A comprehensive history that focuses on the crises of Spain in the late middle ages and the early transformations that underpinned the later successes of the Catholic Monarchs.

• Illuminates Spain's history from the early fourteenth century to the union of the Crowns of Castile and Aragon in 1474
• Examines the challenges and reforms of the social, economic, political, and cultural structures of the country
• Looks at the early transformations that readied Spain for the future opportunities and challenges of the early modern Age of Discovery
• Includes a helpful bibliography to direct the reader toward further study