CATEGORIES
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- Isabella and Ferdinand,
1492 Manuscript Document Signed
- 3 Weeks before Columbus
'Discovered' the Americas
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- ISABELLA I (1451-1504) and FERDINAND V (1452-1516). Respectively,
the Queen of Castile (from 1474) and of Aragon (from 1481) by
marriage to the future Ferdinand II of Aragon in 1469; and King
of Castile and King of Sicily (1468--1516). Their marriage unified
Christian Spain. By legend she financed the Columbus Expedition
to find the new world in 1492 by selling her jewels. Isabella
was granted the title "The Catholic" by Pope Alexander
VI.
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 Superb
Manuscript Document Signed by both
as "Yo EI Rey" (I The King) and "Yo
EI Reyna" (I The Queen), in Spanish, one page, small
quarto, on vellum, Zaragoza, September 15, 1492—while Christopher
Columbus was on his voyage to the new world! This is a Royal
directive of the King and Queen to the commander in Navarre.
Both Ferdinand and Isabella were direct descendants of earlier
rulers of Navarre, a small Kingdom in the Pyrenees then being
contested between the Spanish and French. It was annexed to Ferdinand's
empire in 1512. The directive reads in part:
"Don Juan de Ribera their Commander in Chief of the frontiers
of Navarre we have given orders concerning matters relating to
San Sebastian and especially as regards the provost and goal
of the said town, as you will see by our letters in which we
command you, for our service, to repair to the said town, and
carry into execution the orders we give you in this matter, and
to work for the establishment of the said town and its residents
in peace and concord, as benefits our service, Zaragoza, 1492
September 15".
"Yo EI Rey" "Yo EI Reyna"
Ferdinand and Isabella initiated the chain of events that would
lead to the Golden Age of Spanish imperialism. As a legacy of
this empire, Spanish is the fourth most spoken language in the
world after Mandarin, Hindi, and English. Documents signed by
Ferdinand and Isabella are exceptionally scarce. This document
moreso as it represents an epoch in discovery and exploration
that would not be matched until the Apollo missions centuries
later. This is the first document signed by Isabella and Ferdinand
we have seen while Columbus was on his voyage of discovery to
the Americas. He was less than three weeks from sighting land.
Truly a magnificent piece of history and the cornerstone of any
collection in the genre of exploration and discovery. Crossfolds,
notations on verso. Overall, in remarkable condition, museum
quality and ideal for framing. SOLD
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