Sorata ( Aymara : Surat'a ) is a small town in the La Paz Department in the Bolivian Andes , northwest of the city of La Paz and east of Lake Titicaca . It is the seat of the Larecaja Province and the Sorata Municipality . At the time of census 2001 it had a population of 2,217. It is a somewhat popular weekend getaway and a relaxing base camp for a growing number of hikers . It includes several small hotels, including a converted Italian mansion.
184-532: In colonial days, Sorata provided a link to the Alto Beni goldfields and rubber plantations, and a gateway to the Amazon Basin . In August 1781 it was the site of an unorthodox siege by the nephew of Tupac Amaru , Andres, and his 16,000 soldiers. They constructed dikes above the town, and when these had been filled with runoff from the slopes of the nearby peak Illampu , they opened the floodgates and
368-653: A Genoese sailor attempting to reach Cipangu (Japan) by sailing west. Castile was already engaged in a race of exploration with Portugal to reach the Far East by sea when Columbus made his bold proposal to Isabella. In the Capitulations of Santa Fe , dated on 17 April 1492, Christopher Columbus obtained from the Catholic Monarchs his appointment as viceroy and governor in the lands already discovered and that he might discover thenceforth; thereby, it
552-490: A cholera or dysentery outbreak. They were so weakened by the illness that they decided to abandon Brunei to return to Manila on 26 June 1578, after just 72 days. Before doing so, they burned the mosque, a high structure with a five-tier roof. Pengiran Seri Lela died in August–September 1578, probably from the same illness that had afflicted his Spanish allies, although there was suspicion he could have been poisoned by
736-620: A tributary of Spain for help to recover the throne usurped by his brother, Saiful Rijal. The Spanish agreed that if they succeeded in conquering Brunei, Pengiran Seri Lela would indeed become the Sultan, while Pengiran Seri Ratna would be the new Bendahara . In March 1578, the Spanish fleet, led by Francisco de Sande himself, acting as Capitán General , started its journey towards Brunei. The expedition consisted of 400 Spaniards and Mexicans, 1,500 Filipino natives and 300 Borneans. The campaign
920-423: A 20,000-strong Tlaxcalan army. Three days later, a 50,000-strong Otomi -Tlaxcalan force was defeated by Spanish arquebusier and cannon fire, and a Castilian cavalry charge. Thousands of Tlaxcalans joined the invaders against their Aztec rulers. Cortés's forces sacked the city of Cholula , massacring 6,000 inhabitants, and later entered Emperor Moctezuma II 's capital, Tenochtitlan , on 8 November. Velázquez sent
1104-661: A Catholic, and the death of the popular Dutch resistance leader was expected to bring an end to the war. However it did not happen. In 1586, Queen Elizabeth I of England , supported the Protestant cause in the Netherlands and France. Sir Francis Drake launched attacks against Spanish merchants in the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean , along with a particularly aggressive attack on the port of Cádiz . Philip sent
1288-553: A Christian walled city over the burnt ruins of Muslim Maynila and made it as the new capital of the Spanish East Indies and renamed it Manila. Spaniards were few and life was difficult and they were often outnumbered by their Amerindian recruits and Filipino allies. They attempted to mobilize subordinated populations through the encomienda . Unlike in the Caribbean where the indigenous populations rapidly disappeared,
1472-789: A Spanish protectorate following a series of treaties in 1488, 1491, 1493, and 1495. With the Christian reconquest completed in the Iberian peninsula, Spain began trying to take territory in Muslim North Africa. It had conquered Melilla in 1497, and further expansionism policy in North Africa was developed during the regency of Ferdinand the Catholic in Castile, stimulated by Cardinal Cisneros . Several towns and outposts in
1656-528: A convenience for historians. The marriage of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon in 1469 resulted in the union of the two main crowns, Castile and Aragon, which eventually led to the de facto unification of Spain after the culmination of the Reconquista with the conquest of Granada in 1492 and of Navarre in 1512 to 1529. Isabella and Ferdinand were bestowed the title of " Catholic King and Queen " by Pope Alexander VI in 1494. With
1840-630: A defensive policy with the construction of a series of military forts ( presidios ) and peace agreements with some of the Muslim rulers of North Africa. In the first half of the 17th century, Spanish ships attacked the Anatolian coast, defeating larger Ottoman fleets at the Battle of Cape Celidonia and the Battle of Cape Corvo . Larache and La Mamora , on the Moroccan Atlantic coast, and
2024-559: A different venue. Columbus's second voyage in 1493 had a large contingent of settlers and goods to accomplish that. On Hispaniola, the city of Santo Domingo was founded in 1496 by Christopher Columbus's brother Bartholomew Columbus and became a stone-built, permanent city. Non-Castilians, such as Catalans and Aragonese , were often prohibited from migrating to the New World. Following the settlement of Hispaniola, Europeans began searching elsewhere to begin new settlements, since there
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#17327719935472208-472: A direct consequence of his unwillingness to offend the Emperor and perhaps have his capital sacked a second time. The Peace of Barcelona , signed between Charles and the pope in 1529, established a more cordial relationship between the two leaders that effectively made Charles the protector of the Catholic cause and recognized Charles as King of Italy in return for Imperial-Spanish intervention in overthrowing
2392-546: A force led by Pánfilo de Narváez to punish the insubordinate Cortés for his unauthorized invasion of Mexico, but they were defeated at the Battle of Cempoala on 29 May 1520. Narváez was wounded and captured and 17 of his troops were killed; the rest joined Cortés. Meanwhile, Pedro de Alvarado triggered an Aztec uprising following the massacre in the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan , during which 400 Aztec nobles and 2,000 onlookers were killed. The Castilians were driven out of
2576-492: A latitude south of Cape Bojador , a compromise was worked out and incorporated in the Treaty of Tordesillas , dated on 7 June 1494, in which the world was split into two dividing Spanish and Portuguese claims. These actions gave Spain exclusive rights to establish colonies in all of the New World from north to south (later with the exception of Brazil, which Portuguese commander Pedro Álvares Cabral encountered in 1500), as well as
2760-752: A local aristocracy; strengthened the power of the ecclesiastical hierarchy; shored up religious orthodoxy by the establishment of the Inquisition in Lima and Mexico City (1571); and increased revenues from silver mines in Peru and in Mexico, discovered in the 1540s. Particularly important was the crown's appointment of two able viceroys, Don Francisco de Toledo as Viceroy of Peru (r. 1569–1581), and in New Spain , Martín Enríquez de Almanza (r. 1568–1580), who
2944-582: A military expedition to restore order. Alba launched an ensuing reign of terror. In 1568, William the Silent led a failed attempt to drive Alba from the Netherlands. This attempt is generally considered to signal the start of the Eighty Years' War that ended with the independence of the United Provinces . The Spanish, who derived a great deal of wealth from the Netherlands and particularly from
3128-712: A number of revolts across the Spanish Habsburg's domains, including their Spanish kingdoms. During the Habsburg rule, the Spanish Empire significantly expanded its territories in the Americas, beginning with the conquest of the Aztec Empire ; these conquests were achieved not by the Spanish army, but by small groups of adventurers—artisans, traders, gentry, and peasants—who operated independently under
3312-892: A result of the marriage politics of the Catholic Monarchs (in Spanish, Reyes Católicos ), their Habsburg grandson Charles inherited the Castilian empire in the Americas and the possessions of the Crown of Aragon in the Mediterranean (including all of south Italy ), lands in Germany, the Low Countries , Franche-Comté , and Austria , starting the rule of the Spanish Habsburgs. The Austrian hereditary Habsburg domains were transferred to Ferdinand ,
3496-572: A role for Spain as protector of the Catholic Habsburg cause in the Holy Roman Empire. In 1526, Charles married Infanta Isabella , the sister of John III of Portugal . In 1556 he abdicated from his positions, giving his Spanish empire to his only surviving son, Philip II of Spain , and the Holy Roman Empire to his brother, Ferdinand . Charles retired to the monastery of Yuste ( Extremadura , Spain), and died in 1558. Spain
3680-654: A surprise attack in Cajamarca that resulted in the massacre of thousands of Incas. This conquest facilitated the establishment of the Viceroyalty of Peru in 1542, allowing Spain to exert control over territories in western South America, comprising present-day Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and parts of Chile and Argentina. In the subsequent years, Spanish explorers and conquistadors ventured into northern South America, where they established settlements in present-day Venezuela and Colombia. Philip II of Spain (r. 1556–98) oversaw
3864-673: A surviving heir, probably the Crown of Aragon would have been split from Castile, which was inherited by Charles, Ferdinand and Isabella's grandson. Ferdinand joined the League of Cambrai against Venice in 1508. In 1511, he became part of the Holy League against France, seeing a chance at taking both Milan —to which he held a dynastic claim—and Navarre . In 1516, France agreed to a truce that left Milan in its control and recognized Spanish control of Upper Navarre , which had effectively been
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#17327719935474048-525: Is 11 m (36 ft) lower than Illimani , near La Paz, but surveys in the area are imperfect, and there is much debate between the citizens of both areas as to which mountain is higher. Sorata features an unusual subtropical highland climate , with oceanic elements and high levels of diurnal temperature variation. 15°46′24″S 68°38′53″W / 15.77333°S 68.64806°W / -15.77333; -68.64806 Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire , sometimes referred to as
