Europe in the age of Carlos V and Felipe II (2)
The Spanish Habsburg Dynasty
The religious wars
In the 16th century
The Spanish Monarchy
Became the most powerful in Europe
Carlos V / Carlos I of Spain
Reigned from 1516 to 1556
Felipe II
Took over the throne from 1556 to 1598
The Habsburg dynasty
They attempted to exert absolute political authority
Over Europe
Political objectives
To retain their territorial patrimony
Through numerous wars against other kingdoms
In some cases various wars at the same time
The riches obtained from the Americas
Were not sufficient to finance their foreign policies
So they became indebted to Italian and German banks
To defend Catholicism
They took measures to preserve religious unity
In their territories and the whole of Europe
Their domestic policy
Continued to be discriminatory
Those who questioned Catholicism
Were repressed (humanists and Protestants)
They published the Index of forbidden books
They restored to using the concept of
Limpieza de sangre (purity of blood)
To prevent the conversos (converted)
The descendents of Jews and Muslims
From gaining access to public positions
Outside Spain
They waged religiously motivated wars
Against the Protestant states
Economy and society in the 16th century
The economy prospered
Due to the riches obtained from the Americas
Silver and gold
The port of Sevilla
Monopolised trade with the colonies
Through the Casa de Contratación
The population increased and the cities grew
Felipe II organised a fleet system
To protect the ships from pirate attacks
So the voyages between the Americas and Sevilla
Could be made in groups escorted by warships
The arrival of precious metals on the Peninsula
Affected the Spanish Monarchy
It enabled the kings
To finance the numerous wars
They were involved in throughout Europe
Meaning that the majority of this wealth
Ended up outside the Iberian Penisula
The arrival of metals enriched the nobility
They used silver and gold
To buy luxury products
But didn't invest in production
Which would improve the economy and generate wealth
The majority of the population became poorer
The craft industry
Began to grow
Due to an increase in demand
From the American territories
The rise in prices
Made Spanish products
More expensive
Cheaper to buy abroad
More expensive projects
The monarchs
Had more resources
Restored to increasing taxes
When resources ran out
Were collected from the peasants and the bourgeoisie
Privileged classes didn't have to pay them
Economy
Based on agriculture
The majority of population
Became extremely vulnerable
When harvests were bad
At the end of the 16th century
The Spanish economy
Went into decline
Small local craft industries
Were able to survive
Supplied the limited domestic demand
Major industries
Couldn't compete
With those from abroad
The Castilian wool industry
The Crown of Aragón's textile industry
The fall in production
Affected trade
Fewer raw materials were bought and sold
The number of products manufactured decreased
The economic decline
Deeply affected society
More people
Had to beg to survive
Joined clergy to escape poverty
Carlos V
Isabella the Catholic died
Her daughter Juana
Ascended the throne of Castilla
Was married to Felipe I
Duke of Burgundy
Son of the Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I
Was declared unfit to govern
When Felipe suddenly died
Due to an alleged mental illness
Carlos I
Juana's eldest son
Inherited a vast patrimony
This was ruled
By his grandfather Ferdinand 'the Catholic'
By Cardinal Cisneros
Until his arrival in Spain
The beginning of his reign
Carlos was born
In 1500
In the Flemish city of Ghent
Where he lived
Until he went to Castilla in 1517
So he didn't speak Spanish
This upset the Castilian nobility
Who viewed the monarch
As a foreigner
They feared
That they would lose their power
That Castilla's riches
Would be assigned to other territories
Castilla
Was experiencing an economic crisis
Carlos
Used the taxes collected
To finance his appointment
As Holy Roman Emperor
This provoked
The Revolt of the Comuneros (1520)
The lower nobility and bourgeoisie
Rose up against the government
The Revolt of the Brotherhoods (1519-1523)
The king's representatives
Supported by the high nobility
Defeated the comuneros
The Battle of Villalar (1521)
Their most important leaders
Were executed
Juan Bravo, Juan de Padilla and Francisco Maldonado
The bourgeoisie and peasants
Rose up against the nobility
In Valencia and Mallorca
An armed revolt
The agermanados
Groups of humble citizens
Who had been allowed
To arm themselves
To defend their coastal cities
Against pirate attacks
Were tired of the abuses of the nobility
They organised a revolt
To improve their economic conditions
To attain political rights
The king supported the nobility
The uprising was suppressed
The monarchy became more powerful
The wars of Carlos V
Against France
France was surrounded
By Carlos V's territories
Francis I
The king of France
Waged several wars
Against the Emperor
In the first one
He was defeated
The Battle of Pavia (1525)
Carlos conquered
The Duchy of Milan (northern Italy)
In the following wars
He made alliances
To weaken the power of the Emperor
The Pope
The Italian states
The Ottoman Empire
The Protestant princes
Against the Ottoman Empire
The sultan Suleiman the Magnificent
Began to expand his empire
He attacked Vienna (1529)
The city resisted
The Ottoman Empire
Had converted the Berber states in northern Africa
Into vassals
The Turk Barbarossa
Controlled the Western Mediterranean from Algiers
The Emperor's troops
Conquered Tunisia (1535)
Failed to take Algiers (1541)
The Christian fleet
Was defeated
The Ottomans maintained control
Of the Mediterranean Sea
Against the German Protestant princes
The Emperor
Fought the Protestant princes
In the Schmalkaldic War (1546-1547)
Defeated them in Mülberg
The hostilities resumed in 1552
Carlos V
Signed the Peace of Augsburg (1555)
