UNIT. 2. THE EARLY MODERN AGE IN SPAIN AND AMERICA.

THE CATHOLIC MONARCHS.

1. Dynastic union.

• 1469: marriage of Ferdinand II (in spanish Fernando II de Aragón), heir of the crown of Aragon and Isabella I (in spanish, Isabel I de Castilla), heiress of the crown of Castille.
• 1479: En of castillian civil war. Isabella became queen of Castille and Ferdinand, king of Aragon. The union between the two crowns became effective.
• It was a dynastic union, the two crowns shared the same monarchs, but kept their own institutions, laws and monetary system. 

2. Religious and territorrial unity.

• Territorial. The Catholic monarchs tried to unify all the territories of the Iberian Peninsula: 

1. In first place, they conquered the kingdom of Granada in 1492.
2. In 1512, they occupied the kingdom of Navarra.
3. They prepared a future union with Portugal through marriage alliance.

• They also tried to achieve the religious unity of their kingdoms, imposing the catholic orthodoxy:

1. Creation of the Inquision (1478).
2. They ordered the expulsion of the Jews (1492). 
3. They forced the conversion of the Granada muslims (1500). 

3. Establishment of the modern state.

The Catholic Monarchs established the authorian monarchy in Spain, through a number of measures:

• They imposed their authority over the nobility, clergy and the municipalities:

1. They intervened in the appoinment of bishops and controlled the properties of the military orders.
2. They appointed chief magistrates in the castilian cities and introduced a lottery system for appointments in Aragon.
3. They hardly ever summoned the Cortes.

• They improved the administration:

1. Creation of councils made up of jurists to aid the monarchs.
2. Audiencias, royal courts located in Valladolid and Granada.
3. Creation of the Santa Hermandad in order to maintain order.

• Modernization the army by organising it into regiments called tercios.

4. Foreing policy.

They started an expansive foreing policy focused in three areas:

• North Africa where Castille conquered several fortresses: Melilla, Oran, Algiers, and Tripoli.
• The Atlanctic Ocean, in competition with Portugal, they discovered America (1492) and occupied the Canary Islands (1496).
• The Mediterranean Sea, Aragon, recovered the Rousillon and Cerdaña in the south of France and conquered Naples. 

The spanish tercios combined fire weapons (musketters and arqubusiers) with pikemens and cavalry. They were the most sucessful military units in Europe for more than a hundred years.

Catholic monarch's territorial expansion. File: Mapa de la expansión de los territorios de los Reyes Católicos en el s.XV. Author: José Alberto Bermúdez. (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0).

2. THE HISPANIC MONARCHY.

The kingdoms of the Catholic Monarchs were inherited by their grandson Charles, who had been born and raised in the Netherlands. He started the spanish branch of the House of Austria which had two members in the 16th century: Charles I and Philip II. This two monarchs are very important because:

• Consolidated the authoritarian monarchy established by the Catholic Monarchs.
• Governed an extensive empire, which enabled them to impose Hispanic hegemony in Europe.
• Started a period of demographic and economic prosperity, as well as a flourishing of art and culture known as the "Golden Age".

2. 2. The organisation of the monarchy.

The Austrias developed a well-organised administration in order to rule their empire:

• The king had all the political powers. He controlled the exterior an interior politics and controlled:

1. the Cortes.
2. the municipilaties.
3. the privileged groups.

• He ruled assisted by several councils, made up of jurists. The councils were led by royal secretaries, gave advice to the king and were in charge of:

1. specific territories (Councils of Castilla, Aragón and the Indies).
2. branches of the administration (inquistion, Navy, War).

• Territorial administration. The monarchy  was an association of different states with their institutions, customs and laws:

1. Each kingdom has their own Cortes.
2. Each kingom was led by a viceroy (in spanish, virrey) who represented the king and summoned the Cortes.

3. POLITICS DURING THE REIGN OF CHARLES I AND PHILIP II.

3. 1. The reign of Charles I (1516-1556)

3. 1. 1. Charles I’s inheritance.