4232-614: Is held on September 14. Of note is Casa Gunthere, a historic mansion that now houses the Residencial Sorata. It was built in 1895 as the home of the Richters, a quinine trading family. Sorata is located at the base of the mountains Illampu , 6,368 m (20,892 ft), and Janq'u Uma , 6,427 m (21,086 ft), which are the northern anchors of the Cordillera Real . By the most reliable figures, Janq'u Uma
4416-405: Is often credited with a major transformation in crown rule in Peru. Toledo formalized the labor draft of Andean commoners, the mit'a , to guarantee a labor supply for both the silver mine at Potosí and the mercury mine at Huancavelica . He established administrative districts of corregimiento , and resettled native Andeans in reducciones to better rule them. Under Toledo, the last stronghold of
4600-435: The arbitristas . The natural resource abundance provoked a decline in entrepreneurship as profits from resource extraction are less risky. The wealthy preferred to invest their fortunes in public debt ( juros ). The Habsburg dynasty spent the Castilian and American riches in wars across Europe on behalf of Habsburg interests, and declared moratoriums (bankruptcies) on their debt payments several times. These burdens led to
4784-789: The American Revolutionary War , Britain ceded both Floridas back to Spain as part of the Treaty of Paris . Spain had recaptured West Florida in 1781 through military operations. Both Floridas were ceded to the United States in 1819 as part of the Adams-Onís Treaty . Louisiana was ceded back to France in 1801 in the Treaty of Aranjuez . The Bourbon monarchy implemented reforms like the Nueva Planta decrees , which centralized power and abolished regional privileges. Economic policies promoted trade with
4968-692: The Aztecs and thousands of indigenous Mexican warriors, conquered the Aztec Empire in 1521. Following the pattern established in Spain during the Reconquista and in the Caribbean, the first European settlements in the Americas, conquerors divided up the indigenous population in private holdings encomiendas and exploited their labor. With Americas colonization, Spain gained vast new indigenous populations to convert to Christianity and rule as vassals of
5152-753: The Cape Verde islands (1476), conquering the city of Ceuta in the Tingitan Peninsula in 1476 (but retaken by the Portuguese), and even attacked the Azores islands, being defeated at Praia . The turning point of the war came in 1478, however, when a Castilian fleet sent by King Ferdinand to conquer Gran Canaria lost men and ships to the Portuguese who expelled the attack, and a large Castilian armada—full of gold—was entirely captured in
5336-690: The Caribbean Islands , half of South America , most of Central America and much of North America . The Magellan-Elcano circumnavigation —the first circumnavigation of the Earth—laid the foundation for Spain's Pacific empire and for Spanish control over the East Indies . The influx of gold and silver from the mines in Zacatecas and Guanajuato in Mexico and Potosí in Bolivia enriched
5520-624: The Council of the Indies and Casa de Contratación , the two highest bodies in metropolitan Spain for the government of the empire in the New World, as well as royal government in the Indies. Portugal obtained several papal bulls that acknowledged Portuguese control over the discovered territories, but Castile also obtained from the Pope the safeguard of its rights to the Canary Islands with
5704-510: The Crown of Castile , having earlier retaken territory from the Muslims. Following Portugal's earlier completion of the reconquest and its establishment of settled boundaries, it began to seek overseas expansion, first to the port of Ceuta (1415) and then by colonizing the Atlantic islands of Madeira (1418) and the Azores (1427–1452); it also began voyages down the west coast of Africa in
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5888-732: The Elector of Saxony Maurice . In response, Charles invaded Germany at the head of a mixed Dutch-Spanish army, hoping to restore the Imperial authority. The Emperor personally inflicted a decisive defeat on the Protestants at the historic Battle of Mühlberg in 1547. In 1555, Charles signed the Peace of Augsburg with the Protestant states and restored stability in Germany on his principle of cuius regio, eius religio ("whose realm, his religion"). Charles's involvement in Germany would establish
6072-563: The Habsburg territories in Germany , and was duly elected as Holy Roman Emperor that year. His mother Joanna remained titular queen of Castile until her death in 1555, but due to her mental health and worries of her being proposed as an alternative monarch by opposition (as happened in the Revolt of the Comuneros ), Charles kept her imprisoned. At that point, Emperor and King Charles was
6256-793: The Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy , was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire , it ushered in the European Age of Discovery . It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas , Africa , various islands in Asia and Oceania , as well as territory in other parts of Europe. It was one of the most powerful empires of
6440-433: The Holy League against France, seeing a chance at taking both Naples (to which he held a dynastic claim) and Navarre, which was claimed through his marriage to Germaine of Foix . The war was less of a success than that against Venice, and in 1516 France agreed to a truce that left Milan under French control and recognized Spanish hegemony in northern Navarre. Ferdinand would die later that year. Ferdinand's death led to
6624-850: The Honduras Company (1714), a Caracas company; the Guipuzcoana Company (1728), and the most successful ones, the Havana Company (1740) and the Barcelona Trading Company (1755). In 1717–18, the structures for governing the Indies, the Consejo de Indias and the Casa de Contratación , which governed investments in the cumbersome Spanish treasure fleets , were transferred from Seville to Cádiz , where foreign merchant houses had easier access to
6808-403: The Italian Wars beginning in 1494. Following Spanish victories at the Battles of Cerignola and Garigliano in 1503, France recognized Ferdinand's sovereignty over Naples through a treaty. After the death of Queen Isabella in 1504, and her exclusion of Ferdinand from a further role in Castile, Ferdinand married Germaine de Foix in 1505, cementing an alliance with France. Had that couple had
6992-597: The Kingdom of Naples , the Kingdom of Sicily , the Kingdom of Sardinia , and the Duchy of Milan through the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559. Italy became the core of Spain's power. By the mid-17th century, Spain's global empire burdened its economic, administrative, and military resources. Over the preceding century, Spanish troops had fought in France, Germany, and the Netherlands, suffering heavy casualties. Despite its vast holdings, Spain's military lacked essential modernization and heavily relied on foreign suppliers. Nevertheless, Spain possessed abundant bullion from
7176-542: The New World in 1493, Portugal and Castile divided the world by the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494), which gave Portugal Africa and Asia, and the Western Hemisphere to Spain. The voyage of Columbus, a Genoese mariner, obtained the support of Isabella of Castile, sailing west in 1492, seeking a route to the Indies. Columbus unexpectedly encountered the New World , populated by peoples he named "Indians". Subsequent voyages and full-scale settlements of Spaniards followed, with gold beginning to flow into Castile's coffers. Managing
7360-460: The Spanish Armada to attack England. Numbering 130 ships and 30,000 men, it was led by Alonso de Guzmán y Sotomayor, 7th Duke of Medina Sidonia . The Armada's goal was to ferry the Army of Flanders from the Netherlands to invade England. After three days of fighting with the English fleet, the Armada withdrew and was forced to make the journey around the coast of Scotland and Ireland, many ships being wrecked by storms. Spain had invested itself in
7544-417: The Spanish Empire was at the zenith of its influence and power. Spain, or "the Spains", referring to Spanish territories across different continents in this period, initially covered the entire Iberian Peninsula, including the crowns of Castile , Aragon and from 1580 Portugal . It then expanded to include territories over the five continents, consisting of much of the American continent and islands thereof,
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7728-538: The Spanish Main , a severe setback in which the English suffered heavy losses in men and ships. With the conquest and settlement of the Philippines , the Spanish Empire reached its greatest extent. In 1564, Miguel López de Legazpi was commissioned by the viceroy of New Spain (Mexico), Don Luís de Velasco , to lead an expedition in the Pacific Ocean to find the Spice Islands , where earlier explorers Ferdinand Magellan and Ruy López de Villalobos had landed in 1521 and 1543, respectively. The westward sailing to reach
7912-404: The Sultanate of Aceh . In 1593, the governor-general of the Philippines, Luis Pérez Dasmariñas , set out to conquer Cambodia , igniting the Cambodian–Spanish War . Some 120 Spaniards, Japanese, and Filipinos, sailing aboard three junks, launched an expedition to Cambodia. After an altercation between the Spanish expedition members and some Chinese merchants at the port left a few Chinese dead,
8096-404: The Tondo Conspiracy of 1587–1588 failed. a planned grand alliance with the Japanese Christian-captain, Gayo, and Brunei's Sultan, would have restored the old aristocracy. Its failure resulted in the hanging of Agustín de Legaspi and the execution of Magat Salamat (the crown-prince of Tondo). Thereafter, some of the conspirators were exiled to Guam or Guerrero, Mexico. The Spanish then conducted
8280-399: The War of the League of Cognac . In 1527, due to Charles' inability to pay them sufficiently, his armies in Northern Italy mutinied and sacked Rome itself for loot, forcing Clement, and succeeding popes, to be considerably more prudent in their dealings with secular authorities. In 1533, Clement's refusal to annul Henry VIII of England 's marriage to Catherine of Aragon (Charles' aunt) was
