Ferdinand II of Aragon, known as the monarch who financed Columbus' first voyage to the New World in 1492, Ferdinand also holds the dubious distinction of having expelled the Jews from Spain in that same year. He was the first to rule all of Spain from the Pyrenees to Gibraltar, having acquired the various Spanish thrones and regions through his own family holdings, marriage to Isabella of Castile, and conquest. After the death of Isabella, Ferdinand married a niece of France's Louis XIII. His grandson, Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire, was his successor. 1452-1516 |