Spanish Power Grows Timeline By hagenkr 1492 Christopher Columbus sails to the Americas. 1516 Charles V becomes the King of Spain. 1554 Philip II marries Mary Tudor and creates an alliance with England until Mary's death. 1571 Battle of Lepanto- Spain and their Italian allies defeat an Ottoman fleet off the coast of Greece. 1581 The northern, largely Protestant provinces declared their independence from Spain and became the Dutch Netherlands. 1588 The Spanish Armada sailed with more than 130 ships, 20,000 men, and 2,400 pieces of artillery. 1648 The Treaty of Munster is signed, recognizing the independence of the Netherlands' Protestant provinces. 1650 The Golden Age