The Hispanic Empire (16th- 17th centuries)

THE HISPANIC EMPIRE (16TH-
17TH
CENTURIES)

HOUSE OF
HABSBURG
OR AUSTRIA
16TH
CENTURY
- CHARLES I (1517-1556)
- PHILIP II (1556-1598)
17th
CENTURY
- PHILIP III (1598-1621)
- PHILIP IV (1621-1665)
- CHARLES II (1665-1700)

16th CENTURY: THE SUPREMACY OF THE HISPANIC MONARCHY
CHARLESI (1516- 1556) PHILIP II (1556-1598)
In this century the monarchs
of the House of Austria were
hegemonic in Europe and
enlarged their territories in
America with the conquest of
the Aztec and Inca empires.

CHARLES I´S FAMILY TREE
Charles with his paternal family:
Emperor Maximilian of Habsburg,
Philip the Handsome and Mary of
Burgundy
Joanna the Mad with
Charles and one of his
sisters
Charles I inherited the big patrimony of the Catholic Monarch as a
consequence of a series of dramatic circumstances: the deaths of
those destined to be the heirs, like his uncle prince John of Castile and
Aragón, his infant cousin Miguel of Portugal, his father Philip I (Philip
the Handsome) and the mental instability of his mother, Joanna the
Mad.
CHARLES I (1516-1556)

CHARLES I´S HERITAGE
BLUE: CASTILE (including
the Canary Islands antd the
Indies)
ORANGE: ARAGON
GREEN: HOUSE OF
AUSTRIA (HABSBURG
TERRITORIES)
PURPLE: BURGUNDY
- Empire made up of different
territories with their own laws and
institutions
-Itinerant court
-King’s power limited by
the Parliaments of each territory
- Castile, main financial support of
the monarchy

Born in Ghent in 1500, he didn´t arrive
in the Iberian Peninsula until 1517
He brought many Flemish counselors
with him. When his grandfather
Maximilian died, he left Cardinal Adrian
of Utrecht as regent of Castile and
Aragon and went to Germany to be
appointed as Emperor of the Holy Roman
Empire.
ADRIAN OF UTRECHT

INTERNAL PROBLEMS: REVOLTS IN CASTILE AND ARAGÓN
Charles I’s way of treating his subjects and
several latent conflicts led to the outbreak
of two important revolts:
-revolt of the Comunidades (Communities) in
Castile
-revolt of the Germanías (Brotherhoods) in
Aragón

Agermanats with Adrian of Utrecht
REVOLT OF THE GERMANIAS IN ARAGON
- It lasted from 1519 to 1521.
- It developed in Valencia and Mallorca
-Revolt of peasants and craftsmen who wanted to
have access to the government of municipalities and
an improvement in the renting conditions of land.
-The leaders of the revolt were Vicent Peris and Joan
Llorenç
-The king signed an alliance with the nobles and
together they defeated the revolted

It started in 1520 and it finished in 1521.
- Many Castilian cities revolted against the king due to
the new taxes they had to pay.
- They also protested against the foreigners who held
the most important posts in Castile and wanted these
posts for Castilian people.
- The cities asked for protection for Castilian
industry.
- In some places peasants revolted against their lords.
The Comuneros visited queen Joanna I in Tordesillas in
order to try to get her support, but Charles made an
agreement with the Castilian nobles and they defeated
the Comuneros in Villalar (23rd
April 1521)
The leaders of the revolt, Padilla,
Bravo and Maldonado, were executed
REVOLT OF THE COMUNEROS IN CASTILE

IMPERIAL POLICY
OBJECTIVES
DEFENSE OF THE EMPIRE AND FIGHT FOR THE HEGEMONY IN EUROPE
DEFENSE OF CATHOLICISM
PROBLEMS
WARS AGAINST FRANCE
WARS AGAINST THE MUSLIMS
WARS AGAINST THE PROTESTANTS
Charles V´s imperial idea: UNIVERSITAS CHRISTIANA: Supremacy of the Emperor over all the Christian kingdoms
and defense of Christianity.

