Spanish Empire: description, history and flag

The Spanish Empire in its time of power was one of the largest states that ever existed in the world. Its creation is inextricably linked with the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries, when it became a colonial power. For several centuries, the flag of the Spanish Empire developed over vast territories located in Europe, as well as in Asia, Africa, America and Oceania.

The emergence of the state

Most historians believe that Spain as an empire began its existence at the end of the XV century, when the Castilian-Aragonese union was signed in 1479, as a result of which Isabella I the Catholic and Ferdinand II began to rule the united lands. It is interesting that, as spouses, the monarchs ruled each territory as they pleased, but as for foreign policy, then the views of the ruling couple always coincided.

In 1492, Spanish troops captured Granada, which ended Reconquista - the liberation struggle of Christians against Muslim conquerors. Now, when the Iberian Peninsula was won, its territory became part of the Castilian kingdom. In the same year, Christopher Columbus set out on his first research expedition, which was heading west. He managed to cross the Atlantic Ocean and open Europe to America. There he began to create the first overseas colonies in history.

Further strengthening

After the death of Queen Isabella of the Catholic and her husband Ferdinand II, her grandson Carl V Habsburg ascended the throne. I must say that he was not a Spaniard, but it was his rule that is associated with the golden age of the empire.

After Charles V combined two titles - the Spanish king and the Holy Roman Emperor, his influence increased at times, as he inherited Flanche-Comte, the Netherlands and Austria along with the crown. The uprising of the Comanderos in Castile was a real test for him, but he coped with it. The rebellion was suppressed, and Charles V began to rule the largest empire in Europe, which was not equal until Napoleon Bonaparte appeared on the world stage.

The policy of Charles V

For 200 years, the Spanish Empire was ruled by the Habsburg dynasty. This genus was perhaps the richest, as it possessed a truly huge supply of silver and gold, and also sat on the throne of the world's largest power, which included not only Spain with its colonies, but almost all European states.

As it was said earlier, the country flourished during the reign of the Habsburgs. They were not stingy and they were rather generous patrons in the matter of culture. However, in the political sphere, everything was not so smooth. Even under Charles V, the Spanish Empire was faced with a big problem: a huge power did not become truly united, because many of its lands wanted to become independent. In this regard, the king had to wage numerous wars even with his subjects, including in the north of Europe. Despite all the greatness of the Spanish Empire, Charles V was hard to resist France and Italy. The wars with these countries were lengthy, but they never led to the victory of either side.

The Board of Philip II

After the death of Charles V, his grandson inherited the throne. Philip II, unlike his grandfather, spent most of his time at the palace of the Escheral. This monarch in his childhood received a fine education at that time, was extremely devout and supported the Inquisition in everything. Under him, religious intolerance reached its apogee: not only Catholics, but also Protestants persecuted gentiles throughout Europe.

Under Philip II Spain reached its peak of development. Like his predecessor, he also fought with external enemies. For example, in 1571, under Lepanto, his fleet defeated the Turkish squadron, thereby blocking them the way for further advancement to Europe.

The Anglo-Spanish War

In 1588 near the coast of England the so-called Great Armada of Philip II suffered a crushing defeat. Later, in 1654, these two powers will again fight at sea. The fact is that the English Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell was confident that the time has come when he can expand the colonial presence of his state in the West Indies. In particular, he wanted to capture the island of Jamaica, which at that time already owned the Spanish Empire.

The war with England for this patch of land was conducted with varying success, but it still had to yield. In 1657-1658 the Spaniards again tried to win Jamaica, but they did not succeed. With the consent of the British authorities, Port Royal turned into a pirate base, from where they attacked Spanish ships.

Crisis in the economy

It should be noted that first overseas colonies were unprofitable and brought only disappointment. Of course, there were some moments that had a positive effect on trade, but they were not enough. Everything began to change gradually, when in the 1520's began to mine silver at the newly discovered deposits of Guanajuato. But the real source of wealth was the deposits of this metal, found in Zacatecas and Potosi in 1546.

Throughout the sixteenth century, the Spanish Empire exported gold and silver from its colonies to the equivalent of one and a half trillion dollars (at 1990 prices). In the end, the number of imported precious metals began to exceed production volumes, which inevitably led to inflation. The economic recession that began in the last decade of the 16th century was aggravated at the beginning of the next. The reason for this was the expulsion of Moriscos and Jews, whose representatives from ancient times engaged in handicraft production and trade.

The Collapse of the Spanish Empire

The gradual decline of this vast state began already after the death of Philip II. His successors turned out to be bad politicians, and Spain gradually began to lose its positions first on the continent, and then in the overseas colonies.

By the end of the nineteenth century, the level of nationalist and anti-colonial sentiment reached its apogee, as a result of which the Spanish-American war broke out, from which the United States emerged victorious. The Spanish colonial empire was defeated and was forced to cede its territory: Cuba, the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam. By 1899, she no longer had any land in either America or Asia. The remaining islands in the Pacific Ocean she sold to Germany, retaining only African territories.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Spain practically ceased to develop the infrastructure of its remaining colonies, but it still continued to exploit the huge cocoa plantations on which Nigerian workers worked. In the spring of 1968, the authorities, under pressure from the United Nations and local nationalists, were forced to declare Equatorial Guinea independent.

Heritage

The Spanish Empire, whose history counts five hundred years, influenced not only the development of Western Europe. The conquistadors carried the Roman Catholic faith and the Spanish language with them to America, Africa and the East Indies. A fairly long colonial period contributed to the mixing of peoples: Latin Americans, Europeans and Indians.

Together with the Portuguese, the Spanish Empire became the ancestor of this international commerce, opening up new overseas trade routes. It was her money that became the first world currency on the basis of which the American dollar arose. As a result of the trade of the Old World with the New, there was an exchange of a large number of domestic animals and various plants. For example, cattle, sheep, horses, pigs and donkeys, as well as barley, wheat, apples, etc., were brought to America. The Europeans, for their part, first tried potatoes, tomatoes, corn, chili, tobacco. The result of such exchanges was a significant improvement in the agricultural potential of America, Europe and Asia.

We must not forget about cultural influence. It is noticeable in everything: in music, art, architecture and even in drafting laws. The contact between different peoples for a long period of time led to the mixing of their cultures, which intertwined in a strange way and found their unique form, which today is noticeable in the former colonial areas.