Olmedo in 1467. The battle was a draw. Henry agreed to recognize Alfonso as his heir presumptive , provided that he would marry his daughter, Princess Joanna. Soon after he was named Prince of Asturias , he died at the age of fourteen in July 1468. The nobles who had supported him suspected poisoning. As she had been named in her brother's will as his successor,

10488-628: The time of Isabella's birth, she was second in line to the throne after her older half-brother Henry . Henry was 26 at that time and married, but childless. Isabella's younger brother Alfonso was born two years later on 17 November 1453, demoting her position to third in line. When her father died in 1454, her half-brother ascended to the throne as King Henry IV. Isabella and her brother Alfonso were left in King Henry's care. Isabella, Alfonso, and their mother then moved to Arévalo . These were times of turmoil for Isabella. The living conditions at

10602-590: The walls of the Alcázar of Segovia , where she received the support of Andres de Cabrera and Segovia's council. The next day, Isabella was proclaimed Queen of Castile and León. Isabella's reign got off to a rocky start. King Henry IV had named Isabella as his successor, so when she ascended to the throne in 1474, there were already several plots against her. Diego Pacheco , the Marquis of Villena, and his followers maintained that Joanna la Beltraneja , Henry's daughter,

10716-625: The world and ultimately ushering in the Spanish Golden Age . Together with her husband, Isabella was granted the title of "Catholic Monarch" by Pope Alexander VI , a Spaniard. Her sainthood cause was opened in 1974, granting her the title Servant of God in the Catholic Church . Isabella was born in Madrigal de las Altas Torres to King John II of Castile and his second wife, Isabella of Portugal , on 22 April 1451. At

10830-609: The world. The pilgrimage has been the subject of many books, television programmes, and films, notably Brian Sewell 's The Naked Pilgrim produced for the British television channel Channel 5 and the Martin Sheen / Emilio Estevez collaboration The Way . According to a tradition that can be traced back at least to the 12th century, when it was recorded in the Codex Calixtinus , Saint James decided to return to

10944-460: The years of failed attempts at political marriages were finally over. There was talk of a marriage to Edward IV of England or to one of his brothers, probably Richard, Duke of Gloucester , but this alliance was never seriously considered. Once again in 1468, a marriage proposal arrived from Afonso V of Portugal. Going against his promises made in September 1468, Henry tried to make the marriage

11058-458: The young Joanna. A long and bloody war for the Castilian succession then took place. The war went back and forth for almost a year, until the Battle of Toro on 1 March 1476, in which both sides claimed and celebrated victory: the troops of King Afonso V were beaten by the Castilian centre-left commanded by the Duke of Alba and Cardinal Mendoza while the forces led by John of Portugal defeated

11172-500: The younger son of John II of Navarre (whose family was a cadet branch of the House of Trastámara ). At that time, the two kings, Henry and John, were eager to show their mutual love and confidence and they believed that this alliance would make their eternal friendship obvious to the world. This arrangement, however, did not last long. Ferdinand's uncle Alfonso V of Aragon died in 1458. All of Alfonso's Spanish territories, as well as

11286-546: Was able to convince Ferdinand. On 31 March 1492, the Alhambra decree for the expulsion of the Jews was issued. The Jews had until the end of July (four months) to leave the country and they were not to take with them gold, silver, money, arms, or horses. Traditionally, it had been claimed that as many as 200,000 Jews left Spain, but recent historians have shown that such figures are exaggerated: Henry Kamen has shown that out of

11400-402: Was annoyed by the enslavement of the natives by Columbus, and established a royal position on how the indigenous shall be treated. There were some circumstances in which a person could be enslaved, including being a prisoner of war , or for practising cannibalism or sodomy . After an episode in which Columbus captured 1,200 men, Isabella ordered their return and the arrest of Columbus, who

11514-585: Was captured and sacked by the French during the Napoleonic Wars ; as a result, the remains attributed to the apostle were lost for near a century, hidden inside a cist in the crypts of the cathedral of the city. The excavations conducted in the cathedral during the 19th and 20th centuries uncovered a Roman cella memoriae or martyrium , around which grew a small cemetery in Roman and Suevi times which

11628-463: Was divided and never able to present a united front. It still took ten years to conquer Granada, however, culminating in 1492. The Spanish monarchs recruited soldiers from many European countries and improved their artillery with the latest and best cannon. Systematically, they proceeded to take the kingdom piece by piece. In 1485 they laid siege to Ronda , which surrendered after only a fortnight due to extensive bombardment. The following year, Loja

