The document provides an overview of the Spanish Empire during the 16th century, which was marked by the reign of the Habsburg monarchs Carlos I and Felipe II. It discusses their domestic and foreign policies, including Carlos I inheriting kingdoms across Europe and fighting wars against France and the Ottoman Empire, and Felipe II establishing Madrid as the capital and fighting conflicts in the Netherlands and against England. It also summarizes the conquest of the Aztec and Inca Empires in the Americas in the 1520s and 1530s, and the consequences of the discovery, such as Spain and Portugal becoming colonial empires and the introduction of new crops and livestock to Europe and America.

1. UNIT 7. THE SPANISH
EMPIRE
2nd graders Social Studies
Year 2015-2016
Almudena Corrales Marbán
Felipe II, by Tiziano, 1551
Carlos I and dog, by Tiziano,
1532.

2. 1. INTRODUCTION
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As you have studied in unit 6, the modern state began in
Spain with the reign of Isabel and Fernando of Aragón, who where
known as the Catholic Monarchs. During their reign, The Iberian Peninsula
began to be governed by a common policy.
However, Castilla and Aragón continued to be independent
kingdoms and even kept their own cortes, laws, languages, coins and institutions.

3. ROYAL
FAMILY
TREE
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4. 2. THE 16TH CENTURY
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The 16th century in Spain was marked by the reign of the Habsburg
dynasty monarchs-Carlos I, V of Germany, son of Felipe I and Juana I
(daugther of the Catholic Monarchs), and Felipe II, son of Carlos I.

5. 3. THE REIGN OF CARLOS I
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Young Carlos I
Born in Ghent, Gante (in
Spanish), Belgium, in 1500.
He was proclaimed king
of Spain in 1516. Three
years later, 1519, he was
elected emperor of the
Holy Roman Empire, with
the name of Carlos V, until
1556, whose crown passed
to his brother Fernando.
Carlos V
crowned by
Clemente VII
Do you remember
Charlemagne or
Charles the Great?
Same name as our
Emperor.
Charles the Great was his
role model as the
emperor of Christianity.
Charlemagne was
crowned by the Pope
Leon III in 800

6. Almudena Corrales Marbán
3.1. DOMESTIC POLICY
Carlos I governed many
kingdoms, since he inherited
the Crowns of Castilla and
Aragon as well as Navarra,
the Canary Islands, some
cities in Northern Africa,
discovered lands in America
and other land in Europe:
Rousillon, Naples, Sicily and
Sardinia.
He ended the
Germania Revolt
(1519-1523); a rebellion
against the nobility by
armed brotherhoods
created by guilds in
Valencia and
Mallorca.
He represssed the
rebellion of the
Comuneros (1520-1521);
a conflict in some cities
of Castilla provoked my
members of the
bourgeoisie, who would
not accept the king’s
foreign advisers or a rise
in taxes. The comuneros
were defeated in Villalar
in 1521 and their leaders
were executed.

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8. Almudena Corrales Marbán
3.1. FOREIGN POLICY
From his paternal
grandparents, the
Habsburgs, Carlos I
inherited the
Netherlands, the Frank
County, and territories
in central Europe.
He defeated France
in a war for the
control of the
Italian territories.
He fought against the
German princes of the Holy
Roman Empire, who
rejected his imperial
authority and supported
Protestantism. Remember they
elected the Emperor. He defeated
them in the Battle of
Mühlberg (Germany) in
1547. In the end, he had to
sign the Peace of Augsburg,
to be in good terms, which
gave the German princes the
right to choose their religion
He fought against the
Ottoman Empire
which was trying to
control the North of
Africa and the
Mediterranean Sea.
Soliman, leader of
the Turks
Battle of Mühlberg by,
Tiziano

9. Almudena Corrales Marbán
4. THE REIGN OF FELIPE II
Felipe II (1556-1598) inherited
his father Carlos I’s possesions
on the peninsula, many
territories in the rest of
Europe and North, as well as
land in Central and South
America.
In the year 1580, Felipe II was
also recognised as king of
Portugal, when the Portuguese
king died withouth an heir.
Carlos I y Felipe II, en un óleo de Antonio Arias
Fernández. 1639 - 1640. Museo del Prado

10. Almudena Corrales Marbán
4.1. DOMESTIC POLICY
Felipe II established
the capital in Madrid.
He strenghtened
the administration
by giving more
power to the
secretaries and
cosolidating the role
of the councils.
He came into conflict
with the Moriscos
(Muslims converted to
Christianity) He was
afraid they could
support the Turks, who
were trying to control the
Mediterranean coast.
He kept viceroys,
who governed
different territories in
the king’s names.
Part of Aragón revolted
against the king, who
claimed for Antonio
Pérez, his secretary,
accused of murder, but
protected by the
Aragonese.
Royal Alcalzar of Madrid, 16th
century
Antonio
Pérez