He was crowned as king of the Spanish Kingdoms in 1517, due to the death of the others heirs (John, Isabella, and Miguel) and the incapacitation of his mother Juana.

• From Isabella, his maternal grandmother, he obtained Castille, the Canary islands and the Indias.
• From Ferdinand, his maternal grandfather the Crown of Aragon, Sardinia, Sicily and Naple.
• From Maximilian, his paternal grandfather, the right to be elected as emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and the territories of the Hasburgh familiy in central Europe.
• From Margarita, his paternal grandmother, the low countries, Luxemburgo and the Franche-Comte.
• In 1519, he was appointed as emperor of the Holly Roman Empire and became the most powerful monarch in Europe.

3. 1. 2. Internal conflicts.

At first, Charles was a very unpopular monarch. He did not speak spanish, ruled aided by flemish counsellors and asked for money in order to become emperor. Because of this, there were two popular uprisings:

1. The revolt of the Comuneros in Castilla (1520-1521)
2. The revolt of the Brotherhoods in Valencia and Mallorca (1521-1522). 

Charles defeated both of them. The power of the king in Castille was reinforced.

3. 1. 3. Exterior conflicts. 

Charles was the most powerful european king and wanted to became the succesor of Charlemagne, because of this, he had conflicts against several enemies:

• Wars against France to control Italy. Charles defeated France and conquered Milan.
• Wars against the Turks. Charles managed to avoid the fall of Viena, but he was defeated in the Mediterranean and lost Tunez.
• Wars against the protestants. Charles fought against the german protestant princes who wanted to become autonomous, but he was defeated and had to recognise the religious fredoom inside the empire. Peace of Ausburg (1555).

Territories of the hispanis monarchy in Europe under Charles V.

3. 2. Reign of Philip II.

Philip did not inherited the possesions of the Austrias and didn’t became emperor but he conquered Portugal and Philipines, building the first world empire, the biggest empire of the Early modern age.

Phillip was the champion of the catholicism and took part in the european wars of religion against the protestants.

3. 2. 1. Internal conflicts.

• Rebellion of the Alpujarras (1568-1570). The moriscos of Granada(spaniards of arab culture forced to convert to christianity), started an uprising due to the attacks against their customs. The rebellions was defeated and thousands of moriscos deported to other parts of the kingdom.
• Rebellion of Aragon (1590). In 1590, there were an uprising against the monarchy. Phillip II, invaded Aragon with an army and crushed the rebellion.

3. 2. 2. External conflicts.

Phillip had important success in his exterior policy. He defeated the Frenchs in the battle of San Quintin (1557)  and the Turks in Lepanto (1571). Also, after the death of the king of Portugal, he conquered Portugal in 1580, building the first world empire, but he also had enemies:

• Dutch revolt. In 1566, the northern part of the Lower countries, whose population had adopted the protestantism, started an uprising against the spanish monarchy and 1579 became independent.
• England. Phillip became the enemy of the Queen of England, Elisabeth, because of her support to the dutch rebels and the english attacks against the spanish trade. In 1588 he decided to invade England and sent a huge fleet, la Armada Invencible, but the invasion failed and fleet was destroyed.

Territories of the Spanish Monarchy in 1580, during the rule of Phillip II.

The spanish road (in spanish, el camino español), the land route used by the Spanish Monarchy to send troops to the North of Europe.

 

The Spanish empire with Charles I and Philip II. File: Evolución de las posesiones españolas desde los Reyes Católicos a Felipe II. Author: José Alberto Bermúdez. (BY-NC-SA 3.0)

4. The conquest of America.

4. 1. Characteristics.

• It was a very fast process. Most of the spanish colonies (a territory more than eight times larger than Spain) were conquered between 1519 and 1558. This was possible due to:

1. The superior technology of the spaniards (steel, horses, fire arms).
2. The weakness of the indigenous empires (civil wars, illness).
3. The religious beliefs of the americans. The indigenous believed that the spaniards were Gods.