WARS AGAINST FRANCE
KING FRANCIS I
OF FRANCE
BATTLE OF PAVIA, 1525
After several wars, the Emperor´s armies occupied Milan in 1535.

WARS AGAINST THE MUSLIMS
Charles I announcing Pope Paul III
the conquest of Tunis, tapestry made
in 1535
Suleiman the
Magnificent, sultan of
the Ottoman Empire
Charles I also launched several attacks to stop
the Ottoman Turks and the Barbary pirates of
the North of Africa, who threatened the
Mediterranean possessions :
∙He helped his brother Ferdinand stop the
Ottoman Turks, commanded by Suleiman the
Magnificent, in Vienna (1532) and stopped their
advance in Eastern Europe.
∙In the Mediterranean Sea he conquered Tunis
and La Goulette in 1535, but he failed in his
attempt to conquer Algiers in 1541.
Barbarossa, Ottoman
admiral defeated at La
Goulette
Ottoman
depiction
of the siege
of Vienna,
from 1529
to 1532

WARS AGAINST THE PROTESTANTS IN THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
Charles V at Mühlberg (1547),
painted by Titian
Diet of Worms, 1521.
Excommunication of the Lutherans
Although at the beginning Charles V tried to make an
agreement with the Lutheran princes, in 1531 he declared
war against the Schmalkaldic League (alliance of Lutheran
princes). Charles V defeated them at the Battle of Mühlberg
in 1547. But he was aware of the fact that he couldn’t impose
Catholicism in the Empire and finally the Augsburg Peace
(1555) was signed.

AUGSBURG PEACE, 1555
This agreement gave the German
princes the possibility of choosing
religión in the Holy Roman Empire:
every prince could choose the religion
he preferred, but all the inhabitants of
his state had to have the same religion
of his prince (CUIUS REGIS, EIUS
RELIGIO).
This agreement meant the end of
religion wars in the Empire, but
intolerance continued.
- GREEN: Protestant States
- DARK GREEN: Schmalkaldic League members States
- LIGHT BROWN: territories of the House of Austria
(Habsburg)
- YELLOW AND LIGHT BROWN: Catholic
States

In 1556, after so many wars, tired and ill,
Charles I decided to abdicate and divide his
heritage:
- The territories of the House of Austria and the
title of Emperor were assigned to his brother
Ferdinand.
-The rest of his heritage (including the Low
Countries) was for his first son Philip, who
ruled with the name of Philip II.
SUCCESSION
Charles I’s abdication in Brussels, 1556
Ferdinand, Charles´s
brother, inherited the
Holy Roman Empire.
Philip II inherited the
rest of the Empire
Isabella of Portugal,
Charles V’s cousin and
wife and Philip II’s
mother

After his abdication, Charles I retired to the
Monastery of Yuste, in Extremadura.
In 1557 the expenses created by so many wars
led to the first default in the Hispanic
Monarchy. The Treasury couldn’t pay the
amount of debts created after long years of
war. Philip II had to restructure the debt
In 1558 Charles V died of malaria and was
buried in Yuste, although his remains were
later moved to the Royal Pantheon of the
Monastery of El Escorial
Charles V in the Monastery of Yuste, painted
by Eugène Delacroix in 1837
Monastery of Yuste

PHILIP II (1556-1598)
Although Philip II didn
´t inherit the Holy
Roman Empire, he
was the king of a huge
Empire (“the Sun
never set in his
Empire”).
-In 1565 he annexed
the Philippines Islands
-In 1580 he added
Portugal and its
colonies in America,
Africa and Asia in
1580.

