Monarchy of Spain (1516–1700)

Monarchy of Spain Monarquía Hispánica
1516–1700
Flag Coat of arms
The Spanish Empire under the rule of Philip Habsburg (1556–1598)
Capital	Madrid
Religion	Catholicism
Dominant mode of production	Feudalism
Government	Absolute monarchy

The Monarchy of Spain, also known as Habsburg Spain, refers to the territories ruled by the Spanish branch of the Hapsburg dynasty between 1516 and 1713. It served as the head of feudal reaction during the Counter-Reformation and brutally repressed its enemies with the Spanish Inquisition.

History

Unification

In 1492, Ferdinand and Isabella united Spain under a Catholic government and expelled all Muslims and Jews from the country unless they converted. They established the Spanish Inquisition to repress any non-Catholics. In the same year, they funded Columbus's voyage to America. Spain, Austria, and Germany unified under Charles in 1519.

Eighty Years' War

The Netherlands, then ruled by Spain, embraced Protestantism and dismissed the Spanish viceroy Granvelle in 1564. Dutch and Flemish society was dominated by merchants, but the Spanish monarchy used their wealth to fund its army and colonial ambitions. While most of the nobility supported Spain or was neutral, William of Orange led a bourgeois revolution against the Spanish. The Spanish fought against the revolution for decades, destroying Antwerp in November 1576 and taking control of Belgium. They began another offensive in 1584, leading Elizabeth of England to declare war on Spain and defeat the Spanish armada in 1588. Spain surrendered in 1609, and the Netherlands became the world's first bourgeois republic.

Thirty Years' War

Spain and Austria launched another counterrevolutionary war in 1618 against the revolution in Germany. The Catholic League defeated the Protestant Bohemian prince Frederick in 1620, leading the Czech nobility to seek support from the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, and France. Spain and its allies depopulated towns and forced peasants to give half of their produce to landlords. Following the war, France surpassed the destroyed Habsburg empires as the main power in mainland Europe.