1.
Grandee
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Grandee is an official aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility, as well as Portuguese nobility and Brazilian nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the Ancien Régime, the term can refer to other people of a somewhat comparable, exalted position, roughly synonymous with magnate, formerly a rank of high nobility. By extension, the term can refer informally to any important person of status, particularly wealthy. The term is used in the United Kingdom to refer to influential long-standing members of the Conservative Party, Labour Party. Most Spanish noble titles are granted as títulos del Reino, many of which predate the modern Spanish monarchy, the Kings of Spain re-established in 1520 the ancient dignity of Grande to confer as an additional rank of honour. The dignity of Grandee began to be assumed by Spains leading noblemen in the Middle Ages to distinguish them as a Grand señor, from lesser ricoshombres, the conferral of grandeeships initially conveyed only ceremonial privileges, such as remaining covered or seated in the presence of royalty. Over time grandees received more rights, eg. freedom from taxation, immunity from arrest, save at the Kings command. These rights later became open to abuse with some Grandees renouncing their allegiance to the monarchy to wage war on the King, in the late 1470s, King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I were the first to clamp down on grandee powers assumed by the medieval territorial nobles. In the 16th century, limitations on the number of grandees were introduced by King Charles I, all grandees traditionally have been addressed by the king as mi Primo, whereas ordinary nobles are formally styled as mi Pariente. The dignity of grandee was abolished by the Napoleonic King Joseph Bonaparte, nowadays, all grandees are deemed to be of the first class, and is an honorific dignity conferring neither power or legal privilege. A Grandeza de España is separate legal entity from a title of nobility, although grandezas are normally, since the 20th century invariably the King of Spain has conferred a Grandeza de España upon any newly created duke. A grandee of any noble rank is higher in precedence than a non-grandee, thus, a baron-grandee would outrank a non-grandee marquess, thus rendering the dignity of grandeza an hereditary rank of precedence rather than a title of nobility. Grandees and their consorts are entitled to the prefix of the Most Excellent Lord/Lady or His/Her Most Excellency. Both Portuguese and Brazilian nobility formerly used the term Grande, to designate a higher rank of noblemen, the Brazilian system, for instance, automatically deemed dukes, marquises and counts Grandes do Império. Viscounts and barons could also be ennobled with or without grandeza, viscounts ennobled with grandeeship displayed an counts coronet on their coat of arms, and Barons ennobled with grandeeship bore a coat of arms surmounted by a viscounts coronet. Brazilian grandeeships, like its nobility, were not hereditary titles, the abolition of the monarchies in Portugal and Brazil extinguished the formal use of such titles, although their use continues among some of the Portuguese aristocracy. During the English Civil War, senior officers from the landed gentry serving in the New Model Army, opposing the Levellers. The disagreements were aired publicly at the Putney Debates, which started in late October 1647, Grandes de España Fidalgo Flaith Grandee -1911 Encyclopedia
2.
Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
3.
Medina-Sidonia
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Medina-Sidonia is a city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, southern Spain. It is considered by some to be the oldest city in Europe, the citys name comes from Medina and Sidonia, meaning City of Sidon. The title of Duque de Medina Sidonia was bestowed upon the family of Guzmán El Bueno for his valiant role in taking the town, the line continues and was led until March 2008 by the controversial socialist, Luisa Isabel Álvarez de Toledo, 21st Duchess of Medina Sidonia. This city was most likely ancient Asido, an Iberian settlement which may have founded by the Phoenicians. By the 3rd century BC the Romans had gained control over much of southern Spain, in 712 the town was conquered by the Muslim commander Musa ibn Nusair, and became the capital of the cora of Sidonia in the emirate of Spain. It returned in Christian hands with Alfonso X of Castile, in 1264, becoming a stronghold along the frontier with the last Muslim country in the Iberian peninsula and it was also the seat of several military orders. In 1440 it became part of the lordship of the Dukes of Medina-Sidonia, the town is characterized by medieval walls and tidy narrow cobbled streets flanked by rows of reja-fronted houses. Sights include, The Castle Roman archaeological complex Town Hall La Alameda Ducal Stables Church of Saint Mary the Crowned Castle of Torrestrella Duke of Medina Sidonia
4.
John II of Castile
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John II of Castile was King of Castile and León from 1406 to 1454. John was the son of King Henry III and his wife and his mother was the granddaughter of King Peter, who was ousted by Henry IIIs grandfather, King Henry II. John succeeded his father on 25 December 1406, and united in his person the claims of both Peter and Henry II and his mother and his uncle, King Ferdinand I of Aragon, were co-regents during his minority. When Ferdinand died in 1416, his mother governed alone until her death in 1418, John IIs reign, lasting 49 years, was one of the longest in Castilian history, but John himself was not a particularly capable monarch. He spent his time verse-making, hunting, and holding tournaments and his favourite, Álvaro de Luna, heavily influenced him until his second wife, Isabella of Portugal, obtained control of his feeble will. At her instigation, he dismissed his faithful and able servant, John IIs Regents declared the Valladolid laws in 1411, which restricted the social activity of Jews. Among the most notable of the provisions were outlining that Jews must wear distinctive clothes, in 1431 John placed Yusuf IV on the throne as the Sultan of Granada in the Moorish Emirate of Granada, in exchange for tribute and vassal status to Castile. This exchange is depicted in the ballad the Romance of Abenamar. He was all and handsome, fair-skinned and slightly ruddy and his hair was the color of a very mature hazelnut, the nose a little snub, the eyes between green and blue. He had very graceful legs and feet and hands, John II died on 20 July 1454, at Valladolid. In 1418, John married Maria of Aragon, the oldest daughter of his paternal uncle, Ferdinand I of Aragon
5.