GOVERNMENT
- Capital city in Madrid
- Personal government. The king was
helped by:
- a professional bureaucracy
- several councils: Council of War,
Council of the Indies, Council of
State…
- Growth of political centralization: Castile
became the political center of the Monarchy,
the King didn´t call the Cortes and made
almost all the decisions
-Main objectives:
•Defense of catholicism
•preservation of the Empire
Royal Monastery of
El Escorial, built to
commemorate the
victory in the
Battle of Saint
Quentin, and Philip
II’s favourite place
Philip II
Antonio Pérez, Philip II’s secretary. His
intrigues caused a lot of problems in the

DEFENSE OF CATHOLICISM
-Prohibition of protestantism in his kingdoms.
-Reinforcement of the Holy Inquisition
- Students couldn´t study abroad
-Prohibition of importing books
- “Blood cleanliness” in the administration
Document of blood cleanliness,
18th
century
Revolt of the Alpujarras, 1567
Religious intolerance caused many problems:
•inside the Peninsula, repression of the Moorish of
Granada: revolt of the Alpujarras and exile of the
Moorish to other parts of the Peninsula.
•outside the Peninsula, revolt of the Low Countries
(Eighty Years’ War, 1568-1648)

REVOLT IN THE LOW COUNTRIES
The Northern Provinces of the Low Countries (Holland), revolted against taxation demands, authoritarianism of the
governors (Duke of Alba) and religious intolerance.
The revolt started in 1568 and it didn´t finish until 1648 (Independence of Holland).
Philip II gave the Low Countries to his daughter Isabel Clara Eugenia, but she didn´t have children and the Low Countries
came back to the Hispanic Empire in 1621.
Flag of the revolt of
the Low Countries.
William of Orange,
Leader of the revolt
Duke of Alba
Isabel Clara Eugenia and
Archduke Albert of Austria

This objective led to several wars against France, the Ottoman Turks and England. So many wars ruined the
economy: several bankruptcies and defaults
PRESERVATION OF THE EMPIRE
The French were defeated in
Saint Quentin in 1557, but Philip
II continued to intervene in
France: he supported the
Catholics in the religion wars in
France, between Huguenots
(Calvinists) and Catholics.
WARS AGAINST FRANCE
Engraving of the Battle of Saint Quentin

The Holy League, a
Catholic coalition led
by the Hispanic
Monarchy, defeated
the Ottoman Turks in
Lepanto (near Greece)
in 1571.
WARS AGAINST THE OTTOMAN TURKS
Cervantes participated in
this battle and was
injured in one of his arms

Invincible Armada
CONFLICT WITH ENGLAND
The alliance with England, which dated to
the Catholic Monarchs’ time, broke up.
Causes:
- The English supported the Protestants
in the revolt of the Low Countries.
- English privateers attacked the ships
which came from the Indies (West Indies
Fleet).
-Philip II supported Mary, the Catholic
Queen of Scotland, to
the detriment of the Anglican
Elizabeth.
Philip II decided to invade England with a big
army, called the Invincible Armada. But the
Armada sunk before reaching the English
coasts in 1588

Mary I Tudor,
his aunt
Anna of Austria,
his nieceElisabeth of ValoisMaría Manuela
of Portugal
PHILIP II´S WIVES AND SUCCESSION
Philip II had four wives and twelve children, but
only three survived. His wives came from the
traditional allies from the time of the Catholic
Monarchs, except for the third one:
- In 1543 he married his cousin María Manuela
of Portugal. Their son, Prince Charles, was
mentally unstable and died in 1569.
- In 1554 he married his aunt Mary Tudor,
queen of England, eleven years older. They
didn’t have children
- In 1559 he married Elisabeth of Valois, a
French princess, as a result of the Cateau–
Cambrésis agreements. She was his most
beloved wife. They had six children, but only
two daughters survived: Isabel Clara Eugenia,
governor of the Low Countries, and Catalina
Micaela
- In 1570 he married his niece Anna of Austria,
with whom he had five children, but only one
survived: Philip III, who was Philip II’s heir.
Prince Charles, mentally unstable and
deformed. Confined by his father,
because he conspired with the Dutch.
He died six months later-
Isabel Clara Eugenia,
Duchess of Luxemburg,
Sovereign of the Spanish
Netherlands in the Low
Countries
Philip III, heir of the
Empire

