Early Modern Spain

Early Modern Spain

Castilla

Isabel of

A NEW MONARCHY

Isabel of Castilla and Fernando of Aragón married in 1469. They inherited the kingdoms of Aragon and Castilla and unified them under one crown, but each retained its own laws, government, language and frontiers. The were known as the Catholic Monarchs.

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The Catholic Monarchs expanded their power by uniting the other territories of the Iberian Peninsula. In 1492, they conquered the Muslim kingdom of Granada after ten years of war. Starting in 1496, they annexed the Canary Islands, Melilla and Orán in North Africa. In 1512, they added the Kingdom of Navarre.

THE EXPANSION OF THE MONARCHY

The Catholic Monarchs imposed their authority over the feudal nobility. They centralised power by creating governing bodies. They named diplomats and created a professional army. They established a new type of authoritarian monarchy.

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Councils

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GOVERNING THE KINGDOMS

Three different cultures and religions (Judaism, Islam and Christianity) co-existed in the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. The Catholic Monarchs decided that everyone in their kingdom should follow one religion, Christianity. They gave the Jews and Muslims a choice: convert to Christianity or leave the kingdom. Jews and Muslims who converted to Christianity were called conversos. Muslims converts were also known as Moriscos. The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition (the Spanish Inquisition) was created to punish any converts who practiced their old religion in secret.

The Jews and the Muslims were expelled

An increase in long-distance trade and the desire to establish new routes to the Far East led to the first great maritime expeditions. Overland trade routes to India and the Spice Islands were established in the 13th century to import luxury items (silk and spices). Sailors and merchants tried to open up new sea routes to Asia. Technical and scientific advances: - the caravel: a very robust ship - the compass and the astrolabe: they helped navigation - Portolan charts: they showed the profile of the coasts and routes.

DISCOVERING NEW LANDS

GREAT GEOGRAPHICAL DISCOVERIES

1492 Christopher Columbus landed on the Caribbean islands of San Salvador and Hispaniola. 1498 Vasco de Gama reached the coast of India. 1519 Hernán Cortés went to Mexico. He founded Mexico City and became the governor of New Spain. 1522 Magallanes and Elcano made the first circumnavigation of the world. 1532 Francisco Pizarro went to Peru and became the governor of Peru.

The new continent that Columbus reached was inhabited by people who are known as the pre-Columbian civilisations. The most important were: - the Aztecs, in Mexico. - the Incas, in Peru. - the Mayas, in Central America. They lived in villages and cities. Most were farmers and artisans, and they traded their products. They used very simple tools and weapons made of stone and wood. They did not know about iron or the wheel.

PRE-COLUMBIAN CIVILISATIONS

Carlos I of Spain inherited a great empire made up of the Hispanic kingdoms, the conquered lands in the Americas and several European territories.

THE FOUNDING OF A GREAT EMPIRE

THE FOUNDING OF A GREAT EMPIRE

Carlos I was the first Hispanic monarch from the Hapsburg dynasty. In Spain, they were called the Austrias.

When Carlos I of Spain died, the empire was divided into two:

• His brother, Fernando, inherited the Austrian and German territories.
• His son, Felipe, received the rest of the empire, including Portugal.

The Spanish kings (Carlos I and Felipe II) attempted to strengthen their power over the Peninsular kingdoms and maintain their authority in Europe. The monarchs took all the decisions with the help of his advisors and they created new jobs (judges, scribes and tax collectors) that could only be held by nobles with “clean blood” (they did not have Moorish or Jewish blood). The riches that arrived form the Americas led to a great economic growth. The gold and silver increased the wealth of the privileged classes.

THE RISE OF THE MONARCHY (16th century)

In the second half of the 16th century, an economic crisis developed and lasted until the 17th century. To maintain the empire, a huge amount of money was required (to pay workers and soldiers). The monarchs used gold and silver that came from the Americas and took loans from banks, so they increased the taxes paid by the working class. This meant that a large sector of society grew poorer.

THE COST OF MAINTAINING THE EMPIRE

Spanish society under the Hapsburgs

Spanish society under the Hapsburgs

They were very numerous because the Church played an important role in society.

They were the bourgeoisie and lived in the cities.

They were untitled or less wealthy nobles with few assets. They were often officers in the army or held a position in Court.

They made up the largest part of the population and lived in poverty. They went to the city markets to sell their products.

They travelled around the countryside and cities begging. They lived off charity.

They survived by stealing.

They lived in grand palaces and in great comfort. They held parties and receptions there.

Clergy and nuns

Artisans and shopkeepers

Hidalgos

The peasants

Beggars and tramps

The thieves

The nobility

Carlos II died in 1700 and left his crown to Felipe of Anjou, of the French Bourbon dynasty. France and Castilla both supported his appointment, but some countries (Portugal, Holland, England and Austria) and the Crown of Aragon, did not accept the new king, they supported another candidate: Archduke Carlos of Austria, of the Hapsburg dynasty. The disagreement led to the War of the Spanish Succession. The main European powers signed the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, which recognised Felipe V as the king of Spain. In the Treaty, Spain gave up the last of its European territories (Duchy of Milan, Naples, Spanish Netherlands and Sardinia) and ceded Gibraltar and Menorca to Great Britain. The War of Spanish Succession continued until Bourbons troops conquered Catalonia and occupied Mallorca in 1714.

A NEW DYNASTY: THE BOURBONS

A NEW DYNASTY: THE BOURBONS

Felipe V and his successors governed as absolute monarchs. A centralised government applied the same laws to all of the territories. They suppressed the laws, language and institutions of the Crown of Aragon but they preserved some of the traditional laws in the Basque Country and Navarre. They reorganised the territory, creating provinces.

In the second half of the 18th century, the Enlightenment spread from France to the rest of Europe. Some monarchs introduced reforms to modernise their kingdoms. Enlightenment thinkers believed that human reason, science and education were essential tools for progress. They believed in freedom of the individual, equal rights and freedom of expression. They opposed absolutism and defended liberalism.

THE ENLIGHTENMENT

THE ENLIGHTENMENT: Carlos III’s reforms

Carlos III did more than anyone to turn Madrid into a modern city:

• Street lighting
• Wide avenues
• Paved streets
• Waste collection systems
• New monuments (Puerta de Alcalá, Cibeles Fountain, Fountain of Neptuno)
• Science park: Prado Museum, National Observatory in the Retiro Park, Botanic Gardens

The Madrid of the Bourbon dynasty