What comes to mind when you think of the Spanish Empire? Perhaps you think of the great empire that possessed the Invincible Armada, or the one that almost completely occupied America during the Age of Exploration. Some may recall those glorious times, but at the same time, many might feel a sense of loss when considering how suddenly this powerful nation weakened, falling behind England and France, and becoming obscured in world history. 

Indeed, Spain was the original country that boasted vast territories, known as the land where the sun never set. It received three times the amount of silver from its colonies compared to the rest of Europe, and based on this wealth, the Spanish Armada was built, which even defeated the mighty Ottoman Empire. So why did such a prosperous empire suddenly collapse and fade into the background of history? Today, we will explore the great empire of Spain.

I will investigate how the decline occurred. The Spanish Empire, like any great empire, originally started as a small peripheral state. In the late 15th century, the Iberian Peninsula, located at the far west of Europe, was divided into several Catholic kingdoms, including Castile, Aragon, and Portugal. These kingdoms were engaged in wars against the Islamic forces in the southern part of the Iberian Peninsula, fighting for control of the territory. Among them, Castile stood out prominently; originally a small kingdom, Castile expanded its power by defeating the Islamic forces at the forefront and became a significant player on the peninsula. However, a change was on the horizon when the capable princess Isabella emerged as a leader in Castile. One day, Princess Isabella fell in love with Prince Ferdinand of the neighboring kingdom of Aragon. They soon held their wedding, and a few years later...

Each became the king of their respective countries, and then Isabel and Ferdinand united their nations as a couple, becoming joint rulers and creating a single country of Castile and Aragon. This marked the birth of Spain. Soon after, in 1492, Spain completely expelled Islam from the Iberian Peninsula and emerged as a dominant power on the peninsula. They were also fortunate, as this was the time when the Iberian Peninsula experienced a surge in interest towards India. Spain joined this momentum by supporting Columbus's expedition, which resulted in a remarkable discovery of the vast New World, America. Spain conquered this land, generating immense wealth and rapidly expanding its territory. By the mid-16th century, under Philip II, the Spanish Empire, a colonial empire, was established. In 1998, Spain boasted this level of influence since its inception.

In a century, Spain will experience its greatest glory in history. This period spans the 15th to 16th centuries, marking the height of Spanish power. However, this empire eventually fell into decline. But why did this happen? The history of Spain is quite ironic, and to summarize it in one sentence: it all started with a wrong move. The Spanish Empire was, in fact, destined for decline from the very beginning. The empire was founded by the joint monarchy of Isabel and Ferdinand, who led to the birth of Spain. However, this part of history reveals a dual nature: they are both revered heroes who established the empire and the culprits who led it to ruin. After the birth of Spain, they did implement many good policies. However, they made two significant mistakes: first, an excessively religion-centered policy; second, a marriage alliance policy with other noble families.

In Spain, a snowball began to roll, which would have a decisive impact on the fall of the empire. Now, let's examine how far the snowball they rolled goes. The joint reign of Isabel and Fernando marked the birth of Spain in 1479. However, the two came from different kingdoms: Castile and Aragon, which had quite different cultures and laws. Nevertheless, they shared a commonality: they had continuously fought against Islamic infidels on the Iberian Peninsula, which made them adhere to Catholicism more strongly than any other country. In fact, prior to Spain, the Catholic kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula had been at war with Islam since as early as the 8th century, around 781. Finally, in 1492, they succeeded in driving out Islam and achieving victory. Therefore, in such an atmosphere of war, it was natural that the king and the people of Spain were very religiously...

As this strong stance became a poison, Spanish society, deeply rooted in Catholic faith, began to reject not only Muslims but all pagans by the late 15th century. In this context, Jews, who made up 6.5% of the Spanish population at the time, came into focus. They dominated various financial sectors and trade, accumulating significant wealth. This led to widespread dissatisfaction among Spaniards, who felt that these non-Christians were thriving and taking their resources. The joint monarchs shared this sentiment. As a result, in 1492, they suddenly issued a decree stating that Jews and other non-Christians were consuming the wealth of the nation. Therefore, they announced the immediate confiscation of all Jewish property and the expulsion of Jews from Spain. This marked an era of excessive repression justified by religious motives, through which approximately 260,000 Jews were affected.

