LA GUERRA DE GRANADA: Vol. 1 1482-1492

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The Granada War (Spanish: Guerra de Granada) was a series of military campaigns between 1482 and 1492, during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs (los Reyes Catolicos) Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, against the Nasrid dynasty's Emirate of Granada. It ended with the defeat of Granada and its annexation by Castile, ending Islamic rule, Al-Andalus, on the Iberian peninsula and completing the Reconquista.

The ten-year war was not a continuous effort: it was a series of seasonal campaigns launched in the spring and postponed in the winter. The Granadans were crippled by internal conflict and civil war; meanwhile the Christians were generally unified.

The war also saw the effective use of artillery by the Christians to rapidly conquer towns that would have required a long siege otherwise. The decisive Battle of Granada concluded the war. On January 2, 1492 Muhammad XII of Granada (King Boabdil) surrendered the Emirate of Granada, the city of Granada, and the Alhambra palace. It is still celebrated every year on that date by the City Council of Granada.

The war was a joint project between Isabella's Crown of Castile and Ferdinand's Crown of Aragon. The bulk of the troops and funds for the war came from Castile, and Granada was annexed into Castile's lands. The Crown of Aragon was less important: apart from the presence of King Ferdinand himself, Aragon provided naval collaboration, guns, and some financial loans. Aristocrats were offered the allure of new lands, while Ferdinand and Isabella centralized and consolidated power.

The aftermath of the war saw the end of convivencia ('live and let live') between religions. The Jews were forced to convert to Christianity or be exiled in 1492. In 1501, all of Granada's Muslims were obliged to either convert to Christianity, become slaves, or be exiled; by 1526 this prohibition spread to the rest of Spain. 'New Christians (conversos) came to be accused of crypto-Islam and crypto-Judaism, often accurately. Spain would go on to model its national aspirations as the guardian of Christianity and Catholicism. Illustrated with photographs, maps, and color plates.