Ferdinand II of Aragon
Before he became Ferdinand V of Spain
Ferdinand II of Aragon, otherwise known as Ferdinand the Catholic, was born March 10, 1452 (and eventually died in the year of 1516, January 23). Ferdinand, although commonly known to have been the supreme ruler of Spain, the king, he was also in charge of many more countries than one might first recognize or understand. This particular position of ruling started up when he was quite young, too, which may or may not have burdened him as a youth. In order - he was king of Aragon from 1479 to his death in 1516, king of Sicily from 1468-1516, king of Naples from 1504-1516, and king of Sardinia, Navarre, Valencia, and was Count of Barcelona. He also was King of Castile from 1474 to 1504, as well. Finally, he was the absolute, true ruler, called Regent, of that country from 1508 to his imminent death.
Ferdinand has a rather rich past of royal family, like himself. He was born in Sos del Rey Catolico, first of all. This is a municipality located in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. If visited now, one would view a population of merely 740 inhabitants, people who widely celebrate Ferdinand because of his rule and his birth in Sos. It is now one of the most well-preserved medieval cities in Aragon, and one of Ferdinand’s original countries of rule. He was the son of John II of Aragon, whose family was a cadet branch of the House of Trastamara. John II produced Ferdinand by his second wife, Juana Enriquez, who was a prodigious Castilian noblewoman at the time.
Eventually, Ferdinand ended up marrying Infanta Isabella. She was the half-sister and heiress of Henry IV of Castile, which put Ferdinand and his family in an even better position of power and social standing than ever before. Soon, the soon-to-be successful royal duo were happily married on October 19, 1469 in Valladolid, another municipality located in Spain. Luckily for Ferdinand, both his and his wife Isabella’s prior connections in the ruling and overseeing of other countries helped unite places like Aragon and Castile, since Ferdinand was king of Aragon, and Isabella was queen of Castile after succeeding her late brother in 1474
Both Ferdinand and his wife accomplished many astounding feats in their controversial reign together, which resulted from the perfection of their swiftly successful union. In fact, the fact that when Ferdinand succeeded his father as King of Aragon in 1479, he was united in an intimately personal union with the Crown of Castile and various other territories for the first time since the 8th century demonstrates the wonders that Ferdinand was in store to create with his rule as king.