I can't imagine being 13 and being declared fit to rule a country. That's nuts. At 13, I had a favorite yoyo. 😂

While Queen Isabella II wasn't one of most respected monarchs, we Filipinos somewhat have to give her credit and some appreciation for one simple decision she made: she refused to sell the Philippines to King Leopold II of Belgium. If you don't know who the bastard Leopold was, he turned the Congo into a literal Hell on Earth...

She may have been uneducated to rule but she was  smart enough to secure a fortune and live a long life , with staff in exile and  manipulate  many lovers. Not book smart but street smart.

Her inedequate education is naturally not her fault. I wonder what was the reason behind it. Presumably earlier regents did not suffer the same problem. Was it her mother's fault who hoped being able to keep the reigns if she kept her daughter ignorant or was it her gender that prevented her from achieving a suitable education?
Fascinating vidro as always, thsnks for sharing!

I really enjoyed this. She was not educated enough to rule. She also inherited a backwards country. Getting a dud of a husband did not help her either. At least she had lovers amidst the turmoil of her reign. This was very interesting. She lived a long enough life, too....something many can't get even today.

One of my favourite fun facts about her is that her husband was called "The Real Queen of Spain" because of how feminine and flamboyant he was lol

Fascinating study! This is her real legacy today: The Madrid city water company is named after her, Canal de Isabel II, so her name is literally on almost every manhole in Madrid. When you think of her, you always think of the sewer below you.😀

Just an FYI that Salic law was only introduced to Spain when the house of bourbon , from France came to reign in Spain

Great video, but just a comment about the Salic Law in Spain , Spain as a reign using mainly the castillian laws of succession didn't have any Salic Law, for Isabella I and Joanna the Mad both reigned as queens of Castille, and even before them queen Urraca in medieval ages (ca. 1100) being the first reigning queen by her own rights of succession in Europe, is just that sons were prefered to rule before daughters, but in absence of any male direct heir, a female direct heir could reign, and are prefered sons and daughters of the king than brothers or male cousins. Salic Law was in fact a Bourbon family issue that they tried to impose into Spain with short and relative success but in fact didn't last long since an imperfect law in 1712- with the promulgation of Philip's V "Fundamental Law of Succession"- which made able to reign to any male lateral branch of the family (Is prefered the king's brother than the daugher, and a male cousin than a sister, but in absence of male heir, brother or cousin, a woman could still reign ) , this fact is what made prince Carlos try to impose himself as legitimate heir after Ferdinand VII's "Pragmatica Sanción" was promulgated, going back to the castillian traditional laws of succession.

Thank you.  It’s almost an ‘oh dear’ moment.  Such a profound - and sad - statement .  “ he wore more lace than me”.  Nit a good start to a marriage 🙏🙏👵🇦🇺

Thank you again. This video was done well and was very interesting about this history of Spain. "Poor queens and kings, not just in Spain."❤ How about the peasants, the serfs and the Lords? It was all madness.

You bring history to life.
So engaging.
This would have bored me to sleep at school, but you make it real, relevant, so...interesting.
Thank you for sharing your considerable talent as a researcher & a storyteller ❤.

One clarification: Spain only adopted Salic law after the Bourbons took power. It was not the case prior to that

Welcome back FLives! Thank you for another epic narration, on another great event of the past

A really good video  - and quite different from most of your others. It's good - very, very good. Even after having watched so many of your videos, I'm amazed and impressed by how much information and analysis you can put into such a short space of time. It's a rare and admirable talent.

She was actually talented for music, was an excellent singer and played piano well. She always loved Spain thoroughly and was the first modern monarch to extensively travel across the country (using the recently opened railways), showing herself very close to the people... she would dress her children with the traditional costumes of the regiones she visited. She was also very generous and would give alms or presents to everyone she met, exhausting her own finances. She led the collecting of funds when a terrible earthquake stroke Manila (Philippines) in 1863, reason why there is a status of hers there. Finaly, she was forced to marry against her will, very young, to an unattractive effeminate man, which made her unhappy and rebellious.

Thanks for another fascinating historical biography . I had never heard of her . She was pretty when she was young but not the brightest.

02:35 - 02:41 The portrait you used is not Joanna of Castile, this portrait depicts her sister in law Margaret of Austria.

Another interesting video, well researched as always 🥰👍

Yet another enjoyable program, I can’t understand why her family did not educate her, at least in politics.