Absolutism Unit

Chapter 1.1

Spanish Power Grows: Charles V

1. 1516: Ferdinand & Isabella’s grandson, Charles I Became King Ferdinand of Spain

2. 1519: When his other grandfather died, Charles became heir to the sprawling Hapsburg Empire (parts of modern day France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands and took the title of Charles V

Charles V3. Ruled two empires involved constant warfare

a. Fought to suppress Protestantism in the German states but eventually failed

b. Faced the Muslim Ottoman Empire

i. Based in Turkey

ii. Stretched into Eastern and Central Europe

Charles V4. Succumbed to the pressure and abdicated

a. Entered a monastery in 1556

b. Divided his empire between his brother and son

i. Brother Ferdinand ruled the Hapsburg lands in Central Europe

ii. Son Philip II, at age 29, received Spain, Netherlands, some southern Italian states , and Spain’s overseas empire.

Philip II1. Ruled for 42 years

2. Expanded Spanish influence

3. Strengthened the Catholic Church

4. Made Spain the top European Power

5. Known as hard-working, devout, and ambitious.

6. Was unique as he seldom hunted, never jousted, & lived simply

7. Lived at an isolated somber palace outside Madrid, known as the Escorial

a. Church

b. Residence

c. Tomb for the royal family

Philip II8. Ruled during Siglo do Oro aka Spain’s Golden Age

a. Philip II was a patron of the arts and also founded academies of science and mathematics

b. El Greco

i. born on the Greek island of Crete

ii. Studied in Italy before settling in Spain

iii. Painted dramatic religious pictures and portraits

iv. Used vivid color

El Greco’s Works

El Espolio The Burial of the Count of Orgaz

c. Deigo Velazquez

i. influenced by El Greco

ii. Known for his portraits of Spanish Royalty

Portrait of the Infanta Maria Theresa

d. Lope de Vega

i. wrote more than 1,500 plays

ii. Known for his comedies and action-packed romances

e. Miguel de Cervantes

i. Most well known writer from Spain’s Golden Age

ii. Author of Don Quixote

Timeout For Philip IIReaction Slides

Philip II9. Experiences an epic fail with the Spanish Armada

a. By the 1580’s, Philip viewed England’s Queen Elizabeth I as chief Protestant enemy

i. Encouraged English captains such as Francis Drake, known as sea dogs, to plunder Spanish Treasure ships and to loot Spanish cities in the Americas

Philip IIi. Philip prepared a huge armada, or fleet to carry a Spanish invasion

force to England

1. Sailed in 1588

2. More than 130 ships

3. More than 20,000 men

4. 2,400 pieces of artillery

5. Confident about a pending victory

b. Spanish ships were outmaneuvered by lighter, faster English Ships

c. Strong winds favored the British, scattering the armada!

d. Defeat marked the beginning of the end of the Spanish power

II. An Empire DeclinesA. Philip II’s successors ruled far less ably than he

had.

B. Economic problems

1. Costly overseas wars drained wealth out of Spain almost as fast as it came in

2. Gov’t heavily taxed the small middle class, weakening a group that in other European countries supported royal power

3. Expulsion of Muslims and Jews from Spain deprived the economy of many skilled artisans and merchants

4. As Spain’s power dwindled in the 1600s and 1700s, Dutch, English, and French fleets challenged-and eventually surpassed-Spanish power both in Europe and around the world.