Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire was a significant global power that emerged during the Age of Exploration, particularly in the late 15th century under the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II and Isabella I. It expanded across Europe, Africa, and the Americas, driven by the pursuit of wealth, territory, and the spread of Catholicism. The empire achieved its peak in the 16th and 17th centuries under the Spanish Habsburgs, marked by conquests that included the Aztec and Inca empires. However, the empire began to decline due to weak leadership, costly wars, and economic troubles, which were exacerbated by the Habsburgs' inbreeding and subsequent loss of capable rulers.
Throughout its history, the Spanish Empire fostered a rich cultural exchange, particularly during its Golden Age, when patronage of the arts flourished alongside economic wealth from the Americas. The administration of the vast territories was managed through a system of viceroys and local councils, reflecting a complex governance structure. The decline accelerated in the 18th century, culminating in territorial losses and the eventual independence of most American colonies by the 19th century. The legacy of the Spanish Empire remains a subject of historical significance, influencing global culture, politics, and economics.
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire was one of the first global powers to emerge during the Age of Exploration in the fifteenth century. Under the rule of Ferdinand II and Isabella I, Spain began to claim areas of Europe, Africa, and the East Indies. Later monarchs seized vast territories in North and South America looking for gold and seeking to spread the Catholic faith. Thriving for several centuries, the empire reached its peak during the reign of the Spanish Habsburgs, from the early sixteenth to the mid-seventeenth century, but then began a decline as weak leadership and conflicts in Europe eroded its territories.
Overview
The first colony of Spain, established in 1478, was the Canary Islands, just west of Morocco in Africa. Discovery of the New World followed, and the monarchy acquired vast new territories there. Although the soldiers of Spain were known for their sense of honor, altruism, and perseverance, the conquistadores who conquered the indigenous peoples of America were mercenaries who were after gold and silver. Their ability to overwhelm the sophisticated societies of the Inca, Aztec, Maya, and other peoples was due as much to inadvertently spreading deadly diseases as it was to their superior weaponry.
The Catholic faith of the Spanish leaders was a strong motive for their acquisition of territory, particularly once the Protestant Reformation was underway. The long reign of the House of Habsburg continued that trend, with new types of governments, such as a system of viceroys, helping to administer the faraway colonies and bring gold and silver home to the crown. Inbreeding among the Habsburgs led to increasingly less-capable leadership, while continuous wars sapped both manpower and revenue, resulting in a slow decline of Spanish power.
The Catholic Monarchs
In 1469, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile married, uniting the two largest Christian kingdoms of Spain. Together the Catholic Monarchs, as they came to be called, defeated the last of Spain's Islamic kingdoms, expelled the Jews, and established the Spanish Inquisition to ensure that all their subjects, including converted Jews and Muslims, adhered to strict Catholic doctrine. The monarchs united the entire Iberian Peninsula and created a strong relationship with the Vatican. In 1492, they financed the journey of Christopher Columbus, whose reports on the New World led to later exploration, conquest, and expansion of the empire.
The Habsburg Dynasty
Upon the death of Ferdinand II, his grandson Charles I took the Spanish throne. Charles I also was heir to the Habsburg dynasties in the Netherlands and Austria. He became Holy Roman Emperor, ruling territories in Eastern Europe, Italy, and the Low Countries of the northern European coast, as well as all of Spain. He expanded the empire in the New World by conquering the Aztecs in Mexico and the Inca in Peru. He abdicated his power to his son Philip II a few years before his death.
Philip II was a responsible leader who worked hard to defend both crown and faith during his reign. However, his aggressive military programs in Europe put Spain into bankruptcy three times. His son, Philip III, was not motivated to turn the empire around, but did make peace with England and held a long truce with the Netherlands. Habsburgs held the throne until 1700, when the physically weak and mentally disabled Charles II, who had no children, named Philip V, grandson of Louis XIV, to be his successor. Through Philip V, what remained of the Spanish empire passed to the French House of Bourbon.
The Golden Age
As money poured in from mining in the Americas and taxation of the vast agricultural holdings of Castile, royals and nobles became active patrons of the arts. Beginning in the time of the Catholic Monarchs, Renaissance influences from Italy made their way to Spain, where new money allowed the arts to blossom. Kings built palaces and cathedrals and supported writers and artists. For example, after Philip II made Madrid the capital of Spain, he built El Pardo Palace in the quickly growing city. Madrid also became a center for the arts, with Philip as its most important patron.
Administering the Empire
During the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, the monarchs removed authority from the legislative courtes of the nobility in favor of royal councils comprised of hidalgos, who would not challenge royal decisions as the nobles had. Isabella established the House of Trade to enforce business policies and collect taxes. Charles I created the Council of the Indies to govern the colonies. It included a system of viceroys, who represented the king, and cabildos, or local councils, to administer political, military, and religious activities in the New World
War of Succession
Upon the death of Charles II in 1700 at the age of thirty-nine, the question of his successor became paramount. Because he was childless and had no brothers, he willed the throne to Philip, Duke of Anjou, who was the Bourbon grandson of Charles's half-sister, Maria Teresa, and Louis XIV.
However, Archduke Charles of the Austrian Habsburgs also claimed the throne to prevent crowning a Bourbon king who would increase the power of France in Europe. In the wars that followed, Philip gave up any claim to the French throne and lost Spain's territories in Italy, the Netherlands, Gibraltar, and Menorca. However, he did unite Spain and retain the American colonies.
Decline of the Empire
A prime cause of Spain's decline as a major power was wars of both aggression and defense and poor governing by the crown. Debt, high taxes, and heavy-handed regulation of the economy resulted in alternating inflation and deflation. Philip II's constant wars, the defeat of his armada by the British, and the rising costs of maintaining the military took their toll. The aristocracy snatched as much power as it could, and Philip IV and Charles II passed most of their responsibilities to government ministers. During the reign of Philip III, the armies of Louis XIV invaded Catalonia and took territory in northern Italy and the Netherlands. Spain continued to hold colonies in the Americas until the nineteenth century, when the last of them declared independence, leaving the former empire with just a few territories in Africa.
Bibliography
Clark, Liesl. "The Lost Inca Empire." Nova. PBS: WGBH Educational Foundation. 2014. Web. 2 Dec. 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/lost-inca-empire.html>
Payne, Stanley G. "Chapter 13: The Spanish Empire." A History of Spain and Portugal, Volume 1. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1973. Print. Available online at <http://libro.uca.edu/payne1/spainport1.htm>