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:crown:The Spanish Habsburg dynasty:crown: - Coggle Diagram
:crown:The Spanish Habsburg dynasty:crown:
Economy and society in the 16th century
The
economy prospered
due to the
riches obtained from the Americas
, especially
silver and gold
The port of Sevilla
monopolised trade
with the colonies through the
Casa de ContrataciĆ³n
To protect the ships from
pirate attacks
, Felipe II organised a
fleet system
so the voyages between the Americas and Sevilla could be made in groups
escorted by warships
The Spanish Monarchy was affected
by the arrival of precious metals in these ways:
The
craft industry began to grow
due to an
increase in demand from the American territories
. However, the
rise in prices
made
Spanish products more expensive
and it became cheaper to buy them abroad
The monarchs were able to
begin more expensive projects
. However, when these resources ran out they resorted to
increasing taxes
The nobility was
enriched
. They used the
silver and gold
to
buy luxury products
, but
didn't invest in production
. Therefore, the
majority of the population
became
poorer
The economy continued to be
based on agriculture
, and because of that, the
majority of the population became extremely vulnerable when harvests were bad
The kings were
enabled
to
finance the numerous wars
they were involved in, meaning that the
majority of this wealth
ended up
outside the Iberian Peninsula
At the
end of the 16th century
, the
Spanish economy went into decline
. Only
small local craft industries
, which
supplied the limited domestic demand
, were able to
survive
This
fall in production
also affected
trade
Religious wars
In the
16th century
, the
Spanish Monarchy
became the
most powerful
in
Europe
.
Carlos V
, or
Carlos I of Spain
, reigned from
1516 to 1556
, and his son
Felipe II
took over the throne from
1556 to 1598
Both monarchs belonged to the
Habsburg dynasty
. They tried to
exert absolute political authority
over Europe and pursued
similar political objectives
:
To retain their territorial patrimony through numerous wars against other kingdoms
:
The riches obtained from the Americas were
not sufficient
to
finance their foreign policies
, so they became
indebted to Italian
and
German bankers
To defend Catholicism
:
They took measures to
preserve religious unity
in
the whole of Europe
Their
domestic policy
continued to be
discriminatory
Outside Spain
, they waged
religiously motivated wars
against the
Protestant states