You have probably heard of the Spanish Inquisition, even if only from a certain Monty Python sketch. The truth about why it was started and for what purpose will probably surprise you. In this episode we take a close look at the episodes in Spanish history that prepared the way for the Inquisition. We also…
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In this episode, our plucky and determined heroine discovers the mantle of religious warfare. Isabella and Ferdinand respond to an attack on a Castilian city from Moorish forces. This becomes the first skirmish in a “Holy War” against Muslims in Spain. It is a war that will last a decade, and inflict a terrible fate…
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After a high risk secret marriage to Prince Ferdinand of Aragon, Isabella finds there is no easy path to gaining the crown of Castile. An evil uncle, a civil war, and a heroic Portuguese flag bearer appear in this episode as Isabella fights to be Queen. An astonishing solution to a domestic quarrel paves the…
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Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain are figures you may have heard of in passing, as the sponsors of Christopher Columbus. The fact that Isabella’s name is remembered in the same breath with Ferdinand’s is remarkable in an age when only men could hold political power. From the Black Death to royal scandal, this episode introduces…
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“Witchcraft comes from carnal lust, which is in women insatiable.” – from the Malleus Maleficarum, the 1486 witch manual. Bodies swing from the gallows in the small town of Salem in New England. People have been executed on charges of witchcraft in America. How did we get to this? The story starts in Old Europe…
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