Spain

Coordinates: 40°N 4°W / 40°N 4°W / 40; -4

Spain (ⁱ/ˈspeɪn/; Spanish: España [esˈpaɲa]), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a sovereign state largely located on the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe, with archipelagos in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, and several small territories on and near the north African coast. Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with Gibraltar; to the north and northeast by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the west and northwest by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean. Along with France and Morocco, it is one of only three countries to have both Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines. Extending to 1,214 km (754 mi), the Portugal–Spain border is the longest uninterrupted border within the European Union.

Spanish territory includes two archipelagos: the Balearic Islands, in the Mediterranean Sea, and the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast. It also includes two major exclaves, Ceuta and Melilla, in continental North Africa; and the islands and peñones (rocks) of Alborán, Alhucemas, Chafarinas and Vélez de la Gomera. With an area of 505,990 km² (195,360 sq mi), Spain is the second largest country in Western Europe and the European Union, and the fourth largest country in Europe. By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union.

Joanna of Castile

Joanna (6 November 1479 – 12 April 1555), known as Joanna the Mad (Spanish: Juana la Loca), was queen of Castile from 1504 and of Aragon from 1516. From the union of these two crowns modern Spain evolved. Joanna married Philip the Handsome on October 20, 1496. Philip was crowned King of Castile in 1506, initiating the rule of the Habsburgs in Spain. After Philip's death that same year, Joanna was deemed mentally ill and was confined to a nunnery for the rest of her life. Though she remained the legal queen of Castile throughout this time, her father, Ferdinand II of Aragon, was regent until his death, when she inherited his kingdom as well. From 1517, her son, Charles, ruled as king, while she nominally remained co-monarch.

Life before accession

Early life

Isabella I of Castile

Isabella I (Spanish: Isabel I, Old Spanish: Ysabel I; Madrigal de las Altas Torres, 22 April 1451–Medina del Campo, 26 November 1504) was Queen of Castille. She was married to Ferdinand II of Aragon. Their marriage became the basis for the political unification of Spain under their grandson, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. 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. 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 or exile of their Muslim and Jewish subjects in the Spanish Inquisition, and for supporting and financing Christopher Columbus's 1492 voyage that led to the opening of the New World and to the establishment of Spain as the first global power who dominated Europe and much of the world for more than a century. Isabella was granted the title Servant of God by the Catholic Church in 1974.

List of Portuguese monarchs

The Monarchs of Portugal ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution.

Through the nearly 800 years which Portugal was a monarchy, the kings held various other titles and pretensions. Two Kings of Portugal, Ferdinand I and Afonso V, also claimed the crown of Castile. When the House of Habsburg came into power, the Kings of Spain, and Naples, also became Kings of Portugal. The House of Braganza brought numerous titles to the Portuguese Crown, including King of Brazil and then Emperor of Brazil.

After the demise of the Portuguese monarchy, in 1910, Portugal almost restored its monarchy in a revolution known as the Monarchy of the North, though the attempted restoration only lasted a month before destruction. With Manuel II's death, the Miguelist branch of the House of Braganza became the pretenders to the throne of Portugal. They have all been acclaimed King of Portugal by their monarchist groups. This is purely symbolic and no one can have a place among the Kings of Portugal unless they were acclaimed by the Portuguese state and parliament. The Portuguese government states that the current representative of the House of Braganza, Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza, is the legitimate successor to the Kings of Portugal, but only recognizes him as Duke of Braganza and not as King of Portugal.

Joanna

Joanna is a feminine given name deriving from Koine Greek Ἰωάννα Iōanna from Hebrew יוֹחָנָה Yôḥānnāh meaning 'God is gracious'. Variants in English include Joan, Joann, Joanne, and Johanna. Other forms of the name in English are Jan, Jane, Janet, Janice, Jean, and Jeanne.

The earliest recorded occurrence of the name Joanna, in Luke 8:3, refers to the disciple "Joanna the wife of Chuza," who was an associate of Mary Magdalene. Her name as given is Greek in form, although it ultimately originated from the Hebrew masculine name יְהוֹחָנָן Yehôḥānān or יוֹחָנָן Yôḥānān meaning 'God is gracious'. In Greek this name became Ιωαννης Iōannēs, from which Iōanna was derived by giving it a feminine ending. The original Latin form Joanna was used in English to translate the equivalents in other languages; for example, Juana la Loca is known in English as Joanna the Mad. The variant form Johanna originated in Latin in the Middle Ages, by analogy with the Latin masculine name Johannes. The Greek form lacks a medial -h- because in Greek /h/ could only occur initially.