• The conquerors were private citizens:

1. A relatively small group of people (several ten of thusands)
2. Most of them were members of the lower nobility (hidalgos) and poor people who came to america to get lands and wealth.
3. Most of them came from the Canary Islands, Andalusia and Extremadura.

• Was organised using capitulations. A capitulation was a contract between the Crown and a particular citizen. The citizen promised to organize and pay the exploration and conquest of a territory in the name of the Crown, in exchange of titles, administrative post and a part of the bounty.

4. 2. Phases of the conquest.

We can distinguish two stages in the conquest.

• First stage. The conquest of the great american empires.:

The aztec empire, located in modern day Mexico, its capital was Tenochticlan. Led by the emperor, Moctezuma, was conquered by Hernan Cortes between 1519 and 1521.

The inca empire, located in the Andes mountain range, its capital city was Cuzco. Led by the emperor Athaulpa, was conquered between 1531 and 1532, by Francisco Pizarro.

• Second stage. The spaniards conquered the rest of the Spanish colonies (Nueva Granada, Rio de la Plata, Philipines). In this stage the spanish advance was slower and more difficult.

Video about Hernan Cortes:

Video about the aztec empire:

Clips of Carlos, Rey emperador about Hernan Cortes:

  
After the conquest of the big american empires, the spaniards started the conquest of the periferical areas, but the conquest of these territories was far slower and more difficult, because its inhabitants started to adopt the weaponry of the spaniards and to breed horses. One example was the Arauco war, a conflict against the mapuches in modern day Chile that last for more than 300 years.

5. COLONIZATION AND ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA.

5. 1. Adminitration.

The American colonies became part of the Crown of Castille. The laws of Castilla were applied in the colonies and new cities were built, according to the castillian model.

Administrative organization.

Council of Indias, A body which led the administration of the American colonies and issued the laws regarding America.

Territorial organization. America was divided into:

• two viceroyalties: Nueva España and Peru; led by a viceroy. The viceroyalties were divided into provinces, led by a governor; and cabildos which led a city.
• Audiencia which occupied about the administration of justice.

5. 2. Economy.

Mining. The main economic activity was mining.

• The most importan mines were the silver mines of Mexico (Zacatecas) and Potosi (Peru).
• Most of the miners were indigenous forced to work.

Agriculture. The conquerors divided the land in huges agriculture called estancias or haciendas. The indians were forced to work using institutions like the encomienda (they had to work for a colonist in exchange of protection and evangelization).

Trade.

Was controlled by the House of Trade (Casa de Contratación) , located in Seville. All the ships which went to America had to register there.

The trade to and from America was organised by a convoy system, the Flota de Indias which linked Seville and Veracruz and protected by the Spanish Navy.

5. 3. Consequences.

In America.

Demographics. There were a quick and reduction of the american population (between a 50% and 70%) due to:

• Forced work.
• Illness brought by the europeans (smallpox, flu).
• The psycologic impact of the conquest.

In Castille:

• The resources of America aided the Spanish monarchy to maintain its hegemony in Europe.
• The arrival of huge quantities of precious metals (mostly silver) started a inflactionary process which dramatically reduce the standard of living.

File: Mapa de las posesiones españolas en América en el s. XVII. Author: José Alberto Bermúdez. License: (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0).

Clips of "Carlos, rey emperador" about the colonization of America:

Most of the spaniards that came to America were members of the lower nobility, people without resources that wanted to obtain wealth and glory or the oportunity to begin a new life. One example is the history of Catalina de Erauso, also known as the Lietunenant Nuna (la monja alferez) who escaped from a convent, dreesed as a man and fought in Chile in the Guerra del Arauco for several years.

6. ECONOMY AND SOCIETY.

6. 1. Economy.

Demographics. Spain had an important demographic grow in the XVI century, reaching the 8 million inhabitants, of them 6. 1 in Castilla. 

