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as good as you swear to you who are no better than we, to accept
as our king and sovereign lord, provided you accept all our
liberties and laws; if not, not. Aragón headed a Mediterranean
empire. It controlled the Balearic Islands, Sardinia, Sicily,
and the southern half of Italy. It had a quite different focus
from Castile because it was oriented towards the Mediterranean.
The conquest of much of the New World would change that. The
Spanish church was a unifying factor. The Spanish were very
devout Christians, who believed that they had the duty to
convert others to the faith, by persuasion or force. The Spanish
Christian church had been reformed by Cardinal Francisco Jiménez
de Cisneros, incorporated ideas from Erasmus and other Christian
humanists. The church did not have to pay attention to the
boundaries of the various kingdoms on the peninsula. However, it
was almost completely subordinated to the Crown of Castile,
which enjoyed the patrona