2. History of Spain
• Henry IV’s death began a struggle
for succession for Castile.
• Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand
II ruled over a unified Spain.
• 1391 saw Jewish massacres in
major cities of Castile and Aragon.
• Muslim and Jewish conversion was
ordered, at risk of expulsion from
Spain.
3. History of Spain
• The 16th and 17th centuries were a
golden age for Spain.
• Spain had control of much land in
both North and South America.
• Silver was extracted from parts of
the Americas, and in return the
Spanish spread smallpox and
measles, reducing much of the
Aztec, Maya and Inca civilizations.
• Religion was also spread,
attempting to bring Christianity to
the new world.
4. The Golden Age Under the Habsburgs
• Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire divided
the Habsburg inheritance into the parts of
Spain and the Holy Roman Empire.
• Under Phillip II, Spain became a leading
European power through income of
American silver, and became involved in the
Thirty Years’ War.
• The Iberian Union between Spain and
Portugal happened in 1580, adding to
resources but also causing economic crisis.
• Spain’s decline began when it was left
essentially without rule and the War of
Spanish Succession began, as other powers
fought for control.
5. Enlightenment Under the Bourbons
• Much progress was made during
this time after the decline of the
Habsburg reign.
• King Louis XIV of France passed
control of Spain to the Bourbon
dynasty.
• Enlightened Despotism increased
Spain’s wellbeing after attempting
to regain lost land in Italy.
• Spain had to give Florida to the
British at the Treaty of Paris.
• Spain’s War of Independence
began after Napoleon’s invasion.
6. Spanish Colonization
• Trade and the spread of Christianity, or god, glory, and gold, were the driving
forces for Spanish colonization.
• This began in 1492 with Christopher Columbus’s landing in the Americas.
• Trading ports were also established throughout Indonesia, East Africa, and India.
• Santa María la Antigua del Darién was the first permanent settlement in the
Americas in 1510.
• In Mexico, two campaigns, the conquest of the Aztec Empire and the conquest of
Yucatán, spanned from 1519-1521 and 1551-1697 respectively.
7. Spanish Colonization
• Incan Emperor Atahualpa was •Approximately 740,000 Spaniards
attacked and captured in 1531 at travelled to colonize the
the Battle of Cajamarca. Americas in the 16th and 17th
• With the help of allied natives of centuries.
the area, control was taken of the • The native population of Mexico
Andes region of Peru. reduced about 90%, and the
• The areas controlled by Spain were Peruvian native population was
divided into Viceroyalties. reduced from around 6.5 million
to 1 million, both by the 17th
century.
