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Jan 1, 1492
Discovery of the Bahamas
Christopher Columbus lands in the Bahamas. He proceeded to explore the gulf, landing in modern day Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba, meeting native tribes along the way. He leaves 32 men to form settlement in Hispaniola (Haiti and Dominican Republic) called Villa de la Navidad (Christmas town) before returning to Spain. -
Jan 1, 1492
Demolition of Christmas Town
Columbus returns to the New World to find Christmas town destroyed. In response, he enslaves many of the natives on the island, forcing them to work for his benefit. Although it created a small amount of gold for Spain, it also created great hatred for the Spanish, which set the tone of Spain’s entire colonization efforts in the New World and drove revolutions which whittled away Spain’s territory as it declined. He leaves the New Word once more, leaving his two brothers to govern in his stead. -
Jan 1, 1498
Christopher Columbus' fall from grace
Settlers decry Columbus on his third voyage, and Columbus is sent back to Spain in chains for mismanagement of his community and cruelty to the natives. He loses his titles, and much of his wealth. Columbus would spend the rest of his life fighting for the return of his ill-gotten gains. -
Jan 1, 1519
Hernan Cortez and the Aztec Empire
Hernan Cortez sets off to explore the mainland of South America, where he conquered the Aztec empire. Doing so inspired a slew of other spaniards to emulate him and conquer undiscovered lands in the America’s, bringing huge amounts of gold and land to Spain and making Spain one of, if not the most powerful empire on the planet. -
Jan 1, 1536
Influence of Calvinism
Geneva becomes the headquarters of John Calvin, leader of the Calvinist Church, an extremely active branch of Protestantism. The next century is marked by rapid spread and growth for the Calvinist church, and the Calvinist church eventually grows to the point where it’s influence in Europe rivaled that of the Catholic Church, which it competed with for support. -
Period: Jan 1, 1556 to
The Reign of King Phillip II
King Philip II reigned over the Spanish Empire from 1556 to 1598. He created strict conformity to Catholic doctrines and became an absolutist authority. He vehemently opposed the Calvinists, causing an increase in militancy between Calvinism and Catholicism by 1560, therefore heralding numerous religious wars that plagued Europe in the 16th century (along with economic, social, and political troubles.) -
Jan 1, 1566
Protestant Rebellion
Protestants in Ghent, Antwerp and other large Dutch cities rose in rebellion and began rioting due to Phillip’s attempts to strengthen his control of the Netherlands and curb the protestant population. King Philip responds by sending Italian and Spanish soldiers to the Netherlands. Phillip crushes Calvinist rebellion in the Spanish Netherlands, however, the Dutch English provide support to the Dutch, hampering Spain's ability to restrict it's citizens. -
Invasion of England
King Phillip amasses and sends a huge armada to try to invade England, (a protestant nation) in order to crush the protestant reformation, and to stop the English from interfering in Spain’s business with it’s colony, the Netherlands. The Armada is managed poorly, and suffers numerous problems, such as rotten food, storms, and a lack of ports before a crushing defeat. This is one of the first signs that the Spanish empire’s power was waning. -
Financial Crisis
By 1590, despite ruling all over the world, and being the most populous empire in the world, Spain faces a slew of problems. The government is near bankrupt due to due to spending too much on war and the royal court, the armed forces is out of date, and the government is inefficient in general. -
Truce with the Dutch
Spain forms a truce with the Dutch after years of fighting.This humiliating agreement effectively recognizes the independence of the Netherlands. The Dutch then proceed to harm Spain by capturing it’s treasure fleets, and taking Portuguese trade, and by extension, hurting the relationship between Spain and Portugal. -
Economic Failure
Spain has become dependent on silver flowing in from the New World. This causes the economy to fail when the mines began producing less, and the value of silver imported from the new world dropped to 1.2 million pesos to 14.8 million peso's. -
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Rule of King Charles II
Rule of Charles II. Charles was physically handicapped and mentally challenged. He was often ignored in court and his reign accelerated and marked Spain’s fall from the power it once possessed. Despite two marriages, Charles was unable to produce a male heir, and as such, his death triggered a war of succession which further cemented Spain’s decline. -
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Spanish War of Succession
Spanish War of Succession. This war, caused by the end of a dynasty shifted the balance of power by weakening the ties between the Holy Roman Empire and Spain, which were traditionally close allies, and strengthening the ties between Spain and France. Also, Spain loses most of it’s eastern territories. The Bourbons begin to rule Spain. -
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Rule of the Bourbons
Under the Bourbon’s, Spain is able to recover. The century is generally peaceful, and relatively prosperous. Institutional reform begins to bear fruit, at least in the military, and Spain is able to reclaim some of its lost land and power. -
Louisiana Territory
Napoleon seizes the Louisiana Territory as part of the Treaty of San Ildefonso, and sells it to the U.S. This marks the beginning of the end of the Spanish empire, as border disputes, rebellion, and occupation batter the country. -
French Occupation
French forces occupy Spain without firing a single shot. Though the brutal French are ousted by rebellion soon after, arguments over succession and government caused political turmoil for several decades. -
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Full Disintegration of the Spanish Empire
During and after the french occupation, many territories of Spain rebel, and by the end of the first third of the century, Spain had lost most of said territory, only retaining Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Guam, some Pacific Islands, as well as some minor territory in the Sahara and Moracco. -
Spanish-American War
A severely weakened Spain loses it’s last colonies in the New World after the Spanish-American war. Called a “Splendid Little War” by American John Hay, the scattered Spanish fleets were no match for the American Armada’s, and their defeats were decisive and crushing.