8464-523: The War of the Spanish Succession , as various European powers contested his claim to the throne. The conflict concluded with the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, allowing Philip, the first Bourbon king of Spain, to retain the throne but resulting in territorial losses for Spain: Gibraltar , Menorca , the Spanish Netherlands and Spanish Italy. In 1763, after the Seven Years' War , Spain ceded both East Florida and West Florida to Great Britain while gaining Louisiana from France. However, in 1783, following
8648-419: The West Indies in the Americas, the Low Countries, Belgium, Luxembourg , Italian territories and parts of France in Europe, Portuguese possessions such as small enclaves like Ceuta and Oran in North Africa, and the Philippines and other possessions in Southeast Asia. The period of Spanish history has also been referred to as the " Age of Expansion ". The Habsburg name was not continuously used by
8832-436: The early modern period , becoming known as " the empire on which the sun never sets ". At its greatest extent in the late 1700s and early 1800s, the Spanish Empire covered over 13 million square kilometres (5 million square miles), making it one of the largest empires in history. Beginning with the 1492 arrival of Christopher Columbus and continuing for over three centuries, the Spanish Empire would expand across
9016-415: The 1530s. The Spanish Empire abroad became the source of Spanish wealth and power in Europe. But as precious metal shipments rapidly expanded late in the century it contributed to the general inflation that was affecting the whole of Europe. Instead of fueling the Spanish economy, American silver made the country increasingly dependent on foreign sources of raw materials and manufactured goods. In 1557, Spain
9200-406: The Americas instead. Thus, the limitations imposed by the Alcáçovas treaty were overcome and a new and more balanced division of the world would be reached in the Treaty of Tordesillas between both emerging maritime powers. Seven months before the treaty of Alcaçovas, King John II of Aragon died, and his son Ferdinand II of Aragon , married to Isabella I of Castile , inherited
9384-477: The Americas, which played a crucial role in both sustaining its military endeavors and meeting the needs of its civilian population. During this period, Spain displayed limited military interest in its overseas colonies. The Criollo elites (colonial-born Spaniards) and mestizo and mulatto militia (of mixed Indigenous-Spanish and African-Spanish descent) provided only minimal protection, often assisted by more influential allies with vested interests in maintaining
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#17327719935479568-446: The Austrians at the Battle of Bitonto in 1734 during the War of the Polish Succession , and during the War of Jenkins' Ear (1739–42) thwarted British efforts to capture the strategic cities of Cartagena de Indias , Santiago de Cuba and St. Augustine by defeating a British combined army and navy force, although Spain's invasion of Georgia also failed. The British suffered 25,000 dead or wounded and lost nearly 5,000 ships during
9752-413: The Aztec capital, suffering heavy losses and losing all of their gold and guns during La Noche Triste . On 8 July 1520, at Otumba , the Castilians and their allies, without artillery or arquebusiers, repelled 100,000 Aztecs armed with obsidian-bladed clubs. In August, 500 Castilians and 40,000 Tlaxcalans conquered the hilltop town of Tepeaca , an Aztec ally. Most of the inhabitants were either branded on
9936-409: The Canaries, recognized the Portuguese monopoly of fishing and navigation along the whole west African coast and Portugal's rights over the Madeira , Azores and Cape Verde islands [plus the right to conquer the Kingdom of Fez ]." The treaty delimited the spheres of influence of the two countries, establishing the principle of the Mare clausum . It was confirmed in 1481 by the Pope Sixtus IV , in
10120-437: The Catholic League after accepting the new convert to Catholicism, Henry IV, as the rightful French king. Meanwhile, Castile was ravaged by a plague that had arrived by ship from the north, losing half a million people. Yet as the 17th century began, and despite her travails, Spain was still unquestionably the dominant power. The first years of his reign, from 1556 to 1566, Philip II was concerned principally with Muslim allies of
10304-529: The Catholic Monarchy, in the period from 1516 to 1700 when it was ruled by kings from the House of Habsburg . It had territories around the world, including modern-day Spain , a piece of south-eastern France , eventually Portugal and many other lands outside the Iberian Peninsula , including in the Americas and Asia. Habsburg Spain was a composite monarchy and a personal union . The Habsburg Spanish monarchs of this period are Charles I , Philip II , Philip III , Philip IV and Charles II . In this period
10488-499: The Christian conquest of the Muslim Emirate of Granada , completed in 1492, for which Valencia-born Pope Alexander VI gave them the title of the Catholic Monarchs . Ferdinand of Aragon was particularly concerned with expansion in France and Italy, as well as conquests in North Africa. With the Ottoman Turks controlling the choke points of the overland trade from Asia and the Middle East, both Spain and Portugal sought alternative routes. The Kingdom of Portugal had an advantage over
10672-421: The Duchy of Milan in northern Italy since 1741, but faced the opposition of Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia , and warfare in northern Italy remained indecisive throughout the period up to 1746. By the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chappelle , Spain gained (indirectly) Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla in northern Italy. Habsburg Spain Habsburg Spain refers to Spain and the Hispanic Monarchy , also known as
10856-400: The Dutch destroyed the dykes that held back the North Sea from the low-lying provinces. In 1576, faced with the costs of his 80,000-man army of occupation in the Netherlands and the massive fleet that had won at Lepanto, Philip was forced to accept bankruptcy . The army in the Netherlands mutinied not long after, seizing Antwerp and looting the southern Netherlands, prompting several cities in
11040-563: The Dutch to reorganize their defenses. The Spanish Armada suffered defeat at the hands of the English in 1588 and the situation in the Netherlands became increasingly difficult to manage. Maurice of Nassau , William's son, recaptured Deventer , Groningen , Nijmegen and Zutphen . The Spanish were on the defensive, mainly because they had wasted too much resources on the attempted invasion of England and on expeditions in northern France. In 1595, Henry IV of France declared war on Spain, further reducing its ability to launch offensive warfare on
11224-401: The Emperor's brother, whereas Spain and the remaining possessions were inherited by Charles's son, Philip II of Spain , at the abdication of the former in 1556. The Habsburgs pursued several goals: "I learnt a proverb here", said a French traveler in 1603: "Everything is dear in Spain except silver". The problems caused by inflation were discussed by scholars at the School of Salamanca and
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#173277199354711408-403: The French, and efforts in Germany to undermine the League had been rebuffed. Francis's defeat in 1544 led to the annulment of the alliance with the Protestants, and Charles took advantage of the opportunity. He first tried the path of negotiation at the Council of Trent in 1545, but the Protestant leadership, feeling betrayed by the stance taken by the Catholics at the council, went to war, led by
11592-438: The Habsburg crown. The success of colonization all around his empire improved his financial position, enabling him to show greater aggression towards his enemies. The English Armada of 1589 failed to liberate Portugal. Philip established the Council of Portugal , on the pattern of the royal councils ; the Council of Castile , Council of Aragon , and Council of the Indies , that oversaw particular jurisdictions, but all under
11776-664: The Habsburgs, the term Monarchia Catholica (Catholic Monarchy, Modern Spanish: Monarquía Católica ) remained in use. Spain continued to be one of the greatest political and military powers in Europe and the world for much of the 16th and 17th centuries. During the Habsburg's period, Spain ushered in the Spanish Golden Age of arts and literature producing some of the world's most outstanding writers and painters and influential intellectuals, including Teresa of Ávila , Pedro Calderón de la Barca , Miguel de Cervantes , Francisco de Quevedo , Diego Velázquez , El Greco , Domingo de Soto , Francisco Suárez and Francisco de Vitoria . After
11960-417: The Inca state was destroyed and the last Inca emperor, Túpac Amaru , was executed. Silver from Potosí flowed to coffers in Spain and paid for Spain's wars in Europe. In New Spain, Viceroy Enríquez organized the defense of the northern frontier against nomadic and bellicose indigenous groups, who attacked the transport lines of silver from the northern mines. In the religious sphere, the crown sought to bring
12144-421: The Indies trade. Cádiz became the one port for all Indies trading (see flota system ). Individual sailings at regular intervals were slow to displace the traditional armed convoys, but by the 1760s there were regular ships plying the Atlantic from Cádiz to Havana and Puerto Rico , and at longer intervals to the Río de la Plata , where an additional viceroyalty was created in 1776. The contraband trade that
12328-477: The Indies, particularly by Sir Francis Drake and his cousin John Hawkins . In 1568, the Spanish defeated Hawkins' fleet at the Battle of San Juan de Ulúa in present-day Mexico. In 1585, Drake sailed for the West Indies and sacked Santo Domingo , captured Cartagena de Indias , and St. Augustine in Florida . Both Drake and Hawkins died of disease during the disastrous 1595–96 expedition against Puerto Rico ( Battle of San Juan ), Panama , and other targets in
