The Spanish EmpireViolet Yamashiro

History of Spain

• Henry IV’s death began a struggle for succession for Castile.

• Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand II ruled over a unified Spain.

• 1391 saw Jewish massacres in major cities of Castile and Aragon.

• Muslim and Jewish conversion was ordered, at risk of expulsion from Spain.

History of Spain

• The 16th and 17th centuries were a golden age for Spain.

• Spain had control of much land in both North and South America.

• Silver was extracted from parts of the Americas, and in return the Spanish spread smallpox and measles, reducing much of the Aztec, Maya and Inca civilizations.

• Religion was also spread, attempting to bring Christianity to the new world.

The Golden Age Under the Habsburgs

• Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire divided the Habsburg inheritance into the parts of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire.

• Under Phillip II, Spain became a leading European power through income of American silver, and became involved in the Thirty Years’ War.

• The Iberian Union between Spain and Portugal happened in 1580, adding to resources but also causing economic crisis.

• Spain’s decline began when it was left essentially without rule and the War of Spanish Succession began, as other powers fought for control.

Enlightenment Under the Bourbons

• Much progress was made during this time after the decline of the Habsburg reign.

• King Louis XIV of France passed control of Spain to the Bourbon dynasty.

• Enlightened Despotism increased Spain’s wellbeing after attempting to regain lost land in Italy.

• Spain had to give Florida to the British at the Treaty of Paris.

• Spain’s War of Independence began after Napoleon’s invasion.

Spanish Colonization • Trade and the spread of Christianity, or god, glory, and gold, were the driving forces

for Spanish colonization.• This began in 1492 with Christopher Columbus’s landing in the Americas.• Trading ports were also established throughout Indonesia, East Africa, and India.• Santa María la Antigua del Darién was the first permanent settlement in the

Americas in 1510.• In Mexico, two campaigns, the conquest of the Aztec Empire and the conquest of

Yucatán, spanned from 1519-1521 and 1551-1697 respectively.

Spanish Colonization • Incan Emperor Atahualpa was

attacked and captured in 1531 at the Battle of Cajamarca.

• With the help of allied natives of the area, control was taken of the Andes region of Peru.

• The areas controlled by Spain were divided into Viceroyalties.

• Approximately 740,000 Spaniards travelled to colonize the Americas in the 16th and 17th centuries.• The native population of Mexico reduced about 90%, and the

Peruvian native population was reduced from around 6.5 million to 1 million, both by the 17th century.