Final answer:
Spain became independent after the Reconquista when it conquered Granada in 1492, ending nearly 800 years of Muslim rule and beginning Spain's rise as a unified Catholic kingdom and global power.
Step-by-step explanation:
Reconquista and the Rise of Spain
The country that gained independence in the Reconquista, after the seizure of Granada, was Spain. The Reconquista was a dynamic period of nearly 800 years during which Christian kingdoms in the north worked to recapture territory from the Muslim Moors who had controlled most of the Iberian Peninsula since 711. This historic campaign concluded in 1492 with the fall of Granada, marking the end of Muslim rule on the peninsula. The Reconquista was not just about territory but also entailed deep cultural and religious shifts, with efforts to establish a unified Christian identity within the regions reclaimed.
The culmination of this epic struggle was deeply intertwined with the marriage of King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile, which effectively unified Catholic Spain. Their combined forces succeeded in taking Granada, thus finalizing the Christian reconquest and setting the stage for Spanish global exploration and imperialism. The forced capitulation of Muhammad XII, the last Emir of Granada, and subsequent decrees like the Alhambra Decree, reshaped the cultural landscape of Spain, initiating a mass exodus of Muslims and Jews and ending an era of religious pluralism in the region.