12512-589: The Indies. Transpacific explorations had resulted in Spain claiming the Philippines and the establishment of Spanish settlements and trade with New Spain. The viceroyalty of New Spain was given jurisdiction over the Philippines, which became the entrepôt for Asian trade. Philip's succession to the crown of Portugal in 1580 complicated the situation on the ground in the Indies between Spanish and Portuguese settlers, although Brazil and Spanish America were administered through separate councils in Spain. Spain dealt with English encroachment on Spain's maritime control in
12696-495: The Islamic nations of the Sultanate of Sulu and Kingdom of Maynila. They fought against the Sultanate of Brunei and its allies, the Bruneian puppet-states of Maynila and Sulu, which had dynastic links with Brunei. The Spanish, its Mexican recruits and Filipino allies assaulted Brunei and seized its capital, Kota Batu . This was achieved partly as a result of the assistance of two noblemen , Pengiran Seri Lela and Pengiran Seri Ratna. The former had traveled to Manila to offer Brunei as
12880-412: The Muslims in Southeast Asia an extension of the Reconquista , a centuries-long campaign to retake and rechristianize the Spanish homeland which was invaded by the Muslims of the Umayyad Caliphate . The Spanish expeditions into the Philippines were also part of a larger Ibero-Islamic world conflict that included a rivalry with the Ottoman Caliphate , which had a center of operations at its nearby vassal,
13064-539: The Netherlands and invaded France in 1590. Faced with wars against England, France, and the Netherlands, the Spanish government found that neither the New World silver nor steadily increasing taxes were enough to cover their expenses, and went bankrupt again in 1596. To bring finances into order, military campaigns were reduced and the over-stretched forces went into a largely defensive mode. In 1598, shortly before his death, Philip II made peace with France , withdrawing his forces from French territory and stopping payments to
13248-569: The Netherlands and particularly from the vital port of Antwerp , were committed to restoring order and maintaining their hold on the provinces. During the initial phase of the war, the revolt was largely unsuccessful. Spain regained control over most of the rebelling provinces. This period is known as the " Spanish Fury " due to the high number of massacres, instances of mass looting, and total destruction of multiple cities between 1572 and 1579. In January 1579, Friesland , Gelderland , Groningen , Holland , Overijssel , Utrecht and Zeeland formed
13432-631: The Netherlands and the Ottoman Empire at the same time, and the stalemate in the Mediterranean continued until Spain agreed to a truce in 1580. The time for rejoicing in Madrid was short-lived. In 1566, Calvinist -led riots in the Habsburg Netherlands (roughly equal to modern-day Netherlands and Belgium, inherited by Philip from Charles and his Burgundian forebears) prompted Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba to conduct
13616-601: The North African coast in 1563, but were repulsed. In 1565, the Ottomans sent a large expedition to Malta , which laid siege to several forts on the island. A Spanish relief force from Sicily drove the Ottomans (exhausted from a long siege) away from the island. The death of Suleiman the Magnificent the following year and his succession by his less capable son Selim II emboldened Philip, who resolved to carry
13800-465: The North African coast were conquered and occupied by Castile between 1505 and 1510: Mers El Kébir , Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera , Oran , Bougie , Tripoli , and Peñón of Algiers . On the Atlantic coast, Spain took possession of the outpost of Santa Cruz de la Mar Pequeña (1476) with support from the Canary Islands , and it was retained until 1525 with the consent of the Treaty of Cintra (1509). As
13984-513: The Ottoman naval threat against European territory, particularly in the western Mediterranean, and the loss of experienced sailors was to be a major handicap in facing Christian fleets. Yet the Turks succeeded in rebuilding their navy in a year, using it handily to consolidate Ottoman dominance over most of the Mediterranean's African coast and eastern islands. Philip lacked the resources to fight both
14168-543: The Peninsula, Ferdinand adopted a more aggressive policy than he had as Isabella's husband, going on to crystallize his long-running designs over Navarre into a full-blown invasion led initially by a Castilian military expedition, and supported later by Aragonese troops (1512). He also attempted to enlarge Spain's sphere of influence in Italy, strengthening it against France. As ruler of Aragon, Ferdinand had been involved in
14352-633: The Philippine archipelago. The Spanish were joined by the newly Christianized Non-Muslim Visayans of the Kedatuan of Madja-as who were Animists and Rajahnate of Cebu who were Hindus, plus the Rajahnate of Butuan (who were from northern Mindanao and were Hindus with a Buddhist Monarchy), as well as the remnants of the Kedatuan of Dapitan who were also Animists and had previously waged war against
14536-509: The Philippines' link to the larger Spanish Empire. Spanish colonization began in earnest when López de Legazpi arrived from Mexico in 1565 and formed the first settlements in Cebu . Beginning with just five ships and five hundred men accompanied by Augustinian friars, and further strengthened in 1567 by two hundred soldiers, he was able to repel the Portuguese and create the foundations for
14720-581: The Portuguese king Sebastian launched a crusade against the Saadi Sultanate of Morocco. The expedition ended in disaster and Sebastian's disappearance at the Battle of the Three Kings . His aged uncle Henry ruled until he died in 1580. Although Philip had long prepared for the takeover of Portugal, he still found it necessary to launch a military occupation led by the Duke of Alba. Philip took
14904-555: The Portuguese power, but also to take possession of this lucrative commerce. The Crown officially organized this trade with Guinea: every caravel had to secure a government license and to pay a tax on one-fifth of their profits (a receiver of the customs of Guinea was established in Seville in 1475—the ancestor of the future and famous Casa de Contratación ). Castilian fleets fought in the Atlantic Ocean, temporarily occupying
15088-529: The Portuguese throne: "I inherited, I bought, I conquered," a variation on Julius Caesar and Veni, Vidi, Vici . Spanish forces led by Admiral Álvaro de Bazán captured the Azores Islands in 1583, completing the incorporation of Portugal into the Spanish Empire. Thus, Philip added to his possessions a vast colonial empire in Africa, Brazil , and the East Indies , seeing a flood of new revenues coming to
15272-649: The Spanish Americas, exploring and describing it for the first time from a modern scientific point of view between 1799 and 1804. In his work Political essay on the kingdom of New Spain containing researches relative to the geography of Mexico he says that the Amerindians of New Spain were wealthier than any Russian or German peasant in Europe. According to Humboldt, despite the fact that Indian farmers were poor, under Spanish rule they were free and slavery
15456-615: The Spanish army was soundly defeated at the Battle of Ceresole , in Savoy Henry fared better, and France was forced to accept terms. The Austrians, led by Charles's younger brother Ferdinand , continued to fight the Ottomans in the east. With France defeated, Charles went to take care of an older problem: the Schmalkaldic League. Perhaps more important to the strategy of the Spanish king, the League had allied itself with
15640-403: The Spanish crown and financed military endeavors and territorial expansion. Another crucial element of the empire's expansion was the financial support provided by Genoese bankers, who financed royal expeditions and military campaigns. In 1700, Philip V became king of Spain after the death of Charles II , the last Habsburg monarch of Spain, who died without an heir. His ascension triggered
15824-569: The Spanish had reached Tlatelolco's center, raising their new flag atop the city's twin towers. Having exhausted their gunpowder, they attempted a catapult breach but failed. On 3 August, 12,000 more civilians were killed in another city section. Alvarado's destruction of the aqueducts forced the Aztecs to drink from the lake, causing disease and thousands of deaths. Another major assault occurred on 12 August, during which many thousands of non-combatants were massacred in their shelters. The following day,
16008-591: The Spanish overseas empire in the Americas and the Philippines. The settlement gave spoils to those who had backed a Habsburg for the Spanish monarchy, ceding European territory of the Spanish Netherlands , Naples , Milan , and Sardinia to Austria ; Sicily and parts of Milan to the Duchy of Savoy , and Gibraltar and Menorca to the Kingdom of Great Britain . The treaty also granted British merchants
16192-469: The Spanish were forced to confront the newly declared king, Anacaparan, burning much of his capital while defeating him. In 1599, Malay Muslim merchants defeated and massacred almost the entire contingent of Spanish troops in Cambodia, putting an end to Spanish plans to conquer it. Another expedition, one to conquer Mindanao, was also lacking in success. In 1603, during a Chinese rebellion , Pérez Dasmariñas
16376-474: The Turks, based in Tripoli and Algiers , the bases from which North African (Muslim) forces under the corsair Dragut preyed upon Christian shipping. In 1560, a Spanish-led Christian fleet was sent to recapture Tripoli ( captured by Spain in 1510), but the fleet was destroyed by the Ottomans at the Battle of Djerba . The Ottomans attempted to seize the Spanish military-bases of Oran and Mers El Kébir on
16560-683: The United Provinces which became the Dutch Netherlands of today. Meanwhile, Spain sent Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma with 20,000 well-trained troops into the Netherlands. Groningen, Breda , Kampen , Dunkirk , Antwerp, and Brussels, among others, were put to siege. Farnese eventually secured the Southern provinces for Spain. After the Spanish capture of Maastricht in 1579, the Dutch began to turn on William of Orange. William
