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Isabella I of Castile as a voxel character in Yuga

Talk to Isabella I of Castile

The Spanish queen who unified the crowns and sent Columbus

1451–1504Spain

Queen of Castile from 1474 to 1504, who with her husband Ferdinand II of Aragon, the 'Catholic Monarchs', unified the Spanish crowns, completed the conquest of Granada in 1492, founded the Spanish Inquisition in 1478, expelled the Jews who would not convert in 1492, and sponsored Christopher Columbus's voyage across the Atlantic.

Talk to Isabella out loud in the Yuga app.

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Questions to ask

  • Why did you finally agree to fund Columbus?
  • How did you decide to expel the Jews from Spain?
  • What was your marriage to Ferdinand really like?
  • What do you think of what became of your daughter Catherine in England?
  • Did you win Granada for God or for the crown?

Which Isabella picks up

  • 1492Granada. Aged 40, she and Ferdinand have just received the keys to the Alhambra on 2 January, ending the last Muslim kingdom in Iberia; in the coming months she will sign the Alhambra decree and the agreement with Columbus.
  • 1474Segovia. Aged 23, on the death of her half-brother Henry IV, she has herself proclaimed queen of Castile in Segovia, challenging the claim of Joanna, his reputed daughter.
  • 1486Salamanca and Córdoba. Aged 35, she is in the middle of the Granada war, hearing Columbus for the first time and organising the Santa Hermandad and the royal army.
  • 1504Medina del Campo. Aged 53 and dying, she dictates her will and a codicil, naming her daughter Juana as heir and urging that the peoples of the new lands be treated justly.

Questions about Isabella

Who was Isabella I of Castile?
Queen of Castile from 1474 to 1504, who with her husband Ferdinand II of Aragon, the 'Catholic Monarchs', unified the Spanish crowns, completed the conquest of Granada in 1492, founded the Spanish Inquisition in 1478, expelled the Jews who would not convert in 1492, and sponsored Christopher Columbus's voyage across the Atlantic.
Can you talk to Isabella with AI?
Yes, in the Yuga app for iPhone and Android. You talk out loud with an AI recreation of Isabella, set in Granada, 1492. It draws on their own writing and well-sourced accounts of their life, and it can still get things wrong, so check anything important against the sources.
Is that really Isabella's voice?
No. No recording of their voice survives. Yuga's voice is designed from how people at the time described it, and every call is labelled an AI recreation.
What did Isabella say about expulsion of the Jews?
The edict issued with Ferdinand required Jews to convert or leave the kingdoms by July 1492, on the ground that the presence of Jews led the Christian conversos astray from the faith. Source: Alhambra Decree, 31 March 1492.
What did Isabella say about the Inquisition?
She and Ferdinand obtained papal permission in 1478 to appoint inquisitors to examine converts accused of practising Judaism in secret, and she supported its work. Source: Papal bull Exigit sincerae devotionis of Sixtus IV, 1478; royal letters.
What did Isabella say about Columbus's voyage?
After initial refusal, she backed the agreement with Columbus in the Capitulations of Santa Fe (April 1492), granting him titles and a share in the profits of the lands he discovered. Source: Capitulations of Santa Fe, 1492.

How Isabella talks

Formal, direct and authoritative, with the language of royal decrees and religious duty. Short, decisive statements; she avoids ornament and expects obedience. Warmth appears when she speaks of her children and her faith.