Exam Essay Question Flashcards
Thesis
- Had many advantages available to them
- Poor resource management
- Spread too thin
Strengths - Physical Resources - Multiple Realms
- Marriage union between Ferdinand and Isabella (Catholic Monarchs) would bring together Castile and Aragon in personal union
- Charles V would inherit: Iberian, Italy, NLs, Burgundy, Americas, N Africa
- would be elected HRE
Strengths - Physical Resources - New World Silver
- Mt Potosi
- Wealth from trade and from the royal 5th of silver
Strengths - Physical Resources - Harness Native Labour
- Spaniards were effective co-colonizers
- Use of encomienda in New World would make it easy to obtain labour
- regardless of how bad it was
- Used existing social structures
- Spanish would only remove emperor in New World
- Local chiefs left untouched
- Agreement with Natives to be subject to Spanish rule
Strengths - Physical Resources - Tercios
- Best land force in Europe
- Founded in 15th by Gonzalo de Cordoba; Permanently established in 1534 by Charles V
- First professional standing army
Strengths - Physical Resources - Significant Naval Resources in Med.
- Due to partnership with Aragon (Italy)
- Large Med. fleet of galleys to wage war on the Turks
- e.g. Lepanto 1571
Strengths - Social Factors - Castilian Desire to Expand
- Ideal birthed out of the reconquista
- e.g. conquistadors and the New World
- e.g. Cardinal Cisneros expedition into N Africa
- e.g. Initial efforts in Manila to expand and conquer
Strengths - Social Factors - Religious Unity
- Catholicism; Spain saw itself as the protector of Catholicism
- Spain was not ripped apart by Reformation (like other European states)
- Inquisition represents Spanish view of the centrality of Religion in society
- Colonization efforts/Armada were fueled by religious fervour
Strengths - Social Factors - Desire to Centralize Everything
- Power would be firmly centralized in the Monarchy despite political fragmentation
- seem most clearly under Philip II (Paper King)
- e.g. Seville would have monopoly on New World Trade
Weaknesses - Physical - Realm Over-extension
- Spanish possessions were very far away from each other
- could take months to get messages across Europe/Atlantic; 1 year to Philippines
- Spanish Road
- Hard to defend so many fronts
- At one point war in: France, Germany, NLs, Internal Revolts
- Unable to effectively enforce law
- failure of ‘The New Laws’ in New World
Weaknesses - Physical - Lack of Naval Resources
- In terms of Atlantic
- Global Empire without a navy
- Failure of Enterprise
- 120 Ships to 180 English warships
- Only Atlantic vessels were for defending treasure fleets
Weaknesses - Physical - Inability to tap into Manila Galleon Trade
- Silver would go into Asia, not Spain
- 1/3 of New World silver would go to Asia
- Efforts to prevent this would go largely ignored
Weaknesses - Social - Political Disunity
- Realms were never truly united
- Each realm was governed separately
- Seen through
- Olivares failure of Union of Arms
- Internal revolts of Portugal, Aragonese provinces
- Dutch Revolt
- Surrender of Granada; Moors kept all rights
Weaknesses - Social - Religious Tensions
- Much tension with other religions
- e.g. Dutch Revolt came out of religious tension
- e.g. Expelling Jews, later Moors
- e.g. Africa as a frontier for fight against Islam
- e.g. Wars with German Protestant Princes
Weaknesses - Social - Poor Economic Policy
- Fiscal
- Constantly in debt; taking out many loans (asientos)
- Impoverished by AofF
- Embargo General against NLs would hurt Spain
- Monetary
- Devalued currency with copper due to lack of silver
- called ‘Vellon’
- destroyed confidence on currency; massive inflation
- Castile alone would bear a majority of the cost of Empire
- Heavy taxation of Castilian peasantry
