1. Spanish Power Grows
Omer Sharf

2. Charles V Inherits Two Crowns
Charles V or also known as Charles I became King of Spain. He is the grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella.
Charles V also became heir to the sprawling Hapsburg empire, which included the Holy Roman Empire and the Netherlands.

3. Ruling the Hapsburg Empire
Charles V a devote Catholic fought to suppress Protestantism in German States. After years of war he decided to let the German princes choose their religion.
Charles V fought the Muslims Ottoman empire, based in Turkey.
Ottoman Empire continued into Central Europe where they occupied most of Hungry.
Ottoman Empire continued to challenge Spanish power in the Mediterranean

4. Charles V Abdicates
Charles V gave up the Hapsburg Empire because it was too scattered and hard to handle.
He gave the Hapsburg Empire to his brother Ferdinand who became Holy Roman emperor.
He gave Spain, the Netherlands, and some Italian states, and Spain’s overseas empire to his 29 year-old son Phillip, who became Phillip II.

5. Phillip II Solidifies Power
During Phillip II 42 year reign he expanded Spanish influence, strengthened the Catholic Church, and made his own power absolute.
He also made Spain the foremost power in Europe.

6. Centralizing Power Phillip II was hard working, devout, and ambitious.
Phillip devoted most of his time to government work.
He seldom hunted, never jousted, and lived as simply as a monk.
His palace reflected his character.
It served as a church, a residence, and a tomb for the royal family.
He made every part of the government responsible to him.
He reigned as an absolute monarch, a ruler with complete authority over the government and the lives of the people.

7. Centralizing Power Contd.
Phillip asserted that he ruled by divine right.
Phillip saw himself as the guardian of the Roman Catholic church.
Phillip enforced religious unity, turning the inquisition against Protestants and other people thought to be heretics.

8. Battles in the Mediterranean
Phillip fought many wars as he attempted to advance Spanish Catholic power.
The Ottoman empire continued to pose a threat to European control of the region.
Ottoman Empire remained a major power in the Mediterranean region for three more centuries.

9. Battles in the Netherlands.
Phillip fought Rebels in the Netherlands.
The Netherlands was the richest part of Phillip’s empire.
In 1560’s riots against the Inquisition sparked a general uprising in the Netherlands.
In 1581, the northern, largely Protestant provinces declared Independence from Spain and became known as Dutch Netherlands.

10. The Armada Sails Against England
Phillip saw Elizabeth I as his chief Protestant enemy because she supported the Dutch against Spain.
She ordered English captains to plunder Spanish treasure ships and loot Spanish cities in the Americas.
To end English attacks, Phillip prepared a huge armada to carry a Spanish invasion force to England.
In 1588 they sailed with more than 130 ships, 20,000 men, and 2,400 pieces of artillery.
Spanish ships met the English ships in the English Channel, the English scattered the Armada.

11. The Empire declines
The defeat of the Armada marked the beginning of the end of Spanish power.
The reason for this was that Phillip II’s successors ruled far less ably than he did. The economic problems were also to blame.
Costly Overseas wars drained wealth out of Spain.
Treasure from the Americas led Spain to neglect farming and commerce.
They taxed the small middle class.
The expulsion of Muslims and Jews from Spain deprived the economy of many skilled artisans and merchant.

12. Spain's Golden Age,
1550 to 1650 is Spain’s “golden age,” for the brilliance of its arts and literature.