erdinand V (1452-1516), king of Spain, was the son of John II of Aragon. In 1469 he married Isabella of Castile and on the death of her brother Henry IV (1474) was proclaimed with her sovereign of Castile and Léon. On the death of his father, he succeeded to Aragon (1479), and in 1512 he conquered the main part of Navarre, adding it to his realm. The conquest of the last Moorish kingdom in Spain (Granada) was undertaken (1482-92) with all the fervor of a crusade, and the cruel persecution, spoilation, and expulsion of Jews (1490-92) was equally a matter of policy and a source of revenue. The establishment of the new form of Inquisition by the ‘Catholic kings’ (1478), and the violation by them of their pledge of toleration to the conquered Moors, were popular in Spain, because they promoted the spiritual pride of orthodox Spaniards. When Columbus appealed to Ferdinand and Isabella for aid in his voyage (1486-92) he found Ferdinand cool, but Isabella pleaded his cause, and Columbus obtained concessions and promises which, however, were never fulfilled. Ferdinand aimed at the formation of a great European coalition and in pursuance of this idea he seized Naples, and outwitted or defrauded most contemporary potentates, including Henry VII of England. Consult Prescott’s History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella. [World Wide Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1935]

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