11. Almudena Corrales Marbán
4.2. FOREIGN POLICY
He defeated the
French in the Battle
of San Quentin, 1557
This assured Spain’s
predominance in Italy
for a long time.
He defended the western
Mediterranean against the
Turks and defeated them in
the Battle of Lepanto,
Greece, 1571.. For this he
made an alliance with Venice
and the Pope, La Santa
Alianza.
England’s support for
theProtestants in the
Netherlands led to a
war between England
and Spain. The Spanish
Armada was defeated in
the English waters in
1588.
He tried to control the
Protestants in the
Netherlands, but they
finally gained
independence from the
Spanish crown.
He intervened in
religious conflicts in
France supporting the
Catholics against the
French.
The Battle of Lepanto, 1571

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13. 5. CULTURE,
ARCHITECTURE AND ART
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There were several renowned
humanists, such as Antonio de
Nebrija, author of the first grammar
book in Castilla, and Jua Luis Vives,
who taught at different European
universities.
Literary figures included Garcilaso de
la Vega and Fray Luis de León. The
most significant novel was El lazarillo de
Tormes.
Renaissance architecture and art
spread throughout Spain from the 16th
century.
EL ESCORIAL, Juan de Herrera.
You have another ppt about it,
following this.

14. 6. THE CONQUEST AND
COLONISATION OF AMERICA
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THE NATIVE AMERICANS.
CULTURAS PRECOLOMBINAS
The Aztecs.
Their capital was
Tenochtitlán (Mexico). At
the head of the society
was the emperor and they
were polytheistic.
The Maya.
They occupied the
Yucatan Peninsula and
part of Central America.
They knew about
astronomy and used
writing (maya calendar).
Their economy was based
on agriculture (maize
pumpkin, cocoa)
The Inca.
Their capital was Cuzco
(Peru). They grew crops
like potato or maize and
kept livestock like llamas.
At the head of the society
was the emperor, who
was thought to be the son
of the Sun. They created
a network of paths and
sanctuaries (Machupichu)

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16. Almudena Corrales Marbán
The conquest of America was a short process. The number of
Spanish conquistadores was not very large but they had
firearms and horses (not known by the natives).
• Led by Hernán Cortés and helped by other indigeneous
people, the Spanish conquered the Aztec Empire in 1520.
• Francisco Pizarro took advantage of the fighting withinh the
Inca Empire to capture and execute the last emperor, and
so put an end to the empire in the year 1533.
• The Spanish conquest of the Maya lands began in 1527, but
was not completed until the 18th century.

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Hernán Cortés conquistador
de Nueva España (México),
y el cazique Moctezuma II

18. Almudena Corrales Marbán
Francisco Pizarro recibido
por Carlos V en Yuste.
Grabado de La Ilustración
Española y Americana. La
escena representa al
conquistador español
Francisco Pizarro
exponiendo ante el rey
Carlos I de España las
pruebas del
descubrimiento del
fabuloso Imperio de los
incas.

19. 7. CONSEQUENCES OF THE
DISCOVERY
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political
•Spain and Portugal became big colonial empires.
•In Spain, laws were passed by Carlos I to defend the native American people. These laws were
passed after several complaining letters written by Bartolomé de las Casas, a monk who lived in
America.
economic
•Large quantities of gold and silver reached Europe.
•New crops like maize, tomatoes or potatoes were introduced in Europe.
•Horses, cows, sheeps and pigs were introduced into America,as well as crops like grapes,
coffee, from africa, and rice.
Social and
cultural
•Native Amercian population decreased in number because of wars, deseases and overwork.
Many Spanish people emigrated to America and mixed with the population. This produced a
number of mestizos.
•The discovery of America enabled humans to understand better the true dimesnsions of teh
world.
•Christian religion and Spanish culture were introduced into America.

20. TO KNOW MORE……
INTERES TING LINKS
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• http://www.foroxerbar.com/viewtopic.php?t=8776
• http://www.nationalgeographic.com.es/articulo/historia/grandes_reportaj
es/8521/carlos.htm
• http://blogs.20minutos.es/xx-siglos/2015/11/19/javier-olivares-felipe-ii-
politicos-ministerio-del-tiempo/
• https://www.museodelprado.es/coleccion/obra-de-arte/carlos-v-y-felipe-
ii/b5cababe-6bb0-4e90-8f97-d4fe913842a1