ECONOMY IN THE 16th
CENTURY: THE PRICE REVOLUTION AND DEFAULTS
The arrival of precious metals from the
Indies provoked a huge inflation. Prices
increased a lot, because there was not
enough production to satisfy the demand.
Many products were imported from Europe
and the wealth of the Indies wasn´t used to
develop a productive economy.
The Indies were a Castilian monopoly. The
Aragonese economy couldn´t take
advantage of the Empire.
Despite the huge amount of precios
metals arrived from the Indies, the wars
were very expensive and ruined the
economy. Philip II was forced to declare
defaults in 1575 and at the end of his
reign, in 1596.

17TH
CENTURY :
THE DECLINE OF THE HISPANIC EMPIRE
PHILIP III (1598-1621) PHILIP IV (1621-1661) CHARLES II (1661-1700)

PHILIP III
Duke of Lerma
Duke of Uceda
He left the government in the hands
of two favourites, the dukes of Lerma
and Uceda.
Main facts of his reign:
- TWELVE YEARS TRUCE (1609-1621): war
stopped for a while, but the Northern
Provinces of the Low Countries became
practically independent.
- EXPULSION OF THE MOORISH (1609):
more than 300,000 people were expelled
(20% of the population of the kingdom of
Aragón and 33% of the kingdom of
Valencia). This strongly affected the Crown
of Aragón´s economy.
-DEVALUATION OF CURRENCY: gold and
silver coins were mixed with copper.
Philip III
Expulsion of the
Moorish
from Denia port

PHILIP IV
Count-Duke of Olivares
The Count-Duke of Olivares was his
main valido. His government was
characterized by authoritarianism and
centralization. His project included:
-bigger centralization
- reinforcement of the power of the
monarchy
-fairer contribution of thedifferent
parts of the Monarchy to the
expenses and the military effort. Philip IV

Reapers´ War in Catalonia
-Thirty Years War (1618-1648): although there were
some succesful actions, like Breda (1634), the tercios
were defeated at the Battle of Rocroi on 1643, which
meant the end of the Hispanic hegemony in Europe.
In the Peace of Westphalia the United Provinces of
the Low Countries became definitely independent.
-Olivares’ Project of the Union of Arms provoked
uprisings in different kingdoms in 1640:
- Catalonia, supported by France, rose up
against Philip IV. The conflict ended with the Peace
of the Pyrenees(1659): Aragon lost the territories of
Rosellón and Cerdaña.
- Portugal: the conflict ended with the
Treaty of Lisbon and the definitive independence of
Portugal (1668)
War returned in several fronts:
The Surrender of Breda, painted by Velázquez

Inbreeding in the House of Habsburg
Called the “Hexed”.
Disabled and constantly
ill.
He ruled with the help
of some validos
CHARLES III
John Joseph of Austria Fernando de Valenzuela

Although the Hispanic Monarchy
had lost its supremacy in Europe,
Charles II’s heritage was still very
important. When Charles II died
without direct descendants, a
succession war started in Europe

- DEMOGRAPHY: Population decreased due to wars, epidemics, famines , migration to the Indies and the
expulsion of the Moorish.
- ECONOMY: economic recession due to the expulsion of the Moorish (which strongly damaged
agriculture, especially in the Crown of Aragón) and less demand for products as a consequence of
demographic crisis.
- SOCIETY: nobility was the model, manual work was seen as a shame and everybody aspired to live off
rents. There were lots of beggars and rogues, like the one in El Lazarillo de Tormes
DEMOGRAPHY, SOCIETY AND ECONOMY IN THE 17th CENTURY
Boys eating grapes and mellon,
by Murillo
Rogue, by Murillo

The Hispanic Empire (16th- 17th centuries)

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