[Sidenote: Nature of the union of Castile and Aragon.]
Ferdinand’s accession to the crown of Aragon and the recognition of Isabella as queen of Castile did not at that time bring about a political union of the two kingdoms, and resulted in no radical change in the separate institutions of either. They did mean the establishment of consistent policies in each (especially in international affairs) which were to bring about a more effectual union at a later day and produce the Spanish nation. The first problem of the Catholic Kings was that of the pacification of their realms. Aragon and Catalonia offered no serious difficulty, but the violence of the Castilian nobility called for repression of a vigorous type. Galicia and Andalusia were the regions where such action was most imperatively needed.
[Sidenote: Overthrow of seigniorial anarchy.]
The real weakness of the seigniorial class is well illustrated by the case of Galicia. The lawless conduct of the nobility and even of the high functionaries of the church was traditional, besides which Juana la Beltraneja had counted with many partisans there. Petty war, the oppression of individuals and towns (through the medium of illegal tributes or the collection of those belonging to the kings), and an almost complete disobedience of royal authority were the rule. Resolved to do away with such an evil state of affairs the Catholic Kings sent two delegates there in 1480, the one a soldier, Fernando de Acuña, and the other a lawyer and member of the _Consejo Real_, Garcí López de Chinchilla, accompanied by three hundred picked horsemen. Without loss of time and with praiseworthy energy they proceeded to carry out the royal will. Forty-six castles were demolished, the tributes which the nobles had been diverting from the king were collected once more for the royal treasury, many individuals of greater or less degree (both nobles and ordinary bandits) were put to death, and others were dominated or compelled to flee the country. Similar action was taken in Andalusia and Castile proper, wherefore within a few years the pacification of the kingdom was achieved; the seemingly hopeless anarchy of the period of Henry IV had been overcome.