with a warmth and spirit that contrasted with the coldness and caution of Ferdinand. Her merits towards the church were rewarded by the title of the Catholic, conferred by Innocent VIII., on both the royal partners and their successors in the Spanish crown. Though her reign was in general highly prosperous, yet her latter years were darkened by domestic disquiets. Her only son don John, died soon after his marriage with an Austrian princess. Her eldest daughter Joanna, married to the archduke Philip, displayed marks of a weak and disordered mind, and was treated with neglect by her husband. Isabella fell into a dropsical disorder, which carried her off, to the great regret of her subjects, in November 1504, the fiftyfourth year of her age.

FERDINAND V., king of Arragon, Castile, and Leon, surnamed the The Catholic, son of John II., king of Arragon, was born in 1452. He married in 1469, the infanta Isabella of Castile, sister of king Henry IV., at whose death in 1474, he was proclaimed king, and Isabella queen of Castile and Leon. They had however to contend against the claims of the infanta Joanna, the reputed daughter of Henry, who was married to Alphonso IV., king of Portugal. A civil war ensued, in which Ferdinand completely routed the Portuguese at Tora, and a peace was concluded, by which him and his queen were left in quiet possession of their crown. On the death of his father, which happened in 1479, he succeeded to the throne of Arragon, and thenceforth the kingdoms of Arragon and those of Castile and Leon, which together comprehended all Spain, except Granada, which was still in possession of the Moors, became inseparably united. The royal pair governed in great political union, and were very attentive to the order and regulation of the extensive dominions which had fallen to them. In 1481, hostilities began with the Moors, which after a war of ten years, ended in the reduction of their kingdom of Granada, and the recovery of all Spain to the christian dominion. In this war the queen Isabella engaged with all the ardour of religious zeal; and though Ferdinand concurred in her plans with perfect harmony, yet he seems to have acted in a secondary capacity. She was the cause of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, which soon followed the surrender of Granada. Isabella had the chief share in fitting out Columbus for that expedition of discovery. which bestowed a new world on the crown of Spain, the cold suspicious character of Ferdinand was ill-disposed to the encouragement of so daring an adventure. In 1492, Ferdinand by means of that address in negociation for which he was so famous, obtained the cession of the countries of Roussillon and Cerdagne from Charles VIII., of France, who was impatient to attempt the conquest of Naples. This however, did not prevent Ferdinand from making war with the

French after they had entered Italy; and by means of Gonsales or Gonsalvo de Cordova, called the great captain, whom he sent into Naples, he recovered that kingdom from the French. Meanwhile he was attentive to strengthen himself by foreign alliances; and in 1495, a double marriage took place between the infant don John and the archduchess Margaret; the archduke Philip and the infanta Joanna. The infanta Catherine was also married to Arthur, eldest son of Henry VII., of England. The king of Portugal soon after married the infanta Isabella; but the satisfaction arising from these alliances was damped by the death of don John, Ferdinand's only son, which was followed by that of the queen of Portugal. The conquered Moors were not long suffered to enjoy that toleration in religion for which they had stipulated. Their general conversion was undertaken, and, partly by force, partly by persuasion, in appearance effected; but insurrections soon showed how far it was from being sincere; and in conclusion, Ferdinand for a sum of money, permitted a great part of these wretched people to retire to Barbary, a measure which was injurious to the industry and population of the country. It was contrary to his inclination that in 1502, the archduke Philip, with his wife, at the desire of Isabella, visited Spain, and were solemnly acknowledged by the states of Castile as successors to the crown. Isabella's health now began to decline, and Ferdinand anticipated the loss of his authority in her dominions after her death. This happened in 1504; and though by her will she appointed Ferdinand regent of Castile during the minority of their grandson, Charles, afterwards emperor, which disposition was confirmed by the states, yet insurrections soon arose, and Philip took measures to oblige him to resign in his favour. Ferdinand through resentment demanded in marriage Joanna, the supposed daughter of Henry IV., of Castile, who had formerly been set aside in favour of Isabella; and being refused, he married Germaine de Foix, niece of Lewis XII. The Castilian nobles were disgusted at these proceedings and declared in favour of Philip and Joanna; and Ferdinand at length resigned the regency and retired to his kingdom of Arragon. He had however considerably enlarged his dominions by the acquisition of Naples; for having made a treaty with the French king, by which he agreed to divide the kingdom he pretended to defend, he afterwards employed the great captain to dispossess the French, and secure the whole island to himself. Philip did not long enjoy his power, for he died in 1506, and his wife was so affected by her loss, as to be utterly incapable of government. The regency was therefore again contested, and the competitors were the emperor Maximilian and Ferdinand. The latter was then absent in Naples, where the great power and ambition of the viceroy Gonsalvo gave him

