Demoted in the line of succession and used as a political pawn, Isabella I of Castile turned severe vulnerabilities into unprecedented power. This episode traces her rise from a drafty castle to laying the groundwork for a global empire.

We follow her strategic refusal of a rebel crown, her secret marriage to Ferdinand using a forged papal document, her victory-by-narrative at the Battle of Toro, her sweeping reforms, and the world-altering events of 1492.

• Her bleak, isolated childhood in Arevalo
• The Treaty of Guisando securing her as legal heir
• Her secret marriage to Ferdinand and a forged dispensation
• Reforms including the Santa Hermandad and a single currency
• 1492: Granada, Columbus, and the Alhambra Decree