16744-428: The United Provinces. Philip had been forced to declare bankruptcy in 1557, 1560, 1576 and 1596. However, by regaining control of the sea, Spain was able to greatly increase the supply of gold and silver from America, which allowed it to increase military pressure on England and France. Under financial and military pressure, in 1598 Philip ceded the Spanish Netherlands to his daughter Isabella Clara Eugenia , following
16928-474: The allies. With a massive effort, the Ottoman Empire rebuilt its navy. Within six months a new fleet was able to reassert Ottoman naval supremacy in the eastern Mediterranean . John captured Tunis (in present-day Tunisia ) from the Ottomans in 1573, but it was soon lost again . The Ottoman sultan agreed to a truce in the Mediterranean with Philip in 1580. In the western Mediterranean, Philip pursued
17112-578: The ascension of young Charles to both Spanish thrones as Charles I of Castile and Aragon , further solidifying the monarchy of Spain . His inheritance included all the Spanish possessions in the New World and around the Mediterranean. Upon the death of his Habsburg father in 1506, Charles had inherited the Habsburg Netherlands and Franche-Comté , growing up in Flanders. In 1519, with the death of his paternal grandfather Maximilian I , Charles inherited
17296-563: The authority of the Emperor. In 1543, Francis I , King of France, announced his unprecedented alliance with the Ottoman sultan, Suleiman the Magnificent , by occupying the Spanish-controlled city of Nice in cooperation with Turkish forces. Henry VIII of England, who bore a greater grudge against France than he held against the Emperor for standing in the way of his divorce, joined Charles in his invasion of France. Although
17480-709: The balance of power and safeguarding the Spanish Empire from falling into enemy hands. With the 1700 death of the childless Charles II of Spain , the crown of Spain was contested in the War of the Spanish Succession . Under the Treaties of Utrecht (11 April 1713) ending the war, the French prince of the House of Bourbon , Philippe of Anjou, grandchild of Louis XIV of France, became King Philip V of Spain . He retained
17664-471: The beginning of Catalan participation in the Spanish slave trade , and the rapidly growing textile industry of Catalonia which by the mid-1780s saw the first signs of industrialization. This saw the emergence of a small, politically active commercial class in Barcelona . This isolated pocket of advanced economic development stood in stark contrast to the relative backwardness of most of the country. Most of
17848-491: The bulls Romani Pontifex dated 6 November 1436 and Dominatur Dominus dated 30 April 1437. The conquest of the Canary Islands , inhabited by Guanche people, began in 1402 during the reign of Henry III of Castile , by Norman nobleman Jean de Béthencourt under a feudal agreement with the crown. The conquest was completed with the campaigns of the armies of the Crown of Castile between 1478 and 1496, when
18032-408: The causeway at Tlacopan by the armies of Alvarado and Cristóbal de Olid . While fighting on the causeway, the Spanish and their allies came under attack from both sides by Aztecs firing arrows from canoes. Thirteen Spanish brigantines sank 300 out of 400 enemy war canoes sent against them. The Aztecs tried to damage the Spanish vessels by hiding spears beneath the shallow water. The attackers breached
18216-553: The celebrations that followed the treaty, Henry was killed by a stray splinter from a lance. France was stricken for the next forty years by civil war and unrest and was unable to effectively compete with Spain and the Habsburgs in the European power struggle. Freed from any serious French opposition, Spain saw the height of its might and territorial reach in the period 1559–1643. The Spanish Empire had grown substantially since
18400-771: The centuries long Spanish–Moro conflict against the Sultanates of Maguindanao , Lanao and Sulu. War was also waged against the Sultanate of Ternate and Tidore , in response to Ternatean slaving and piracy against Spain's allies: Bohol and Butuan . During the Spanish–Moro conflict, the Moros of Muslim Mindanao conducted piracy and slave-raids against Christian settlements in the Philippines. The Spanish fought back by establishing Christian fort-cities such as Zamboanga City on Muslim Mindanao. The Spanish considered their war with
18584-549: The city and engaged in fighting with the Aztec defenders in the streets. The Aztecs defeated the Spanish-Tlaxcalan forces at the Battle of Colhuacatonco on 30 June 1521. Following this Aztec victory, 53 Spanish prisoners were paraded to the tops of Tlatelolco 's highest pyramids and publicly sacrificed . In late July, the attackers resumed their assaults, resulting in the massacre of 800 Aztec civilians. By 29 July,
18768-504: The city fell and Cuauhtémoc was captured. At least 100,000 Aztecs died during the siege, while 100 Spaniards and up to 30,000 of their Indigenous allies were killed or died from disease. The fall of Tenochtitlan marked the beginning of Spanish colonial rule in Mexico, leading to the establishment of the Viceroyalty of New Spain in 1535. In 1532, Francisco Pizarro conquered the Inca Empire by capturing its leader Atahualpa during
18952-399: The colonies, enhancing Spanish influence in the Americas. Socially, tensions emerged between the ruling elite and the rising bourgeoisie, as well as divisions between peninsular Spaniards and Creoles in the Americas. These factors ultimately set the stage for the independence movements that began in the early 19th century, leading to the gradual disintegration of Spanish colonial authority. By
19136-541: The colonization of the Philippines, which began in 1565 with the arrival of Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazpi , making him ruler of one of the first true globe-spanning empires. His victory in the War of the Portuguese Succession led to the annexation of Portugal in 1580, effectively integrating its overseas empire—encompassing coastal Brazil and African and Indian coastal enclaves—into Spain's domain. Philip II also reaffirmed Spanish control over
19320-674: The colonization of the archipelago. In 1571, the Spanish, their Mexican recruits and their Filipino (Visayan) allies attacked and occupied Maynila , a vassal-state of the Sultanate of Brunei , and negotiated the incorporation of the Kingdom of Tondo which was liberated from the Bruneian Sultanate's control and of whom, their princess, Kandarapa , had a tragic romance with the Mexican-born Conquistador and grandson of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, Juan de Salcedo . The combined Spanish-Mexican-Filipino forces also built
19504-420: The conclusion of the Treaty of Vervins with France. Under Philip II, royal power over the Indies increased, but the crown knew little about its overseas possessions. Although the Council of the Indies was tasked with oversight there, it acted without advice of high officials with direct colonial experience. Another serious problem was that the crown did not know what Spanish laws were in force there. To remedy
19688-677: The country until it was brutally put down in 1526. Charles, even as far away from Germany as he was, was committed to keeping order. After the Peasants' War the Protestants organized themselves into a defensive league to protect themselves from Emperor Charles. Under the protection of the Schmalkaldic League , the Protestant states committed a number of outrages in the eyes of the Catholic Church (the confiscation of some ecclesiastical territories, among other things) and defied
19872-533: The crown's encomienda system. Defying the opposition of Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar , the governor of Hispaniola, Hernán Cortés organized an expedition of 550 conquistadors and sailed for the coast of Mexico in March 1519. The Castilians defeated a 10,000-strong Chontal Mayan army at Potonchán on 24 March and emerged triumphant against a larger force of 40,000 Mayans three days later. On 2 September, 360 Castilians and 2,300 Totonac Indigenous allies defeated
20056-519: The crown. Charles established the Council of the Indies in 1524 to oversee all of Castile's overseas possessions. Charles appointed a viceroy in Mexico in 1535, capping the royal governance of the high court, Real Audiencia , and treasury officials with the highest royal official. Officials were under the jurisdiction of the Council of the Indies. Charles promulgated the New Laws of 1542 to limit
20240-574: The days of Ferdinand and Isabella. The Aztec and Inca empires were conquered during Charles' reign, from 1519 to 1521 and 1540 to 1558, respectively. Spanish settlements were established in the New World: Mexico City , the most important colonial city established in 1524 to be the primary center of administration in the New World; Florida , colonized in the 1560s; Buenos Aires , established in 1536; and New Granada (modern Colombia , Ecuador , Panama and Venezuela ), colonized in
20424-601: The death in 1700 of Spain's last Habsburg king, Charles II, the resulting War of the Spanish Succession led to the ascension of Philip V of the Bourbon dynasty , which began a new centralising state formation, which came into being de jure after the Nueva Planta decrees that merged the multiple crowns of its former realms (except for Navarre ). In 1504, Isabella I of Castile died, and although Ferdinand II of Aragon tried to maintain his position over Castile in
20608-497: The decisive Battle of Guinea . The Treaty of Alcáçovas (4 September 1479), while assuring the Castilian throne to the Catholic Monarchs, reflected the Castilian naval and colonial defeat: "War with Castile broke out waged savagely in the Gulf [of Guinea] until the Castilian fleet of thirty-five sail was defeated there in 1478. As a result of this naval victory, at the Treaty of Alcáçovas in 1479 Castile, while retaining her rights in
20792-677: The detriment of interests in the colonies, undermined creole elites' loyalty to the crown. When French forces of Napoleon Bonaparte invaded the Iberian peninsula in 1808, Napoleon ousted the Spanish Bourbon monarchy, placing his brother Joseph Bonaparte on the Spanish throne. There was a crisis of legitimacy of crown rule in Spanish America, leading to the Spanish American wars of independence (1808–1826). The Spanish Bourbons' broadest intentions were to reorganize
