At the Cortes of Madrigal, established the Santa Hermandad, a crown-directed armed police force to restore order in Castile.
On 15 April 1476, at the Cortes of Madrigal, Isabella I oversaw the creation of the Santa Hermandad (Holy Brotherhood), a kingdom-wide armed police force intended to restore order across Castile. The measure responded to pervasive banditry, noble violence, and the instability accompanying the succession war.
The Santa Hermandad combined local brotherhood militias into a permanent, crown-directed force financed through a special tax. It patrolled roads, protected merchants and travelers, and enforced royal justice against criminals and rebellious nobles. By institutionalizing this body, Isabella significantly strengthened royal authority over a previously fragmented realm.
This reform was crucial in consolidating the monarchy and stabilizing the economy, as safer routes fostered trade and communication. It also signaled Isabella’s commitment to legal order and her willingness to innovate administratively.
From a women’s-history perspective, the Cortes of Madrigal highlight Isabella’s role not merely as figurehead but as an architect of state-building—crafting coercive and judicial tools that allowed a female monarch to reassert control over powerful male nobility and lay foundations for a more centralized early modern state.