Economy. The main economic activity was agriculture. Furthermore, there were a period of economic growth due the trade with the colonies. Nevertheless, the evolution of the economy was different in each kingdom.

Castilla. Two phases:

• In the first half of the XVI century, economic prosperity due the American trade.
• In the second half of the century, economic stagnation due the price revolution.

Aragon. Economic stagnation due the loss of importance of the Mediterranean trade.

6. 2. Society.

In the XVI century Spain was a estamental society which three social states.

Two privileges states, nobility and clergy. They paid no taxes, and held the political and economic power. The nobility held most of the land, their main occupation was hunting and they considered manual work unworthy.

The non privilege state, the rest of the population. It was composed of:

• Peasants, the majority of the population.
• Bourgeoisie. It was few in number and weak. Furthermore, manual work was considered unworthy, because of this, most of them wanted to become members of the nobility.

Also there were, marginal groups, conversos (jews) and moriscos. They could not held administrative posts, due the Estatutos de Limpieza de Sangre.

7. RENAISSANCE IN SPAIN.

7. 1. Architecture.

Main characteristic: inspiration in Italian models.
We can distinguish three periods:

• Plateresque (first half of the XVI century:

1. Combination of the gothic forms and Renaissance decorative motifs (coats of arms, medallions, pinnacles).
2. Best examples: San Marcos de León and University of Salamanca.

• Purist (middle XVI century):

1. Enlarged decorative elements.

•  Herreriano (second half of the XVI century.

1. Simple structure.
2. Slate roofs. 

San Marcos in Leon.

University of Salamanca.

Palace of Charles I, Granada. File:Alhambra-Palacio Carlos V.-South.jpg User:Imehling License: (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Courtyard of the Palace of Charles I, Granada. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Patio_Paleis_Karel_V.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Ra-smit (CC BY-SA 4.0)

San Lorenzo del Escorial, an example of herrerian renaissance architecture. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Escorial-sur.jpg https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:SalomonSegundo&action=edit&redlink=1 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

7. 2. Sculpture.

Characteristics:

1. Most pieces were made of wood.
2. Polychrome esculpture.
3. Religious themes.
4. Most important sculptors: Alonso Berruguete and Juan de Juani.

Ecce Homo, Berruguet. "Rodelar, Wikimedia Commons, Licencia CC-BY-SA 4.0

Piedad de Medina del Campo, Juan de Juani.

7. 3. Painting. El Greco.

Characteristics:

• Influenced of the italian masters.
• Mostly religious themes.

El Greco. Domenico Theocopulus. The main characteristics of his paintings were:

• Elongated figures with complicated postures.
• Strong light, bright and unreal.
• Themes: religious related to the counter-reformation: the Virgin, the Saints. Portraits.
• Main works: The burial of the Count Orgaz (1588), The Martydom of St. Maurice (1580).

The burial of the Count Orgaz, El Greco.

The martydom of Saint Maurice, El Greco.

 

 

 

 

 

 

ACTIVITIES.

 MAPS

1. Answer the following questions:
a).To the territories of which monarch correpond this map: Charles I or Philip II?

b) Identify the following territories: Crown of Castilla, Low countries, Franche Comte and Portugal.

 

2. Fill the blank spaces.

Examples of short questions.

3. In which year Philip II defeated the turks in Lepanto?
a) 1566.

b) 1571.

c) 1580

d) 1588.

4. What was the Flota de Indias? 

a)  A convoy system which linked Seville and Veracruz and protected by the Spanish Navy.

b) A council that was in charge of spanish treasure.

c) A goverment body that was in charge of the administration of justice in America.

d) A goverment body located in Seville in which had to register all the ships that went to America.

EXAMPLES OF SHORT QUESTIONS.

