Spain’s Empire and European Absolutism

KEY IDEA During a time of religious and economic instability, Philip II ruled Spain with a strong hand.

Spain’s Powerful Empire

The Holy Roman Emperor and king of Spain, Charles V unwillingly agreed to the Peace of Augsburg in 1555.

He felt as though he had failed God and the Church.

Charles V

Charles V Retires Charles V ruled the Holy Roman Empire

and various other European countries.  

In 1556, he retired from the throne and split his holdings. His brother Ferdinand received Austria and the Holy Roman Empire. His son, Philip II, got Spain, the Netherlands and Spain’s American colonies.

Who Was Philip Philip II was the most powerful ruler

in Europe he was also the hardest working. He demanded reports constantly from all of his advisers. He was known to agonize over decisions. Often he could not bring himself to choose one policy over another and the government of Spain would grind to a halt. He would not allow anyone to help him. Deeply suspicious, he trusted no one for very long.

Philip II’s Empire Philip’s empire provided him with great wealth. Philip took it upon himself to defend Catholicism. He pledged 250 of his ships in a battle with the

Ottoman Turks off the coast of Italy.

Philip II Expands His Holdings

Philip expanded his holdings by taking Portugal and gaining its global territories. When he tried to invade England in 1588, though, he failed. The defeat made Spain weaker.

Spain still seemed strong because of its wealth—gold and silver— that flowed in from the colonies in the Americas.

This wealth led to some serious problems, however.1.    The prices of goods constantly rose.

Inflation 

2.     Unfair taxes hit the poor, keeping them from building up any wealth of their own.

3. As prices rose, Spaniards bought more goods from

other lands

Spain’s Economic Problems lead to Dissent

The silver from the colonies, then, began to flow to Spain’s enemies.

Taxation was levied against the poor and a middle class was never developed.

In the middle of these troubles, Spain lost land.

The Dutch Revolt Seven provinces of the Spanish

Netherlands rose in protest against the high taxes Spain had levied on them. Also, they were Protestant and Spain was strongly Catholic.

In 1579, these seven provinces declared their independence from Spain.

William of Orange Philip sent an army

into the Netherlands to squash the rebellion.

William of Orange emerged as a great leader in the rebellion. His goal was to free the Netherlands from Spain.

William of Orange

Battle Tactics In 1574, the Spanish army lay siege to the

city of Leiden. Leiden was a city that was actually lower than sea level in elevation and protected from flooding by the large dikes built around it. In a desperate response to the siege, the Dutch opened the dikes and drowned many of the Spanish soldiers. The surviving Spanish soldiers were driven off.

United Provinces of the Netherlands

In 1579, the seven northern provinces,, of the Netherlands, all of which were Protestant, united and declared their independence from Spain.

The called themselves the United Provinces of the Netherlands.

The ten southern provinces (present-day Belgium) remained Catholic and under Spanish control.

The Dutch Republic Builds A Trade Empire

In the new Dutch republic, each province had a leader elected by the people. The Dutch also practiced religious tolerance, letting people worship as they wished.

Dutch merchants established a trading empire. They had the largest fleet of merchant ships in the world and became the most important bankers in Europe.

Philip Becomes the Absolute Ruler of Spain

Though he lost possessions, Philip held tight control over Spain. He and others who ruled in the same way are called absolute monarchs.

Absolutism became the common system of government in Europe. The weakening of the Church created an environment for kings to greatly influence the everyday lives of their subjects.

Absolutism In Europe The Absolutist governments of

Europe used their wealth to build huge armies. They levied heavy taxes upon their people causing great suffering.

Divine Right The idea that God or the gods

provide the basis for absolute rule has been seen by many cultures. The Chinese called this idea the Mandate of Heaven, the Maya and the Inca and the Aztecs also believed that their rulers were representatives of the gods on earth.