20976-560: The eastern coast of Spain did Charles personally lead attacks against holdings in North Africa (1535). In 1560, the Ottomans battled the Spanish Navy off the coast of Tunisia, but in 1565 Ottoman troops landing on the strategically vital island of Malta , defended by the Knights of St. John , were defeated. The death of Suleiman the Magnificent the following year and his succession by Selim II emboldened Philip, who resolved to carry
21160-490: The easternmost parts of Asia. The Treaty of Tordesillas was confirmed by Pope Julius II in the bull Ea quae pro bono pacis on 24 January 1506. The Treaty of Tordesillas and the treaty of Cintra (18 September 1509) established the limits of the Kingdom of Fez for Portugal, and the Castilian expansion was allowed outside these limits, beginning with the conquest of Melilla in 1497. Other European powers did not see
21344-443: The establishment of a Christianized Philippines attracted Chinese traders who exchanged their silk for Mexican silver . Indian and Malay traders also settled in the Philippines too, to trade their spices and gems for the same Mexican silver. The Philippines then became a center for Christian missionary activity that was also directed to Japan. The Philippines even accepted Christian converts from Japan after they were persecuted. Most of
21528-486: The exclusive right to sell slaves in Spanish America for thirty years, the asiento de negros , as well as licensed voyages to ports in Spanish colonial dominions and openings. Spain's economic and demographic recovery had begun slowly in the last decades of the Habsburg reign, as was evident from the growth of its trading convoys and the much more rapid growth of illicit trade during the period. (This growth
21712-403: The expanding empire became an administrative issue. The reign of Ferdinand and Isabella began the professionalization of the apparatus of government in Spain, which led to a demand for men of letters ( letrados ) who were university graduates ( licenciados ), of Salamanca , Valladolid , Complutense and Alcalá . These lawyer-bureaucrats staffed the various councils of state, eventually including
21896-613: The face with the letter "G" (for guerra, the Spanish word for "war") and enslaved by the Spanish, or sacrificed and eaten by the Tlaxcalans. Cortés returned to Tenochtitlan in 1521 with a new invasion force and laid siege to the Aztec capital in May, which was suffering from a smallpox epidemic that killed thousands. The new emperor, Cuauhtémoc , defended Tenochtitlan with 100,000 warriors armed with slings, bows, and obsidian clubs . The first military encounter occurred after an advance along
22080-400: The family members, since they often emphasized their more prestigious princely titles. The dynasty was thus long known as the "House of Austria". Complementary, in some circumstances the family members were identified by their place of birth. Charles V was known in his youth after his birthplace as Charles of Ghent . When he became king of Spain he was known as Charles I of Spain, and after he
22264-518: The fifteenth century. Its rival Castile laid claim to the Canary Islands (1402) and retook territory from the Moors in 1462. The Christian rivals Castile and Portugal came to formal agreements over the division of new territories in the Treaty of Alcaçovas (1479), as well as securing the crown of Castile for Isabella whose accession was challenged militarily by Portugal. Following the voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492 and first major settlement in
22448-566: The foundation of the Spanish monarchy. The union of the Crowns of Castile and Aragon joined the economic and military power of Iberia under one dynasty, the House of Trastámara . Their dynastic alliance was important for a number of reasons, ruling jointly over a number of kingdoms and other territories, mostly in the western Mediterranean region, under their respective legal and administrative status. They successfully pursued expansion in Iberia in
22632-582: The fringes of the Habsburg dominions in Austria and northwest Africa. In response Ferdinand and Isabella had sent expeditions to North Africa, capturing Melilla in 1497 and Oran in 1509. Charles had preferred to combat the Ottomans through a considerably more maritime strategy, hampering Ottoman landings on the Venetian territories in the Eastern Mediterranean . Only in response to raids on
22816-409: The head of a large army to restore order. In 1568, William of Orange , a German nobleman, led a failed attempt to drive Alba from the Netherlands. The Battle of Rheindalen is often seen as the unofficial start of the Eighty Years' War that led to the separation of the northern and southern Netherlands and to the formation of the United Provinces . The Spanish, who derived a great deal of wealth from
23000-525: The improvements were in and around some major coastal cities and the major islands such as Cuba, with its tobacco plantations , and a renewed growth of precious metals mining in South America. Agricultural productivity remained low despite efforts to introduce new techniques to what was for the most part an uninterested, exploited peasant and laboring groups. Governments were inconsistent in their policies. Though there were substantial improvements by
23184-483: The indigenous populations continued to be robust in the Philippines. One Spaniard described the climate as "cuatro meses de polvo, cuatro meses de lodo, y cuatro meses de todo" (four months of dust, four months of mud, and four months of everything). Legazpi built a fort in Manila and made overtures of friendship to Lakan Dula , Lakan of Tondo, who accepted. Maynila's former ruler, the Muslim rajah, Rajah Sulayman , who
23368-431: The institutions of empire to better administer it for the benefit of Spain and the crown. It sought to increase revenues and to assert greater crown control, including over the Catholic Church. Centralization of power (beginning with the Nueva Planta decrees against the realms of the Crown of Aragon ) was to be for the benefit of the crown and the metropole and for the defense of its empire against foreign incursions. From
23552-552: The integrity of the closed Spanish mercantile system and established thriving sugar colonies. At the beginning of his reign, the first Spanish Bourbon, King Philip V, reorganized the government to strengthen the executive power of the monarch as was done in France, in place of the deliberative, Polysynodial System of Councils. Philip's government set up a ministry of the Navy and the Indies (1714) and established commercial companies,
23736-567: The island of Alhucemas , in the Mediterranean, were taken. However, during the second half of the 17th century, Larache and La Mamora were also lost. Philip led Spain into the final phase of the Italian Wars , crushing a French army at the Battle of St. Quentin (1557) in Picardy and defeating the French again at the Battle of Gravelines . The Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis , signed in 1559, permanently recognized Spanish claims in Italy. France
23920-510: The islands of Gran Canaria (1478–1483), La Palma (1492–1493), and Tenerife (1494–1496) were subjugated. By 1504, more than 90 percent of the indigenous Canarians had been killed or enslaved. The Portuguese tried in vain to keep secret their discovery of the Gold Coast (1471) in the Gulf of Guinea , but the news quickly caused a huge gold rush. Chronicler Pulgar wrote that the fame of
24104-526: The lands adjoining it for the Spanish Crown. The Catholic Monarchs had developed a strategy of marriages for their children to isolate their rival, France. The Spanish princesses married the heirs of Portugal, England and the House of Habsburg . Following the same strategy, the Catholic Monarchs decided to support the Aragonese house of the Kingdom of Naples against Charles VIII of France in
24288-427: The late 18th century, Spain was still an economic backwater. Under the mercantile trading arrangements it had difficulty in providing the goods being demanded by the strongly growing markets of its empire, and providing adequate outlets for the return trade. From an opposing point of view according to the "backwardness" mentioned above the naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt traveled extensively throughout
24472-635: The mainland was Santa María la Antigua del Darién in Castilla de Oro (now Nicaragua , Costa Rica , Panama and Colombia ), settled by Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1510. In 1513, Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama , and led the first European expedition to see the Pacific Ocean from the West coast of the New World. In an action with enduring historical import, Balboa claimed the Pacific Ocean and all
24656-415: The mid-1820s, Spain had lost its territories in Mexico, Central America, and South America. By 1900, it had also lost Cuba , Puerto Rico , the Philippine Islands , and Guam in the Mariana Islands following the Spanish–American War . With the marriage of the heirs apparent to their respective thrones Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile created a personal union that most scholars view as
24840-443: The most powerful man in Christendom . The accumulation of so much power by one man and one dynasty greatly concerned Francis I of France , who found himself surrounded by Habsburg territories. In 1521 Francis invaded the Spanish possessions in Italy and Navarre , which inaugurated a second round of Franco-Spanish conflict. The war was a disaster for France , which suffered defeats at Biccoca (1522), Pavia (1525, at which Francis
25024-442: The papal bull Æterni regis (dated on 21 June 1481). However, this experience would prove to be profitable for future Spanish overseas expansion, because as the Spaniards were excluded from the lands discovered or to be discovered from the Canaries southward —and consequently from the road to India around Africa —they sponsored the voyage of Columbus towards the west (1492) in search of Asia to trade in its spices , encountering
25208-406: The power of the Conquistadors to form a hereditary aristocracy that might challenge the power of the crown. Charles's victory at the Battle of Pavia (1525) surprised many Italians and Germans and elicited concerns that Charles would endeavor to gain even greater power. Pope Clement VII switched sides and now joined forces with France and prominent Italian states against the Habsburg Emperor, in
