The Golden Age of Spain Started with Ferdinand and Isabella who sponsored Columbus and other explorers.

Uniting Spain The Reconquista: Ferdinand & Isabella married and “reconquered” Spain from the Muslims.

Family Tree

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor ruled AKA Charles I of Spain – Cortez, Pizarro, and Magellan claimed land for Spain (the Americas and the Philippines). Elected Holy Roman Emperor 1519 – called Martin Luther to be questioned by the Diet of Worms in – created the Peace of Augsburg 1555 to end religious wars in the Holy Roman Empire.

The Spanish Empire

Philip II, son of Charles V ruled Spain 1558 – 1598, named King of Portugal 1581 The Escorial Palace near Madrid Spain

Spain’s wealth came from American gold and silver. El Potosi, silver mine, Bolivia. From a seventeenth century engraving. The Potosi Mines. Engraving by Theodor de Bry. In: Girolamo Benzoni, Historia Americae Sive Novi Orbis, pars sesta, 1596.

The Spanish Armada 1588 Philip II sent a fleet to attack England, ruled by his former sister- in-law, Elizabeth I (daughter of Henry VIII). The Armada was outmaneuvered by smaller English ships and retreated,. During the retreat many Spanish ships were destroyed by storms. Although the ships were replaced, the loss of the Armanda marked the beginning of Spain’s decline.

Philip II’s granddaughter Anne of Austria married Louis XIII (13) of France (plot of The Three Musketeers). Philip II’s great-grandson will be Louis XIV (14), the absolute ruler of France ( ).