page_title: Isabella I of Castile
section_title: Commemoration
hierarchical_section_title: Isabella I of Castile / Commemoration
caption_attribution_description: English: Columbian_Issue_1893-5c.jpg
context_page_description: Isabella I was Queen of Castile from 1474 and Queen consort of Aragon from 1479, reigning over a dynastically unified Spain jointly with her husband Ferdinand II. Isabella is considered the first Queen of Spain de facto, being described as such during her own lifetime, although Castile and Aragon de jure remained two different kingdoms until the Nueva Planta Decrees of 1716.
  After a struggle to claim her right to the throne, she reorganized the governmental system, brought the crime rate to the lowest it had been in years, and unburdened the kingdom of the enormous debt her brother had left behind. Isabella's marriage to Ferdinand in 1469 created the basis of the de facto unification of Spain. Her reforms and those she made with her husband had an influence that extended well beyond the borders of their united kingdoms. Isabella and Ferdinand are known for completing the Reconquista, ordering conversion of the Jews and Muslims from Spain, and for supporting and financing Christopher Columbus's 1492 voyage that led to the rediscovery of the New World by Europeans and to the establishment of Spain as a major power in Europe and much of the world for more than a century.
context_section_description: The Spanish crown created the Order of Isabella the Catholic in 1815 in honor of the queen.
  Isabella was the first woman to be featured on US postage stamps, namely on three stamps of the Columbian Issue, also in celebration of Columbus. She appears in the 'Columbus soliciting aid of Isabella', 5-cent issue, and on the Spanish court scene replicated on the 15-cent Columbian, and on the $4 issue, in full portrait, side by side with Columbus.
  The $4 stamp is the only stamp of that denomination ever issued and one which collectors prize not only for its rarity (only 30,000 were printed) but its beauty, an exquisite carmine with some copies having a crimson hue. Mint specimens of this commemorative have been sold for more than $20,000. Isabella was also the first named woman to appear on a United States coin, the 1893 commemorative Isabella quarter, celebrating the 400th anniversary of Columbus's first voyage.
caption: 5 cent U.S. postage stamp, Columbus soliciting aid of Isabella
exif: {"Image XResolution": "240", "Image YResolution": "240", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2010:05:06 16:16:27", "Image ExifOffset": "110", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221"}