ll remnants of Arab, and Moorish culture today. One of the best places to look is at the Alhambra in Grenada. The architect, the gardens, and defense of this building are very typical of the Moors. It is one of the most interesting buildings in Spain. The Moors controlled Spain until the early 1000's when the country was divided into different states, and cities. The Christians started to push the Moors south. Castile became the strongest of the Christian kingdoms. In the 1100's the Kings organized a Cortes which was a parliament. These Cortes had representatives who were representatives of the middle classes, the nobility, and the Roman Catholic Church. The Christians continued to fight the Moors until each part of the country was controlled by different Spaniards. "In 1469 Prince Ferdinand of Aragon married Princess Isabella of Castile. They wanted to create a strong, united Spain. They considered Jews and Muslims to be a threat to this goal" (World p. 747). So in 1480 they started the infamous Inquisition which was a court to put in anyone who didn't follow the Roman Catholic teachings. This continued for the next 300 years. All of the non Catholics were forced out of Spain, and there were some Jews that would practice in secret. In 1492 the Spanish troops defeated the last of the Moors. That was the same year that Christopher Columbus reached America with Spanish ships. This discovery started off the age of exploration according to the World Book Encyclopedia 2000. In 1521 Hernando Cortes took over Mexico. Then in the 1500's there was a weakening of Spain due to the economy which was bad due to wars with other countries, and also within Spain itself. According to the World Book the grandson of Ferdinand, and Isabella, Charles I became the King. He was the first to rule Spain from the Hapsburg lineage. It was when Charles's son, Philip II was King that the Empire reached its height. He invaded Port...