great uneasiness. When he had settled the government of that country, he returned to Spain, where the celebrated Ximenes, archbishop of Toledo, had been preparing men's minds in his favour. He was restored to his authority in Castile, and conducted himself with so much wisdom and prudence that no opposition was thenceforth made to his administration, except such as proceeded from the turbulence of some of the nobility, which he soon suppressed. In 1508, the city of Oran in Barbary, with its district, was annexed to the crown of Castile, through the patriotic exertions of Ximenes. Soon after Ferdinand engaged the young king of England, Henry VII., in a league against France; persuaded him to send an army for the recovery of Guienne; and by means of the diversion occasioned by that measure, he seized upon the kingdom of Navarre, expelled its lawful sovereign, John d' Albert, and annexed it to the Spanish dominions. In the midst of his success, jealousy of his grandson Charles preyed upon his mind; he looked forward to the time when that prince would deprive him of the regency of Castile, and the aversion he therefore conceived against him, made him desirous of breaking that mass of power which he had contributed to raise. His young wife had borne him a son, who died in infancy. Ardently desirous of another heir, he used means to give temporary vigour to his enfeebled constitution, which tended farther to exhaust it. He fell into a state of bodily languor, which did not relax his attention to public affairs, but sharpened his habitual jealousy of power."Unwilling," says Robertson, " even at the approach of death, to admit a thought of relinquishing any part of his authority, he removed continually from place to place, in order to fly from his distemper, or to forget it. Though his strength declined every day, none of his attendants durst mention his condition, nor would he mention it himself; nor would he admit his father confessor, who thought such silence criminal, into his presence. At length the danger became too imminent to be concealed. He received the intimation with fortitude, and was persuaded by his counsellors to revoke by a new will the injustice he had done to Charles, in bequeathing the regency of his kingdoms to his younger grandson Ferdinand. He died on a journey at the village of Madrigalejo, January 23, 1516, aged 64. He left his daughter Joanna, heiress of all his dominions, and after her, his grandson Charles. No prince of his time acquired so high a reputation for policy and the arts of government as Ferdinand the Catholic. At the same time, no one was so notorious for profound dissimulation, and disregard of the most sacred engagements. An Italian prince said of him, "Before I reckon upon his promises, I would have him swear by some God in whom he believes." Probably, however he was not a disbeliever in his religion, but, like many

others, found means to satisfy himself under the breach of its obligations. He made his perfidy a matter of boast, and once, when his ambassadors told him that Lewis XII. complained of being twice overreached by him, "Twice," said he, " the drunkard lies, I have cheated him more than ten times." He practised, however, many better arts of governing than these, and displayed towards his own subjects much moderation and equity, with the wisdom of an enlightened prince. He was beloved by the lower classes, whom he protected from being oppressed by the nobles; and he, with Henry VII., of England, set the first examples of securing the public tranquillity, by curbing the turbulence and breaking the power of the feudal nobility. In temper, he was cold, reserved, and unfeeling; not more severe than occasions demanded, but little susceptible of gratitude or attachment. He is justly looked upon as the founder of the Spanish greatness, but good fortune concurred with policy in his aggrandizement.

