The Rise and Fall of Spain

* Unification

- 1469 Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile married

-> creating a powerful Catholic kingdom of two warring states

-> quickly broke the power of the nobles

-> achieved the political unification of Spain

- defeated the Moors (Muslims) of Granada in southern Spain

-> followed by expelling Jews and Muslims from Spain in 1492

=> cultural unification through ethnic cleansing

- rich and united, they send out Columbus in 1492

* Americas bonanza

- 1519 Cortes robs the Aztecs

- 1531 Pizarro robs the Incas

- First half of the 1500s = exploration and exploitation

-> Coast of Americas mapped

-> gold and silver mining expanded rapidly

-> Spanish colonization proceeds slowly, but steadily

=> slavery on the coasts and islands

+> cash crops like sugar and cotton

=> encomienda elsewhere

+> like serfdom, with forced labor, but not the ability to sell

+> abusive to Native Americans, but allows some cultural independence

+> Native Americans Christianized

- giant fleets of gold flooding Spain with wealth and power

-> leads to inflation

-> Spain doesn't bother to industrialize since it can buy goods elsewhere

=> other countries end up with gold and factories

-> Spain uses wealth to become a superpower

* Highs and coming lows

- 1571 Battle of Lepanto - Italian and Spanish fleet destroys Muslim fleet

-> ending political competition from the Muslims

- 1588 Spanish Armada sent to conquer England

-> Massive expensive fleet, but it wrecks without landing

- By 1600s, mines start reaching depths beyond technology of Spanish miners

-> gold flow slows

- Massive navy and army still expensive

- prices high and few industries

- Spain feels a massive budget crunch and falls behind