UNIT 5: MODERN AGE IN SPAIN. 15TH AND 16TH CENTURY

It is a period of history between America's discovery (1942) and the French Revolution (1789).

In 1492, Christopher Columbus discovered America. It was a time of discovery when people’s ideas about the world changed. Explorers discovered new lands and routes around the world and brought back products that had not been seen in Europe before. As a result, sea trade flourished and Spain became a rich and important power.

When the Spanish arrived in America, they found a great variety of people. These were usually small tribes, but some groups had created big empires.

• The Mayas were organised as powerful city-states. They lived in Central America. They were the only American civilisation that developed an advanced writing system. They were also very advanced in Sciences such as astronomy, medicine and mathematics.

• The Aztecs were governed by an emperor. They lived in the region that is today known as central Mexico. Their life was centred around religion. To honour their gods, they built temples in the shape of a pyramid. Most Aztecs were farmers. They cultivated corn, vanilla and tomatoes.

• The Incas lived in South America, in the region that is now called Peru. Their capital city was Cuzco and their language Quechua. The Incas built a system of roads and used llamas to transport goods.

Conquest of the Kingdom of Granada

• The Kingdom of Granada was the last Muslim kingdom in Spain.

• It was weakened by internal disputes, and was finally conquered by the Catholic Monarchs in 1492.

Discovery of America

• The conquest of Granada allowed the Catholic Monarchs to divert their attention to exploration.

• Isabel and Fernando met Christopher Columbus and finally accepted his proposal asking them to sponsor his trip to find a new route to India and China.

Intolerance

• Jews and Muslims lived with Christians making important contributions to Science, music and literature.

• The Catholic Monarchs ordered Jews and Muslims to convert to the Catholic religion. The Muslims who did so were called Moriscos. Then the Catholic Monarchs ordered the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492.

• In 1478, the Catholic Monarchs began the famous Inquisition to purify Catholicism in all their territories.

The first Spanish grammar book was published in 1492 by Antonio de Nebrija.

2.1. The discovery of America

Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was an Italian navigator and explorer. He wanted to find a new sea route to Asia.

The Catholic Monarchs financed his expedition. Columbus promised to bring back gold,

spices, and silks from the Far East, to spread Christianity, and later on to lead an expedition to China.

On 3 August 1492 the three caravels (the Santa María, the Pinta and the Niña) left Palos de la Frontera,

Huelva, and on 12 October 1492 arrived in San Salvador.

On his first voyage, Columbus thought he had reached India and for this reason

he called the inhabitants Indians.

Although he made three more voyages, he died not knowing that the continent was not Asia but America.

Spain after colonising America

• Spanish ports, such as Sevilla, grew in importance and the ship-building industry developed as a result of a greater demand for ships.

• Spain exported goods such as cloth, wool and leather, which meant that craftspeople also became richer. Spain also exported goods such as flour, cereals, oil and wine that could travel the long distance to America. Many farmers changed the way they farmed their land in order to produce these goods for export.

• Spain imported many products from America, such as new fruit and vegetables, but two of the most important raw materials from America were gold and silver. This made Spain the most powerful country in Europe.

In 1519, Ferdinand Magellan undertook an expedition that lasted for three years. This was the first expedition to sail around the world. He sailed across the Atlantic Ocean until he found a passage to the Pacific Ocean. It is now called the Strait of Magellan.

Throughout the 16th century, Carlos I and Felipe I, descendants of the Catholic Monarchs, ruled the most powerful empire in the world, with territories in Africa, America, Asia and Europe.

3.1. The Empire of Carlos I

Carlos I became king in 1516. He was the first Spanish king of the Habsburg dynasty. He ruled over a great empire, which included Spain and its territories in America. He also inherited the German Empire from his father’s family. For this reason, he was also called Carlos V of Germany. His personal and national motto was Plus Ultra which means ‘Further beyond’.

Before Carlos I died, he divided his empire into two kingdoms. He gave his German Empire to his brother, Fernando. His son, Felipe II, inherited his Spanish Empire, which included Spain and the Netherlands.

3.2. The Empire of Felipe II

Felipe II became king in 1556. In 1561, he established his permanent residence in Madrid. The Spanish empire expanded under his reign, especially in America.

In 1580, Felipe II conquered Portugal, which meant he controlled all of the Iberian Peninsula and also ruled over the Portuguese territories in America, Africa and Asia.

The reign of Felipe II was also a period of wars and conflicts. Felipe II’s armies won many important battles on land and at sea. In 1571, in the Battle of Lepanto, the Spanish fleet stopped the Turkish Empire from taking control of the Mediterranean Sea. However, these wars were very expensive, so the king had to use gold and silver brought from America to pay for them. The price of some products increased and the Spanish population became poorer.

In 1588, Felipe II tried to invade Britain, but lost his invincible navy instead.

3. 3. Problems in the 16th century

• Controlling the new territories in America.

• Internal revolts in Spain.

• Wars in Europe.

• War against the Turks.

HUMANISM

Humanism is a philosophy or a way of thinking about the world. Humanism is a set of ethics or ideas about how people should live and act. People who hold this set of ethics are called humanists.

During the Middle Ages everything has to deal with God but in the Modern Ages human beings are the most important in culture and science.

Before Modern Ages, astronomers believed that the Earth was in the center of the universe and the Sun moved around us. Furthermore, in the 16th century Nicolás Copérnico developed the heliocentric theory with the Sun in the middle of the universe and the Earth and the rest of planets moving around it.

Gutenberg invented the printing press.

RENAISSANCE IN EUROPE

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that developed in Italy before spreading throughout Europe. During the Renaissance, there was an explosion of new ideas from education and art. The artists, writers and scholars of the Renaissance looked for inspiration in Ancient Greece and Rome. Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo (Miguel Ángel), Raphael (Rafael), Jan van Eyck and Alberto Durero created some of the greatest artworks of the period.

RENAISSANCE IN SPAIN

The Renaissance spread to Spain in the 15th and 16th centuries. The beginning of the Spanish Renaissance coincided with the discovery of America, the unification of the Christian Kingdoms and the publication of the first grammar book of the Spanish language by Antonio de Nebrija. Some of the greatest artists of the Spanish Renaissance are:

• El Greco (painter);

• Juan Bautista de Toledo (architect);

• Garcilaso de la Vega, Fray Luis de León (poets);

• Teresa de Ávila, San Juan de la Cruz (mystic poets).