The Spanish Empire Weakens
- Setting the Stage: Charles V
- King, Charles V, inherited , Spain’s American colonies, parts of , and lands in , and the Netherlands.
- He was elected and ruled much of Germany as well.
- He was a devout who sparred with Martin Luther, but eventually signed the . This allowed Protestants to have their beliefs.
- Following the Peace of Augsburg, Charles V up his terriroties and retired to a monastery.
- His brother, , got and the Holy Roman Empire.
- His son, , inherited Spain, , and the American colonies.
- A Powerful Spanish Empire
- Philip II
- He was deeply ( ) and hard working.
- He was very suspicious of most people and did not trust them for long.
- When the King died without an , Philip II seized the kingdom for Spain, which included strongholds in , India, and the .
- Spain’s lands brought in tons of wealth: wealth= power.
- Each shipload of treasure brought in was required to give the between ¼ and of cargo which allowed Spain to have an army of over 50,000 soldiers.
- Philip II was a of Catholicism.
- He created the in 1588.
- He had a huge Catholic Fleet of fleets.
- The plan was to England under Queen Elizabeth I.
- The fleet was defeated by and by the weather.
The Result?
Spain was seriously by the defeat of the Spanish Armada, but they still had that would give Spain strength for a short while longer.
- The Spanish Empire Weakens
- Spain’s empire fell apart for FOUR main reasons:
- Inflation: .
- This was caused by a in population, thus a rise in demand for . This allowed to raise prices.
- Taxes:
- Spain had expelled the and who were valuable artisans and business people. (less were collected in taxes)
- Spain’s didn’t have to pay .
The Result?
Spain never developed a .
- Poor Spending Choices:
- Spanish and were more expensive than those made elsewhere.
- Spaniards purchased goods from , France, and the Netherlands.
- To for wars, Spanish Kings from German and Italian .
The Result?
Spanish was not re-circulated within Spain, which allowed Spain’s neighbors to . Most and that came in was shipped off to and Italy to repay . Spain’s crumbled.
- Dutch Revolt:
- The Dutch revolted in Spanish controlled .
- The Dutch were ( ) and Spain was Catholic.
- raised taxes and sent troops in. He executed 1500 Protestants.
- The Dutch and Spanish fought for another years and in 1579, the declared their .
The Result?
At the end of the , the Spanish Empire was no longer leading the way. However, with their , countries like Great Britain were able to rise up and become the world’s leader.