11742-429: Was even said by one Castilian denizen of the time that murder, rape, and robbery happened without punishment. Because of this, Isabella needed desperately to find a way to reform her kingdom. Due to the measures she imposed, historians during her lifetime saw her to be more inclined to justice than to mercy, and indeed far more rigorous and unforgiving than her husband Ferdinand. Isabella's first major reform came during

11856-494: Was insulted in the streets of Granada. Isabella realized that she could not trust all the conquest and evangelization to take place through one man, so she opened the range for other expeditions led by Alonso de Hojeda , Juan de la Cosa , Vicente Yáñez Pinzón , Diego de Lepe  [ Wikidata ] or Pedro Alonso Niño . To prevent her efforts from being reversed in the future, Isabella instructed her descendants in her last will as follows: "do not give rise to or allow

11970-451: Was keeping her from the political turmoil going on in the kingdom, though Isabella had full knowledge of what was going on and of her role in the feuds. After a rumor spread that Joanna was not actually the daughter of King Henry but rather of a royal favorite, Beltrán de la Cueva , noblemen confronted King Henry and demanded that the king's younger half-brother Alfonso be named his successor. They even went so far as to ask Alfonso to seize

12084-406: Was later abandoned. This martyrium , which proves the existence of an old Christian holy place , has been sometimes attributed to Priscillian , although without further proof. Santiago's economy, although still heavily dependent on public administration (i.e. being the headquarters of the autonomous government of Galicia), cultural tourism, industry, and higher education through its university ,

12198-435: Was made to marry Isabella to Afonso V of Portugal , Henry's brother-in-law. Through the medium of the queen and Count of Ledesma, a Portuguese alliance was made. Isabella, however, was wary of the marriage and refused to consent. A civil war broke out in Castile over King Henry's inability to act as sovereign. Henry now needed a quick way to please the rebels of the kingdom. As part of an agreement to restore peace, Isabella

12312-529: Was made up of some 200 permanent servants or continos who performed a wide range of confidential functions on behalf of the rulers. By the 1470s, when Isabella began to take a firm grip on the royal administration, the senior offices of the royal household were simply honorary titles and held strictly by the nobility. The positions of a more secretarial nature were often held by senior churchmen. Substantial revenues were attached to such offices and were therefore enjoyed greatly, on an effectively hereditary basis, by

12426-428: Was off fighting at the time. Going against the advice of her male advisors, Isabella rode by herself into the city to negotiate with the rebels. She was successful and the rebellion was quickly brought to an end. Two years later, Isabella further secured her place as ruler with the birth of her son John, Prince of Asturias , on 30 June 1478. To many, the presence of a male heir legitimized her place as ruler. Meanwhile,

12540-551: Was taken, and again Muhammad XII was captured and released. One year later, with the fall of Málaga , the western part of the Muslim Nasrid kingdom had fallen into Spanish hands. The eastern province succumbed after the fall of Baza in 1489. The siege of Granada began in the spring of 1491 and Muhammad XII finally surrendered at the end of the year. On 2 January 1492, Isabella and Ferdinand entered Granada to receive

12654-468: Was the rightful queen. Shortly after the Marquis made his claim, the Archbishop of Toledo —his great-uncle and a longtime supporter of Isabella—left court to plot with him. They made plans to have Joanna marry her uncle King Afonso V of Portugal and invade Castile to claim the throne for themselves. In May 1475, King Afonso and his army crossed into Spain and advanced to Plasencia . Here he married

12768-764: Was then to be betrothed to Pedro Girón Acuña Pacheco , Master of the Order of Calatrava and brother to the king's favorite, Juan Pacheco . In return, Don Pedro would pay into the royal treasury an enormous sum of money. Seeing no alternative, Henry agreed to the marriage. Isabella was aghast and prayed to God that the marriage would not come to pass. Her prayers were answered when Don Pedro suddenly fell ill and died while on his way to meet his fiancée. When Henry had recognized Isabella as his heir-presumptive on 19 September 1468, he had also promised that his half-sister should not be compelled to marry against her will, while she in return had agreed to obtain his consent. It seemed that

12882-504: Was to be made up of locals who were to regulate the crime occurring in the kingdom. It was to be paid for by a tax of 1800 maravedís on every one hundred households. In 1477, Isabella visited Extremadura and Andalusia to introduce this more efficient police force there as well. Keeping with her reformation of the regulation of laws, in 1481 Isabella charged two officials with restoring peace in Galicia . This turbulent province had been

12996-486: Was to use more effectively the institutions that had existed during the reigns of John II and Henry IV. Historically, the center of the Castilian government had been the royal household, together with its surrounding court. The household was traditionally divided into two overlapping bodies. The first body was made up of household officials, mainly people of the nobility, who carried out governmental and political functions for which they received special payment. The second body

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