HERNANDEZ DE CORDOVA GONSALVO, an eminent Spanish commander, distinguished by the title of the Great Captain, was born in 1443. He was the son of Peter Hernandez de Cordova, lord cf Aguilar, and of Elvira de Herrera. He signalized himself in a war against Portugal, and under the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella served in the conquest of Granada. Ferdinand having formed a design of supplanting Frederic, king of Naples, and making a partition of the country with Lewis XII. of France, Gonsalvo was employed to execute this project. He was completely successful, The two partitioning powers soon quarrelled with each other; the French expelled the Spaniards, and Gonsalvo was obliged to retire with his troops to Barletta, destitute of money, provisions, and ammunition. Having received a supply of the latter from the Venetians, he attacked and defeated the French, and on May 14, 1503, entered Naples in triumph. Ferdinand doubtful of the event, had negociated a treaty with Lewis confirming their former partition; but upon the intelligence of the great success of Gonsalvo, he refused to ratify it. Lewis made great efforts to retrieve his affairs, but the Spanish general at length, obliged the French entirely to evacuate the kingdom of Naples. His eminent services were rewarded with the constableship of that kingdom, and the dukedoms of Terranova, St. Angelo, and other estates, and he remained there in high honour and authority. But Ferdinand, whose own want of faith, led him to suspect treachery in others, became apprehensive that he entertained a design of keeping Naples for himself, and he sent leters of recall to Gonsalvo, which the general repeatedly eluded upon different pretexts. The king at length, determined to go thither in person, and in 1506, accompanied by his queen he sailed for Italy with a large fleet, and was met

at Genoa by Gonsalvo. They entered Naples together in apparent harmony, and the additional dukedom of Sessa was conferred on the great captain. In the following year, however, the king on leaving Naples, took him away with him. They had an interview at Savona with Lewis XII., who showed his esteem for Gonsalvo, by decorating him with a gold chain taken from his own neck, and causing him to sup at the same table with himself. The republic of Venice likewise made several rich presents, together with a decree written in letters of gold, by which the great council_constituted him a noble Venetian. He sent the presents to Ferdinand, keeping only the decree, for the purpose, he said, "of showing his rival Alonzo de Silva that he was as good a gentleman as himself." On arriving in Spain he was commanded to retire to his own estate in Granada, where he died in 1515, at the age of seventytwo. The great captain was a firm disciplinarian, a great master of the art of war, but not distinguished for generosity of sentiment.

PETER NAVARRE, an officer of eminence particularly celebrated for his dexterity in directing and springing mines. He was born at Biscay, of low extraction. He was first a sailor, but afterwards went into Italy, where he became footman to the cardinal of Arragon. He afterwards enlisted as a soldier in the Houstine army; and having served there for some time, went to sea again, and distinguished himself by his courage. Gen. Gonsalvo de Cordone employed him in the war against Naples, and made him a captain. Having contributed greatly to the taking of that city by springing a mine, the emperor rewarded him with the earldom of Alveto, in that kingdom, and gave him the title of count of Navarre. Having the command of a naval expedition against the Moors in Africa, he was at first very successful, and took Ocan, Tripoli, and some other places; but being afterwards ship-wrecked on the island of Gebes, the great heats and the Moorish cavalry destroyed a part of his army. He was equally unfortunate in Italy; he was taken prisoner at the battle of Ravenna, in 1512, and languished in France for two years. Finding that the king of Spain, who had been prejudiced against him, would do nothing for his ransom, he went into the service of Francis I., who gave him the command of twenty companies of infantry. He distinguished himself in several successful expeditions, until 1522, when having been sent to the relief of the Genoese, he was taken by the imperialists. They conducted him to Naples, where he remained a prisoner for three years in the castle of Euf. He was released by the treaty of Madrid, and fought at the siege of Naples under Lautrec in 1528; but being again made prisoner at the retreat from Aversa, he was sent a second time to the castle of Euf. Here the prince of Orange having, VOL. IV.

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