By Tiffany Jacobs

HIST 140 (#50607)

• What was Habsburg Spain?

• The House of Habsburg was one of supreme

aristocratic royal families in Europe

• This family was the origin of all of the Holy Roman

Emperors that were elected from 1438-1740

• Many other countries had their rulers, kings, and

emperors from the House of Habsburg

• Austria, Burgundy, Spain, Bohemia, Hungary are some

• In the 16th century there was a division

• House of Habsburg split into two parts

• Dominant: Habsburg Spain

• Secondary: Habsburg Monarchy

• The House of Habsburg wanted to control

Europe

• There was significant inbreeding to protect their lineage

• Habsburg Jaw was a result of inbreeding

• The inbreeding ultimately caused their extinction

through lack of heirs & incapable descendants

• The long Habsburg line died out in Spain

• The Spanish line of the House of Habsburg ended with death of

Charles II in the 1700’s

• The control of Spain given away

• By French King Louis XIV

• Control was given to the Bourbon dynasty

• As the Habsburg line declined, Spain’s Golden Age was

gaining momentum

• Napoleon declared himself emperor and ended the Holy

Roman Empire

• In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue

• The kingdom of Spain was established

• Spain was the most powerful state in Europe

• Spain was ready for war & exploration

• A skilled Navy

• Global ocean exploration opened trade routes

• A well-trained military ground force

• Fought in lands known today as Netherlands, Italy, France,

Germany,

• Fought with England, Ottomans, Sweden, and Northern Africa

• Chief global empire

• Primary colonial force worldwide

• Why did the Spanish Empire spread?

• Spanish wanted to bring Christianity to the new world

• Spanish remained firmly Roman Catholic

• Wanted the silver and gold in New World

• Economic Problems back home

• In 1500’s, the silver mines supplemented the Spanish

economy

• The flood of gold and silver into the Spanish economy

caused unprecedented inflation

• Spain was trying to finance wars in Europe with imports

• Decline of Spanish Empire for various reasons

• The Spanish Conquistadors annihilated the Aztecs,

Incas, and Mayans in New World

• The Spanish Inquisition forced out Jews & Muslims

who would not convert to Catholicism

• Jews & Muslims took their fortunes when they left

• Pirates raided Spanish coastlines and villages

• Over 1 million Europeans kidnapped & sold into

slavery

• Plagues in 16th & 17th centuries killed over 1.25 million

• War of Spanish Succession ended Spain’s vast control