SPAIN’S EMPIRE

AND
EUROPEAN ABSOLUTISM
 A Powerful Spanish Empire

Charles V
 A devout Catholic
 Fought Muslims and opposed the Lutherans
 Unwillingly agreed to the Peace of Augsburg
- allow German princes to choose their territory’s
religion
 Divided his empire and retired to a monastery
- Austria and Holy Roman Empire for his
brother Ferdinand
- Spain, Spanish Netherlands and Ameron
colonies for his son
Philip II
 Philip II’s Empire

Philip II

 shy, serious, religious, hard – working, trust no one

for a long time
 Inherited Portuguese Kingdom
- because the king of Portugal died without an heir.
Philip II was his
nephew…
 his empire provided him with incredible wealth
- King of Spain claimed a huge royal share
- Spain was able to support an army ( 50 000
soldiers)
 Refender of Catholicism
 Europe was experiencing religious wars caused by
Reformation
 Religious conflict was not new to Spain
 Reconguista – campaign to drive Muslims from Spain had
been completed only 64 years before
 Philip’s great – grandparents had used the Inquisition to
investigate nenetics or nonbelievers of Christianity
 Philip believed it was his duty to defend Catholicism against
the Muslims of the Ottoman Empire and the Protestants of
Europe
- responded to the Pope’s call like a true crusader
- Philip launched the Spanish Armada to punish
Protestant England
and its queen, Queen Elizabeth - his fleet was defeated
 Escorial
- Philip’s gray granite palace
- massive walls and huge gates demonstrated
Philip’s power
- reflected Philip’s faith
 Golden Age of Spanish Art and Literature

Spain’s great wealth allowed monarchs and

nobles to become patrons of artist
Between 16th and 17th century, Spain experienced a
golden age in arts
Works of two great painters show both the faith
and the pride of Spain
 during this period
• El Greco and Velasquez
 El Greco – real name -> Demonikos Theotokopoulas
- Spaniards called him El Greco = “the Greek”
- his art often puzzled the people of his time
*brilliant colors
*distorted the human figure
*expressed emotions symolically
- deep Catholic faith of Spain
 Diego Velasquez – reflected the pride of Spanish
monarchy
- court painter to Philip IV of Spain
- best known for portraits of the royal
family and scenes of court life
- used rich colors
• Don Quixote
- The publication of Don Quixote de la Mancha
is often called the birth of modern European
novel
• Miguel de Ceruantes
- A poor Spanish nobleman who went a little crazy
after reading too many book about heroic knights
 Don Quixote hoped to “right every manner of
wrong”
*mistook windmills as giants
- Critics believed that cervantes was mocking chivalry
- Others believed that the book is about an idealistic
person who longs for the romantic past because he is
frustated with his materialistic world
 Absolutism in Europe

> European monarchs also claim the authority to rule

without limits on their power.

The Theory of Absolutism

Absolute Monarch – kings and queens who held all of the
power within their states boundaries.
- goal: to control every aspect of society.
- believe in divine right – God created
monarchy and the monarch acted as
God’s representative.
- answered only to God.
 Growing Power of Europe’s Monarchs

 Europe emerged from Middle Ages , monarchs grew

increasingly powerful
 Monarchs used the wealth of colonies to pay for their
ambitions.
 Church authority also broke down during the late Middle
Ages and the Reformation.
 Jean Bodin – influential French writer
 Crises Lead to Absolutism

 Religious and territorial conflicts between states led to

almost continuos warfare.
 The monarchs tried to impose order by increasing their
own power.
 They created new government bureaucracies
- goal: free themselves from the limitations.
Louis XIV – most famous monarch of his time