25392-486: The power of the religious orders under control with the Ordenanza del Patronazgo , ordering friars to give up their Indian parishes and turn them over to the diocesan clergy, who were more closely controlled by the crown. The Spanish Inquisition expanded to the Indies in 1565 and was in place by 1570 in Lima and Mexico City. It drew many colonial Spaniards into torture chambers . Native Americans were exempt. The crown expanded its global claims and defended existing ones in
25576-468: The preparations for the expedition. On embarking on the expedition, Spain lacked maps or information to guide the King's decision to authorize the expedition. That realization subsequently led to the creation of reports from the various regions of the empire, the relaciones geográficas . The Philippines came under the jurisdiction of the viceroyalty of Mexico, and once the Manila Galleon sailings between Manila and Acapulco were established, Mexico became
25760-435: The previously peaceful southern provinces to join the rebellion. The Spanish chose the route of negotiation, and pacified most of the southern provinces again with the Union of Arras in 1579. The Arras agreement required all Spanish troops to leave the Netherlands. Meanwhile, Philip had his eye on uniting the entire Iberian Peninsula under his rule, a traditional objective of Spanish monarchs. The opportunity came in 1578 when
25944-416: The rebellious Republic of Florence . The Protestant Reformation had begun in Germany in 1517. Charles, through his position as Holy Roman Emperor, his important holdings along Germany's frontiers, and his close relationship with his Habsburg relatives in Austria, had a vested interest in maintaining the stability of the Holy Roman Empire . The German Peasants' War broke out in Germany in 1524 and ravaged
26128-417: The religious warfare in France after Henry II's death. In 1589, Henry III , the last of the House of Valois , died at the walls of Paris. His successor, Henry IV, the first king from the House of Bourbon , was a man of great ability, winning key victories against the Catholic League at Arques (1589) and Ivry (1590). Committed to stopping Henry from becoming king of France, the Spanish divided their army in
26312-410: The ruling Sultan. Seri Lela's daughter, the Bruneian princess, left with the Spanish and went on to marry a Christian Tagalog , named Agustín de Legazpi of Tondo, and had children in the Philippines. In 1587, Magat Salamat , one of the children of Lakan Dula, along with Lakan Dula's nephew and lords of the neighboring areas of Tondo, Pandacan, Marikina, Candaba, Navotas and Bulacan, were executed when
26496-403: The rural Bajío faced rising land prices, falling wages. Eviction of many from their lands resulted. With a Bourbon monarchy came a repertory of Bourbon mercantilist ideas based on a centralized state, put into effect in the Americas slowly at first but with increasing momentum during the century. Shipping grew rapidly from the mid-1740s until the Seven Years' War (1756–63), reflecting in part
26680-520: The same amount of bread as any European city, with 363 kilograms of bread per person per year in comparison to the 377 kilograms consumed in Paris. Caracas consumed seven times more meat per person than in Paris. Von Humboldt also said that the average income in that period was four times the European income and also that the cities of New Spain were richer than many European cities. Bourbon institutional reforms under Philip V bore fruit militarily when Spanish forces easily retook Naples and Sicily from
26864-471: The same monarch. As a result of the Iberian Union , Phillip II's enemies became Portugal's enemies, such as the Dutch in the Dutch–Portuguese War , England or France . War with the Dutch led to invasions of many countries in Asia, including Ceylon and commercial interests in Japan, Africa ( Mina ), and South America. During the reign of Philip IV (Philip III of Portugal) in 1640, the Portuguese revolted and fought successfully for their independence from
27048-401: The side of the Catholic League , winning battles, but failing to prevent Henry of Navarre from becoming king as Henry IV. To Spain's dismay, Pope Clement VIII accepted Henry into the Catholic Church. To keep the Netherlands under control required an extensive occupation force, and Spain was still financially strapped since the 1576 bankruptcy. In 1584, William the Silent was assassinated by
27232-401: The situation, Philip appointed Juan de Ovando, who was named president of the council, to give advice. Ovando appointed a "chronicler and cosmographer of the Indies", Juan López de Velasco, to gather information about the crown's holdings, which resulted in the Relaciones geográficas in the 1580s. The crown sought greater control over encomenderos, who had attempted to establish themselves as
27416-458: The soldiers and settlers sent by the Spanish to the Philippines were either from Mexico or Peru and very little people directly came from Spain. At one point, the royal officials in Manila complained that most of the soldiers who were being sent from New Spain were black, mulatto or Native American, with almost no Spaniards among the contingents. In 1578, the Castilian War erupted between the Christian Spaniards and Muslim Bruneians over control of
27600-442: The sources of spices continued to be a necessity with the Ottomans still controlled major choke points in central Asia. It was unclear how the agreement between Spain and Portugal dividing the Atlantic world affected finds on the other side of the Pacific. Spain had ceded its rights to the "Spice Islands" to Portugal in the Treaty of Saragossa in 1529, but the appellation was vague as was their exact delineation. The Legazpi expedition
27784-513: The sovereignty of Philip II of Spain and his successors after the Spanish victory in the War of Portuguese Succession . In 1580, King Philip saw the opportunity to strengthen his position in Iberia when the last member of the Portuguese royal family , Henry, King of Portugal , died. Philip asserted his claim to the Portuguese throne and in June sent Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba with an army to Lisbon to assure his succession. Philip famously remarked upon his acquisition of
27968-425: The struggle against France and the Republic of Venice for control of Italy. These conflicts became the center of Ferdinand's foreign policy as king. Ferdinand's first investment of Spanish forces came in the War of the League of Cambrai against Venice, where the Spanish soldiers distinguished themselves on the field alongside their French allies at the Battle of Agnadello (1509). Only a year later, Ferdinand joined
28152-441: The success of the Bourbons in bringing illicit trade under control. With the loosening of trade controls after the Seven Years' War, shipping trade within the empire once again began to expand, reaching an extraordinary rate of growth in the 1780s. The end of Cádiz's monopoly of trade with the American colonies brought about very important changes, particularly a rebirth of Spanish manufactures. Most notable of those changes were both
28336-440: The thrones of the Crown of Aragon . The two became known as the Catholic Monarchs , with their marriage a personal union that created a relationship between the Crown of Aragon and Castile, each with their own administrations, but ruled jointly by the two monarchs. Ferdinand and Isabella defeated the last Muslim king out of Granada in 1492 after a ten-year war . The Catholic Monarchs then negotiated with Christopher Columbus ,
28520-435: The title of King of Portugal, but otherwise the country remained autonomous, retaining its own laws, currency, and institutions. However, Portugal surrendered all independence in foreign policy, and relations between the two countries were never warm. France formed the cornerstone of Spanish foreign policy. For 30 years after Cateau-Cambrésis, it was engulfed in civil war. After 1590, the Spanish intervened directly in France on
28704-414: The town was washed away. Sorata is no longer a major commercial center, as there is now a more direct route to the Yungas from La Paz . Today it is best known to foreign tourists, trekkers, and climbers, who visit this formerly little-known destination. The main square, Plaza General Enrique Penaranda, is Sorata's showcase. It is graced by towering date palms and immaculate gardens. The main town fiesta
28888-410: The treasures of Guinea "spread around the ports of Andalusia in such way that everybody tried to go there". Worthless trinkets, Moorish textiles, and above all, shells from the Canary and Cape Verde islands were exchanged for gold, slaves, ivory and Guinea pepper. The War of the Castilian Succession (1475–79) provided the Catholic Monarchs with the opportunity not only to attack the main source of
29072-426: The treaty between Castile and Portugal as binding on themselves. Francis I of France observed "The sun shines for me as for others and I should very much like to see the clause in Adam's will that excludes me from a share of the world." Spanish settlement in the New World was based on a pattern of a large, permanent settlements with the entire complex of institutions and material life to replicate Castilian life in
29256-468: The viewpoint of Spain, the structures of colonial rule under the Habsburgs were no longer functioning to the benefit of Spain, with much wealth being retained in Spanish America and going to other European powers. The presence of other European powers in the Caribbean, with the English in Barbados (1627), St Kitts (1623–25), and Jamaica (1655); the Dutch in Curaçao , and the French in Saint Domingue (Haiti) (1697), Martinique , and Guadeloupe had broken
29440-409: The vital port of Antwerp , were committed to restoring order and maintaining their hold on the provinces. In 1572, a band of rebel Dutch privateers known as the watergeuzen ("Sea Beggars") seized a number of Dutch coastal towns, proclaimed their support for William and denounced the Spanish leadership. In 1574, the Spanish army under Luis de Requeséns was repulsed from the Siege of Leiden after
29624-411: The wake of her death, the Castilian Cortes Generales (the parliament) chose to crown Isabella's daughter Joanna of Castile as queen. Her husband, Philip I of Castile , was the Habsburg son of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor and Mary of Burgundy . Shortly thereafter Joanna began to lapse into insanity, although the extent of her mental illness remains the topic of some debate. In 1506, Philip I