Andalusia
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Andalusia is an autonomous community in southern Spain. It is the most populated and the second largest in area of the communities in the country. The Andalusian autonomous community is recognised as historical nationality. The territory is divided into eight provinces, Almería, Cádiz, Córdoba, Granada, Huelva, Jaén, Málaga and its capital is the city of Seville. Andalusia is the only European region with both Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines, the small British overseas territory of Gibraltar shares a three-quarter-mile land border with the Andalusian province of Cádiz at the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar. The main mountain ranges of Andalusia are the Sierra Morena and the Baetic System, consisting of the Subbaetic and Penibaetic Mountains, in the north, the Sierra Morena separates Andalusia from the plains of Extremadura and Castile–La Mancha on Spains Meseta Central. To the south the geographic subregion of Upper Andalusia lies mostly within the Baetic System, the name Andalusia is derived from the Arabic word Al-Andalus. Including an intense relationship with Naples, Italy, Andalusia has been a traditionally agricultural region, compared to the rest of Spain and the rest of Europe. However, the growth of the community especially in the sectors of industry and services was above average in Spain, the region has, however, a rich culture and a strong cultural identity. Many cultural phenomena that are seen internationally as distinctively Spanish are largely or entirely Andalusian in origin and these include flamenco and, to a lesser extent, bullfighting and Hispano-Moorish architectural styles. Andalusias hinterland is the hottest area of Europe, with cities like Córdoba, Late evening temperatures can sometimes stay around 35 °C until close to midnight, with daytime highs of over 40 °C common. Seville also has the highest average temperature in mainland Spain and mainland Europe. Its present form is derived from the Arabic name for Muslim Iberia. However, the etymology of the name Al-Andalus is disputed, the Spanish place name Andalucía was introduced into the Spanish languages in the 13th century under the form el Andalucía. This was a Castilianization of Al-Andalusiya, the form of the Arabic language al-Andalus. The etymology of al-Andalus is itself somewhat debated, but in fact it entered the Arabic language before this came under Muslim rule. Like the Arabic term al-Andalus, in historical contexts the Spanish term Andalucía or the English term Andalusia do not necessarily refer to the territory designated by these terms today. To designate the territories the Christians had regained by that time in the Guadalquivir valley and in the Kingdoms of Granada, in a document from 1253, Alfonso X styled himself Rey de Castilla, León y de toda Andalucía
6.
Spanish Armada
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The Armada finally dropped anchor off Calais. While awaiting communications from the Duke of Parmas army the Armada was scattered by an English fireship attack, in the ensuing Battle of Gravelines the Spanish fleet was damaged and forced to abandon its rendezvous with Parmas army, who were blockaded in harbour by Dutch flyboats. The Armada managed to regroup and, driven by southwest winds, the commander ordered a return to Spain, but the Armada was disrupted during severe storms in the North Atlantic and a large number of the vessels were wrecked on the coasts of Scotland and Ireland. Of the initial 130 ships over a third failed to return, the expedition was the largest engagement of the undeclared Anglo-Spanish War. The word armada is from the Spanish armada, which is a cognate with English army, originally from the Latin armāta, the past participle of armāre to arm, used in Romance languages as a noun, for armed force, army, navy, fleet. Armada Española is still the Spanish term for the modern Spanish Navy, Armada was also the Portuguese traditional term of the Portuguese Navy. Henry VIII began the English Reformation as a political exercise over his desire to divorce his first wife, a devout Catholic, Mary began to reassert Roman influence over church affairs. Her attempts led to over 260 people being burned at the stake, marys death in 1558 led to her half-sister, Elizabeth I, taking the throne. Unlike Mary, Elizabeth was firmly in the reformist camp, Philip, no longer co-monarch, deemed Elizabeth a heretic and illegitimate ruler of England. Under Roman law, Henry had never officially divorced Catherine, making Elizabeth illegitimate, Elizabeth retaliated against Philip by supporting the Dutch revolt against Spain, as well as funding privateers to raid Spanish ships across the Atlantic. In retaliation, Philip planned an expedition to invade England in order to overthrow Elizabeth, the King was supported by Pope Sixtus V, who treated the invasion as a crusade, with the promise of a subsidy should the Armada make land. A raid on Cadiz, led by Francis Drake in April 1587, had captured or destroyed some thirty ships and great quantities of supplies, the Duke of Parma would then follow with a large army from the Low Countries crossing the English Channel. Parma was uneasy about mounting such an invasion without any possibility of surprise and he was also alarmed by the costs that would be incurred, and advised Philip to postpone or abandon it. The Armadas appointed commander was the highly experienced Álvaro de Bazán, Marquis of Santa Cruz, but he died in February 1588, and the Duke of Medina Sidonia, while a competent soldier and distinguished administrator, Medina Sidonia had no naval experience. He wrote to Philip expressing grave doubts about the planned campaign, prior to the undertaking, Pope Sixtus V allowed Philip II of Spain to collect crusade taxes and granted his men indulgences. The blessing of the Armadas banner on 25 April 1588, was similar to the ceremony used prior to the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, on 28 May 1588, the Armada set sail from Lisbon and headed for the English Channel. The fleet was composed of 130 ships,8,000 sailors and 18,000 soldiers, the full body of the fleet took two days to leave port. It included twenty eight purpose-built warships, of twenty were galleons, four galleys
