Crown of Aragon: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:39, 20 April 2006

Revision as of 18:07, 1 May 2006

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[[Image:Armoiries Aragon Sicile.png|thumb|left|175px|King of Aragon's arms in 15th century]]

{{Catalan-speaking world|align=right}}

The '''Crown of Aragon''' was the regime of a large portion of what is now [[Spain]], plus numerous [[Mediterranean]] possessions, for much of the later [[Middle Ages]]. The regime began in [[1035]], as the [[Kingdom of Aragon]], comprising the area still known as [[Aragon]]. In 1137, the marriage of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona and Petronila of Aragon, joined the County of Barcelona and territory of Catalonia with the Kingdom of Aragon under the name of "Crown of Aragon". The Crown of Aragon later included [[Land of Valencia|Valencia]], the [[Balearic Islands]], [[Sicily]] and [[Sardinia]], and at least temporarily, [[Provence]], [[Naples]] and [[AthensNaples]], until [[1479]] when the marriage of [[Ferdinand II of Aragon]] to [[Isabella I of Castile]] unified their kingdoms.

During most of this time, the Crown of Aragon united two or even three separate kingdoms; the scope of this article is the empire that effectively resulted from that dynastic union, rather than with these kingdoms individually.

The real centre of this empire was [[Barcelona]], since it was a seaport located near the geographical center of the Crown, and also one of the political centers of the Crown, with its [[Consell de Cent]] ruling according to the laws of [[Catalonia]]. Other important seaports were [[Valencia]] and [[Palma de Mallorca]]. Both [[Zaragoza]] and Valencia had more population than Barcelona until the [[18th19th century]] (long after the Aragonese Empire had been absorbed into Spain), when the walls of Barcelona were taken down and the city outgrew all others in the territories of this former Crown.

Some present-day historians (and [[Catalan nationalism|Catalan nationalists]]) may call the Crown the '''Catalan-Aragonese Confederation''', since this reflects the composition of the state, but its most usual name was "Crown of Aragon". Barcelona was the center of what was in many ways a Mediterranean Empire, ruling the Mediterranean Sea and [[thalassocracy|setting rules for the entire sea]] (for instance, in the ''[[Llibre del Consolat del Mar]]'', a compilation of [[maritime law]] in Catalan).

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In [[1443]], [[Naples]] was conquered. Later, King [[Ferdinand II of Aragon]] recovered the northern Catalan counties, as well as Iberian [[Navarre]], and married Queen [[Isabella I of Castile]] in [[1479]]. However, [[Castile]] and the Crown of Aragon remained different states, each keeping its own institutions and laws.

The Crown of Aragon was abolished afterduring the [[War of the Spanish Succession]] ([[1702]]–[[1713]]) by the [[Decretos de Nueva Planta]], and all its lands were incorporated, as provinces, into Spanish administration.

== See also ==