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SPAIN IN THE 17TH CENTURY - Coggle Diagram
SPAIN IN THE 17TH CENTURY
During the 17th century, the Austrian Habsburgs ruled Spain (Felipe III, Felipe IV and Carlos II). During this century, the Spanish monarchy fell into decline.
On the Peninsula, the economic situation worsened
On an international level, Spain began to lose its political importance until it became a second rate power
The Austrian Habsburgs freed themselves of their governmental obligations by delegating power to their trusted advisors, who acted as prime ministers and were known as validos
The validos used their power to become rich and give positions of power and priviledges to their supporters and family.
This corruption increased rivalry among the different groups of nobles leading to conspiracies
THE AUSTRIAN HABSBURGS
Felipe III (1598-1621)
During Felipe III's reign, his valido, the Duke of Lerma governed
Spain was bankrupt, so to reduce expenses the armed conflicts were ended, a peace treaty was signed with England and a truce was declared with the Protestants in the Low Countries
In 1609, the expulsion of the Moriscos was ordered
They were accused of being fake christians and of practising their own religion in secret
Felipe III wished to demonstrate his commitment to Catholicism and compensate for ceding to the Protestants in the Low Countries
In addition, the Moriscos were considered untrustworthy by the rest of the population
This expulsion had an extremely negative effect on the Spanish economy, particularly in agriculture
Felipe IV (1621-1665)
Felipe IV delegated power to his valido, Count-Duke of Olivares, who attempted to regain power over Europe
To achieve this, Spain took part in new wars, such as the Thirty Years' War. Olivares attempted to introduce centralising reforms to increase tax collection.
One of these reforms was the Union of Arms, which proposed that all the kingdoms ruled by the Spanish monarchy provide soldiers and funds to cover the cost of the European wars
In the Crown of Aragón's kingdoms, the courts opposed this idea and the proposal failed.
Spain went bankrupt several times and after many years at war, the toll it was taking provoked numerous domestic rebellions
The most serious ones were in Catalonia and Portugal. In Portugal, the nobility managed to appoint a Portuguese king. Conspiracies also occurred in Andalucía and Aragón, as well as revolts in Naples and Sicily.
Following the Peace of Westphalia, Spain focused on controlling its domestic revolts, while simultaneously resuming its war against France
In 1652, the royal army took control of Barcelona and ended the revolt in Cataluña
However, Felipe IV's troops were defeated by the French army (with the support of England), and Spain was forced to sign a peace treaty with France, the Treaty of the Pyrenees, in1659
The consequences of the Treaty of the Pyrenees were the following:
France renounced Catalonia but gained the Catalonian territories of Roussillon and Cerdanya, as well as territories in Flanders.
A marriage was arranged between Louis XIV, King of France, and Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria and the daughter of Felipe IV, King of Spain.
Meanwhile, the war against Portugal continued with the support of England and France. In 1668, Spain recognised Portugal's independence
Carlos II (1665-1700)
Carlos II was a minor when he came to the throne, and was also suffering from an illness. Different validos took power during his reign
France continued its hostilities against a weak Spain, gaining more territories. Carlos II left no heirs, creating a serious conflict over succession when he died
THE WAR OF SUCCESSION
Carlos II named Felipe, Duke of Anjou, as his successor to the Spanish throne
He was from the Bourbon dynasty and was the grandson of King Louis XIV of France
In all the other countries this decision caused great fear
This would mean that the thrones of Spain and France would be united under a single ruler
An anti-Bourbon alliance was formed and Carlos, Archduke of Austria, was proposed as a candidate for the throne
This caused the War of Succession (1701-1713). The candidates and their supporters were the following:
Felipe was proclaimed King of Spain (as Philip V) in Madrid in 1700. He was supported by Castile and France.
The Archduke Carlos was proclaimed King of Spain in Barcelona in 1705, and was recognised by the Courts of Aragón, Valencia and Cataluña
He also had the military support of a coalition formed by Austria, Great Britain, the United Provinces, Portugal, Savoy and Prussia
After Felipe's victory at the Battle of Almansa in 1707, he conquered Valencia and Aragón
However, the coalition also gained victories and the war continued
In 1711, the Archduke Carlos inherited the throne of Austria, which caused fear of a possible union between Spain and Austria among his allies
Consequently, the Treaty of Utrecht was signed in 1713 between France and the coalition, with the exception of Austria
In 1714, Felipe V took control of Barcelona and ended the war (the Treaty of Rastatt)
The consequences of the War of Succession were the following:
France imposed Felipe V as King of Spain. Both kingdoms were governed by the Bourbon dynasty. However, Felipe had to renounce his right to the French throne
Austria gained the Spanish Low Countries, Naples, Sardinia and Milan. Savoy acquired Sicily.
Great Britain gained Gibraltar, Minorca and the French colonies in North America. It also obtained trade concessions with the Spanish colonies (a monopoly on slaves)
Spain lost its European territories but maintained the ones it held in the Americas. This was the lowest point in Spain's decline from then onwards, it began to recover slowly
The kingdom of Spain became a centralised state, based on the French model
Felipe V passed the Nueva Planta' decrees (1707-1716), which abolished the fueros and the institutions of the Crown of Aragón (Aragón, Valencia, Cataluña and Mallorca). These were replaced by Castilian laws