1492: Granada's Fall Completed Spain's Reunification

Yes. The January 2, 1492 surrender of Granada—the last Muslim emirate in Iberia—completed the Reconquista and unified the crowns of Castile and Aragon under Ferdinand II and Isabella I.

What "Reunification" Meant

• Political: Single Catholic monarchy ruling entire peninsula (except Portugal).
• Territorial: Granada's fall ended 781 years of Muslim rule (since 711).
• Symbolic: "One faith, one crown, one law" — basis for Spanish imperial identity.

Immediate Consequences

• Columbus funded: Same year, same monarchs. Reconquista energy → Atlantic expansion.
• Expulsions: Jews (1492), Muslims (1502, 1609) — "purity of blood" statutes.
• Inquisition: Expanded to enforce orthodoxy.
• Administrative union: Separate laws/institutions for Castile, Aragon, Navarre, Granada persisted. Full centralization: 18th century (Bourbons).

Nuance

"Reunification" is retrospective. Contemporaries saw conquest of Granada. Navarre annexed 1512. Portugal never unified. But 1492 is the symbolic hinge: medieval Iberia ends; early modern Spain begins.