5. Identify and explain briefly the main exterior conflicts of Philip II.

6. Explain the economic evolution of Castilla and Aragon during the 16th century.

7. Match the defition with the right words.

1. A military unit that combined fire weapons and pikemen. 2. A revolt that took place in Andalucia against Philip II 3. A contract signed by a private citizen and the King in order to conquer and organise a new territory. 4. An American empire located in Central America that was conquered by Hernan Cortes. 5. A type of Spanish Renaissance architecture which almost no decoration and slate roofs.

a.    Santa Hermandad. b.    Inca. c.     Tercio. d.    Purist e.    Revolt of the Alpujarras. f.      Capitulación. g.    Aztec. h.    Revolt of the Indignados. i.      Herrerian j.      Encomienda.

 

 

 

SOLUTIONS.

1.

2.

3. The correct answer is 1571, in 1580 Philip II conquered Portugal and in 1588 the Arnada Invencible was defeated.

4. The correct answer is a). The Flota de Indias .

5. 

Phillip had important success in his exterior policy. He defeated the Frenchs in the battle of San Quintin (1557)  and the Turks in Lepanto (1571). Also, after the death of the king of Portugal, he conquered Portugal in 1580, building the first world empire, but he also had enemies:

• Dutch revolt. In 1566, the northern part of the Lower countries, whose population had adopted the protestantism, started an uprising against the spanish monarchy and 1579 became independent.
• England. Phillip became the enemy of the Queen of England, Elisabeth, because of her support to the dutch rebels and the english attacks against the spanish trade. In 1588 he decided to invade England and sent a huge fleet, la Armada Invencible, but the invasion failed and fleet was destroyed.

 6.

The main economic activity was agriculture. Furthermore, there were a period of economic growth due the trade with the colonies. Nevertheless, the evolution of the economy was different in each kingdom.

Castilla. Two phases:

• In the first half of the XVI century, economic prosperity due the American trade.
• In the second half of the century, economic stagnation due the price revolution.

• Aragon. Economic stagnation due the loss of importance of the Mediterranean trade.

7.

7. Match the defition with the right words.

1. A military unit that combined fire weapons and pikemen. Tercio 2. A revolt that took place in Andalucia against Philip II. Revolt of the Alpujarras. 3. A contract signed by a private citizen and the King in order to conquer and organise a new territory. Capitulación. 4. An American empire located in Central America that was conquered by Hernan Cortes. Aztec. 5. A type of Spanish Renaissance architecture which almost no decoration and slate roofs. Herrerian.

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Transformations of the 17th century:

• Political:

1. End of the Spanish hegemony: Treaty of Westfalia, the Pyreness peace.
2. Apparition of the absolutist monarchy.
3. Apparition of the parlamentary system.

• Economic:

1. Apparition of the financial capitalism due to the development of transatlantic trade.
2. Apparition of the mercantilism.

• Apparition of the scientific revolution: modern science and the scientific method.
• Apparition of the barroque art.

2. THE EUROPEAN CONFLICTS.

The two main conflicts of the 17th century were:

• the Thirty Years Wars (1618-1648) was:

1. Internal german conflict between the austrian emperor, who was a catholic and wanted an unified empire and the german princes, who were protestant and wante autonomy.
2. International conflict between Spain and Austria in one side, and all the enemies of Spain: Denmark, Sweden, Holland and France.

• French-Spain War (1648-1659):

Was a war between Spain and France, aided by England from 1654. Spain was defeated in the battle of the Dunas (1658) and in 1659, France and Spain signed the Peace of the Pyrenees:

1. France occupied the Rousillon and several places in the Lower countries.
2. Start of the French hegemony in Europe.

THE ARTISTIC LEGACY. THE BAROQUE.

1. 1. Characteristics.

Baroque is an artistic style that appeared between the XVII and the first half of the XVIII centuries. The origin is the portuguese word baroco (irregular pearl) or the italian word barochio (deceit).
The main characteristics of the baroque art are:

• Continued traditions

THE ARTISTIC LEGACY. THE BAROQUE.

1. 1. Characteristics.

Baroque. The origin is the portuguese word baroco (irregular pearl) or the italian word barochio (deceit).