29808-419: The war to the Ottoman homelands. In 1571, a mixed naval expedition of Spanish, Venetian, and Papal ships led by Charles' illegitimate son Don John of Austria annihilated the Ottoman fleet at the Battle of Lepanto , in the largest naval battle fought in European waters since Actium in 31 BC. The fleet included Miguel de Cervantes , future author of the historic Spanish novel Don Quixote . The victory curbed
29992-463: The war to the Sultan himself. In 1571, a Christian fleet, led by Philip's half-brother John of Austria , annihilated the Ottoman fleet at the Battle of Lepanto in the waters off southwestern Greece. Despite the significant victory, however, the Holy League 's disunity prevented the victors from capitalizing on their triumph. Plans to seize the Dardanelles as a step towards recovering Constantinople for Christendom, were ruined by bickering amongst
30176-463: The war. In 1742, the War of Jenkins' Ear merged with the larger War of the Austrian Succession , and King George's War in North America. The British, also occupied with France, were unable to capture Spanish convoys, and Spanish privateers captured British merchant shipping along the Triangle Trade routes and attacked the coast of North Carolina , levying tribute on the inhabitants. In Europe, Spain had been trying to divest Maria Theresa of
30360-474: Was a century of prosperity for the overseas Spanish Empire as trade within grew steadily, particularly in the second half of the century, under the Bourbon reforms. Spain's victory in the Battle of Cartagena de Indias against a British expedition in the Caribbean port of Cartagena de Indias helped Spain secure its dominance of its possessions in the Americas until the 19th century. But different regions fared differently under Bourbon rule, and even while New Spain
30544-429: Was a vassal to the Sultan of Brunei, refused to submit to Legazpi but failed to get the support of Lakan Dula or of the Pampangan and Pangasinan settlements to the north. When Tarik Sulayman and a force of Kapampangan and Tagalog Muslim warriors attacked the Spaniards in the Battle of Bangkusay , he was finally defeated and killed. The Spanish also repelled an attack by Chinese pirate warlord Limahong . Simultaneously,
30728-457: Was assassinated by a supporter of Philip in 1584. After the Fall of Antwerp , the Queen of England began to aid the Northern provinces and sent troops there in 1585. English forces under Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester and then Peregrine Bertie, 13th Baron Willoughby de Eresby , faced the Spanish in the Netherlands under Farnese in a series of largely indecisive actions that tied down significant numbers of Spanish troops and bought time for
30912-407: Was beheaded, and his head was mounted in Manila along with those of several other Spanish soldiers. Despite the fact that during the Iberian Union a certain degree of autonomy and the cultural identity of Portugal was maintained, many historians agree that the dynastic union was in fact a Spanish conquest by keeping Portugal and the Portuguese Empire as part of the Spanish colonial empire under
31096-464: Was captured), and Landriano (1529) before Francis relented and abandoned Milan to Spain once more. Spain's overseas possessions in the New World were based in the Caribbean and the Spanish Main and consisted of a rapidly decreasing indigenous population, few resources of value to the crown, and a sparse Spanish settler population. The situation changed dramatically with the expedition of Hernán Cortés , who, with alliances with city-states hostile to
31280-418: Was declared jure uxoris king, but he died later that year under mysterious circumstances, possibly poisoned by his father-in-law, Ferdinand II. Since their oldest son Charles was only six, the Cortes reluctantly allowed Joanna's father Ferdinand II to rule the country as the regent of Queen Joanna and Charles. Spain was now in personal union under Ferdinand II of Aragon . As undisputed ruler in most of
31464-403: Was defeated in Italy by an alliance of Britain, France, Savoy, and Austria. Following the war, the new Bourbon monarchy took a much more cautious approach to international relations, relying on a family alliance with Bourbon France, and continuing to follow a program of institutional renewal. The crown program to enact reforms that promoted administrative control and efficiency in the metropole to
31648-474: Was elected emperor, as Charles V (in French, Charles Quint ). In Spain, the dynasty was known as the Casa de Austria , including illegitimate sons such as John of Austria and John Joseph of Austria . The arms displayed in their simplest form were those of Austria, which the Habsburgs had made their own, at times impaled with the arms of the Duchy of Burgundy (ancient), as seen on the arms of John of Austria. Calling this era "Habsburg", is, to some extent,
31832-504: Was forced, for the first of many times, to declare a sovereign default , requiring it to partially repudiate its debt through consolidation and conversion . The Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559 concluded the war with France, leaving Spain at a considerable advantage. However, the government was still mired in debt, and declared bankruptcy that year. Most of the government's revenues came from taxes and excise duties, not imported silver and other goods. The Ottoman Empire had long menaced
32016-404: Was little apparent wealth and the numbers of indigenous were declining. Those from the less prosperous Hispaniola were eager to search for new success in a new settlement. From there Juan Ponce de León conquered Puerto Rico (1508) and Diego Velázquez took Cuba . Columbus encountered the mainland in 1498, and the Catholic Monarchs learned of his discovery in May 1499. The first settlement on
32200-412: Was non-existent, their conditions were much better than any other peasant or farmer in northern Europe . Humboldt also published a comparative analysis of bread and meat consumption in New Spain compared to other cities in Europe such as Paris. Mexico City consumed 189 pounds of meat per person per year, in comparison to 163 pounds consumed by the inhabitants of Paris, the Mexicans also consumed almost
32384-487: Was not yet at peace, as the aggressive Henry II of France came to the throne in 1547 and renewed the conflict between the two countries four years later. Charles' successor, Philip II, aggressively conducted the war against France, crushing a French army at the Battle of St. Quentin in Picardy in 1557 and defeating Henry again at the Battle of Gravelines the following year. The Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis , signed in 1559, permanently recognized Spanish claims in Italy. In
32568-430: Was one of many, which also included action in Mindanao and Sulu . The Spanish succeeded in invading the capital on 16 April 1578, with the help of Pengiran Seri Lela and Pengiran Seri Ratna. Sultan Saiful Rijal and Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan Abdul Kahar were forced to flee to Meragang then to Jerudong . In Jerudong, they made plans to chase the conquering army away from Brunei. The Spanish suffered heavy losses due to
32752-403: Was ordered by King Philip II, after whom the Philippines had earlier been named by Ruy López de Villalobos, when Philip was heir to the throne. The King stated that "the main purpose of this expedition is to establish the return route from the western isles, since it is already known that the route to them is fairly short." The Viceroy died in July 1564, but the Audiencia and de Legazpi completed
32936-402: Was particularly prosperous, it was also marked by steep wealth inequality. Silver production boomed in New Spain during the 18th century, with output more than tripling between the start of the century and the 1750s. The economy and the population both grew, both centered around Mexico City. But while mine owners and the crown benefited from the flourishing silver economy, most of the population in
33120-412: Was slower than the growth of illicit trade by northern rivals in the empire's markets.) However, this recovery was not then translated into institutional improvement, rather the "proximate solutions to permanent problems." This legacy of neglect was reflected in the early years of Bourbon rule in which the military was ill-advisedly pitched into battle in the War of the Quadruple Alliance (1718–20). Spain
33304-429: Was stricken for the next thirty years by chronic civil war and unrest. During this period, it was removed from effectively competing with Spain and the Habsburg family in European power games. Freed from effective French opposition, Spain attained the apogee of its might and territorial reach in the period 1559–1643. In 1566, Calvinist -led riots in the Netherlands prompted the Duke of Alba to march into Brussels at
33488-443: Was subsequently appointed viceroy to replace Toledo in Peru. In Peru, after decades of political unrest, with ineffective viceroys and encomenderos wielding undue power, weak royal institutions, a renegade Neo-Inca State existing in Vilcabamba , and waning revenue from the Cerro Rico silver mine of Potosí , Toledo's appointment was a major step forward for royal control. He built on reforms attempted under earlier viceroys, but he
33672-403: Was the first document to establish an administrative organization in the Indies. Columbus' discoveries began the Spanish colonization of the Americas . Spain's claim to these lands was solidified by the Inter caetera papal bull dated 4 May 1493, and Dudum siquidem on 26 September 1493. Since the Portuguese wanted to keep the line of demarcation of Alcaçovas running east and west along
33856-457: Was the lifeblood of the Habsburg empire declined in proportion to registered shipping (a shipping registry having been established in 1735). Two upheavals registered unease within Spanish America and at the same time demonstrated the renewed resiliency of the reformed system: the Tupac Amaru uprising in Peru in 1780 and the rebellion of the comuneros of New Granada , both in part reactions to tighter, more efficient control. The 18th century
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