2. The Kingdom of Spain
originated with the union
of the Kingdoms of
Castile and Aragon, after
the War of Castilian
Succession.
Queen Isabella I of
Castile and King
Ferdinand II of Aragon
were married in
1469,and jointly ruled
the newly created Spain King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella
as its first “Catholic
Monarchs”.
3. In 1516, Charles the I of Spain, or
Charles the V of the Holy Roman
Empire began his reign.
Charles was the first Habsburg
king of Spain, and under his rule
Spanish power greatly
increased.
Charles became the leader and
protector of the Catholic faith,
fighting against the newly
formed German Protestants.
Though Charles did decide to
sack Rome in 1527 as
punishment for the Papacy
joining with the French during The Sack of Rome
the War of the League of
Cognac.
4. Spain would now be ruled by the
Habsburg dynasty (16th – 17th
century), which would take the
Spanish Empire both to its height,
and demise.
Charles successor, Phillip II, had
become engaged with a costly war
with France, ending in 1559 with the
Habsburg Peace of Cateau-Cambresis.
In 1572, Spanish presence in the
Coat of Arms Netherlands was rejected and
Dutch rebels seized the vital port of
Antwerp. Spanish forces tried to
retake these claims, but were
unsuccessful, leaving Spain
financially bankrupt by 1576. This
was the beginning of the Eighty
Years’ War.
5. Due to overextension of its military,
numerous wars, and lack of
resources from the Americas, Spain
was again bankrupt in 1596, and
Phillip the III became king in 1598.
Spain then attempted to recover
and reorganize itself, maintaining a
peace with England and France until
1630.
During this peace, Spain tried to
retake its claims in the Netherlands,
which would have succeeded had
Spain not become bankrupt again
(notice a pattern here?) in 1607. This
prompted the Twelve Year Truce
between Spain and the United
Provinces in 1609.
Phillip the III
6. Philip the IV became king in
1621, and soon thereafter
Spain resumed the war with
the Netherlands, taking
Breda fortress in 1625.
The war was going well until
in 1627, unsurprisingly, the
Castilian economy crumbled
due to the debasement of its
currency.
By 1636 France would again
be fighting against the
Spanish, who would bring an
end to a Spanish dominated
Europe at the Battle of Rocroi
in 1643.
7. Finally, in 1648, the Spanish
and Dutch ended their war
with the Peace of Westphalia,
ending both the Eighty Years’
War and the Thirty Years’
War.
War with France still
continued however, and
revolts by the Portuguese,
Catalonians and the
Neapolitans crippled Spain
beyond repair.
The Habsburg dynasty ended
with the death of Charles the Ratifying the Peace of Westphalia
II on November 1, 1700.
