Ferdinand and Isabella (1464-1504)
Monarchs whose marriage; and the conquest of Granada in 1492 united Spain, they also expelled the Jews and launched Columbus to find the New World the same year. They started the Spanish Inquistion - a reign of terror against first converted Jews, then also Muslims and Protestants in Spain, a 16th century version of Ethnic Cleaning (Limpieza).
The Spanish Inquistion (1478-1808)
Charles I (of Spain) V (Holy Roman Emperor) 1500-1558
Grandson of Ferdinand and raised in the Netherlands, Charles was filled with imperial ambitions and spent his energies struggling with France; the Lutherans and the Turks.
Philip II (1527-1598) and "Protestant Heresy"
Hapsburg King of Spain during its Golden Age, husband of Bloody Mary in England and then Elisabeth of Valois of France, ruthlessly determined to exterminate heresy in his realms, he launched the Armada againist Elizabeth 1 of England and sent Alva to terrorize the Netherlands, while the inquisition rooted out heresy in Spain persecuting Jews, Moors and Protestants.
Council of Trent (1545-1563)
Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) and the Jesuits
With the organisation and discipline of soldiers - these were the "shock troops" of the Counter-Reformation
