Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. II.djvu/69

45 CHAPTER XIV. WAR OF GRANADA. — CONQUEST OF BAZA. — SUBMISSION OF EL ZAGAL. 1487 — 1489. The Sovereigns visit Aragon. — The King lays Siege to Baza. — Its great Strength. — Gardens cleared of their Timber. — The Queen raises the Spirits of her Troops. — Her patriotic Sacrifices. — Sus- pension of Arms. — Baza surrenders. — Treaty with Zagal. — Diffi- culties of the Campaign. — Isabella's Popularity and Influence. In the autumn of 1487, Ferdinand and Isabella, chapter XIV accompanied by the younger branches of the royal L- family, visited Aragon, to obtain the recognition reigns visit from the cortes, of Prince John's succession, now in his tenth year, as well as to repress the disorders into which the country had fallen during the long absence of its sovereigns. To this end, the princi- pal cities and communities of Aragon had recently adopted the institution of the hermandad, organized on similar principles to that of Castile. Ferdinand, on his arrival at Saragossa in the month of Novem- ber, gave his royal sanction to the association, ex- tending the term of its duration to five years, a measure extremely unpalatable to the great feudal nobility, whose power, or rather abuse of power,