Spain in the 15th and 16th Centuries
Definitions
Caravel: A ship that combined speed and maneuverability. It used square sails to pick up speed and triangular sails for maneuvering.
Columbian Cultures: In the northern part of America, there were no great cultures but isolated tribes of hunter-gatherers. The most important were the Sioux, Apache, and Cheyenne Arapaho.
Authoritarian Monarchy: A system in which the king concentrated all powers. Even for taxes and the swearing-in of an heir, he must rely on the courts or parliament.
Chancilleria: The highest court in Castile, it makes judgments in accordance with the laws of the kingdom.
Morisco: Every Muslim converted to the Christian faith by obligation from 1512.
Predestination: People were convicted or saved at birth regardless of their works. Calvinism was born in Geneva and spread to the Netherlands.
Viceroy: A person who governs on behalf of the king in a distant land, often a family member.
Audiencia: Court anywhere in the empire.
Dates
- 1492: Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, Conquest of the last territory held by the Muslim kingdom of Granada, and expulsion of the Jews.
- 1512: After Isabella’s death, the kingdom of Navarre was also conquered. Expulsion of Spanish Muslims.
- 1525: French defeat at Pavia.
- 1555: Charles V ceded power to his brother Ferdinand.
- 1556: Charles V gave Spain and the American territories to his son Philip II.
- 1557:
- 1569:
- 1571: Defeat of the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto.
- 1588: Philip II sent the Armada against England.
- 1598:
Long Questions
Causes of Discovery: From the fifteenth century, Europeans carried out a series of maritime expeditions. Firstly, Europeans needed to seek new trade routes with the Orient. Secondly, there were a series of technical advances: new maps were developed, widespread use of navigational instruments such as the compass, astrolabe, and quadrant, and there were new types of ships like the caravel.
The Lutheran Reformation: In 1515, Pope Leo X bestowed indulgences upon those who gave money for the construction of Saint Peter’s Basilica. The German monk Martin Luther responded with his 95 theses against the publication of indulgences, in which he harshly criticized the Pope. Luther was excommunicated. From that time, Luther began to disseminate his ideas. This was the origin of Lutheranism.
The Beginning of the Reign of Charles V: Charles V inherited a vast empire and became the most powerful king of his time. His maternal grandparents were Ferdinand and Isabella, and he won the Spanish throne in 1516. Charles V was born in Flanders. When he arrived in Spain in 1516, he was a foreign king who brought many Flemish nobles who took the top government posts.
Internal Problems of Philip II: Philip II was the most powerful king of his time but had to face a host of problems:
- The war with France: Philip II defeated the French at the beginning of his reign and forced them to sign the peace of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559.
- Confrontation with the Turks: The Turkish Empire was a great power that threatened the Spanish possessions in the Mediterranean Sea.
- The revolt of the Low Countries: In 1555, the northern provinces revolted against Philip II.