The confiscation of property and the expulsion of Jews may have seemed like a satisfying policy at first. However, it had tremendous negative repercussions. While it is true that Jews amassed considerable wealth, they were also paying enormous taxes. Consequently, a significant portion of Spain's revenue came from the Jewish community. By seizing their assets, Spain gained money in the short term, but in the long run, it essentially lost the tax contributions of 260,000 wealthy individuals. Such excessive religious centrism would later lead to adverse ripple effects for the Spanish Empire. Later, King Ferdinand took additional measures. In 1504, Isabel passed away first, and Ferdinand seized control of governance, but he was quite anxious at that time. In fact, the emerging kingdom of Spain was still unstable and lacked strong governance.

was that the Habsburgs had their own ambitions and interests that did not always align with those of Spain. As a result, the Spanish crown found itself entangled in a web of foreign politics and rivalries. The situation became increasingly complicated, and tensions began to rise between Spain and France, as well as within the Habsburg family itself. This power struggle ultimately set the stage for future conflicts and shaped the course of European history.

At that time, the Habsburg family was also the ruler of the vast Holy Roman Empire, and Charles V unexpectedly inherited the title of Holy Roman Emperor. Thus, Charles V suddenly became the emperor of a massive empire that encompassed all of Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Habsburg territories. Ironically, this became a disaster for Spain. One should not only think of Spain as a country with vast lands; it was necessary to lead the nation from the perspective of the entire empire. However, where would he focus his attention the most? As a newly crowned king who did not even speak the language, his priority was the powerful core of the Habsburgs, the Holy Roman Empire. Therefore, Charles V led the country from the standpoint of the interests of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg family rather than the interests of the Kingdom of Spain. This was the problem. At that time, the Habsburg family represented Europe.

The Catholic Church was a powerful force, and as a family that dominated all of Europe, there was a necessity to protect Europe from the infidels. Therefore, they engaged in wars against the Islamic Ottoman Empire and were also fighting against the newly emerged heretical Protestant rebels due to the Reformation. This meant that the Habsburgs had to participate in various wars, which required an enormous amount of money. Charles needed to find a source for this funding, but the problem was that he relied heavily on Spain for financial support. At that time, Spain was making a decent profit from its colonies and trade. Consequently, Spain ended up using all its resources for war expenses, and due to the excessive spending, its expenditures exceeded its income by more than double. Spain's financial deficit began to grow exponentially. Furthermore, Charles...

As Spain paid less attention to its own bureaucracy and filled it with foreign economic advisors, the negative effects accumulated, leading to a gradual deterioration of the Spanish economic structure from this point onward. Of course, King Ferdinand earlier did not intend for this when he formed marriage alliances, but ultimately, the Habsburgs' marriage became a poison for Spain. What happened after that? The situation began to worsen further. In 1556, Philip II succeeded Charles V as the King of Spain. Although he was also from the Habsburg family, fortunately, he did not hold the title of Holy Roman Emperor and inherited land primarily focused on Spanish territories. In fact, it was from this time that the Spanish Empire began to take shape, and thus, it appeared as though less money was being spent. However, the opposite was true; more was being spent. Regardless, he too...

As a member of the Habsburg family, it was necessary to protect the Catholic territories of the Habsburgs. The previous king had greatly expanded the wars, and at that time, Spain was ruling over the Netherlands. However, the Netherlands had an overwhelmingly Protestant population, and Philip II was very wary of the Protestants, who were seen as heretics threatening Catholicism. Therefore, he concluded that he needed to suppress all Protestants. He significantly restricted religious freedom in the Netherlands and imposed exorbitant taxes. As a result, a rebellion broke out in the Netherlands in 1568, leading to the Dutch War of Independence. The problem was that this war became an insatiable drain on resources. The conflict lasted an incredible 80 years, and Spain ended up spending a total of 220 million ducats, which amounted to 22 years' worth of the national budget.

하지만 이건 시작에 불과했습니다. 당시 네덜란드는 같은 신교도 국가인 영국의 지원을 받고 있었는데, 격분한 펠리페 2세는 이제 영국에게 전쟁을 선포했습니다. 그런데 여기서도 스페인은 승리하지 못하고, 오히려 해전 도중 태풍을 만나 해군 전력의 1/5을 손실하게 됩니다. 참고로 스페인 무적함대의 유지비로 한 국가의 1년 예산이 통으로 투입됐는데, 그 많은 돈이 녹아내려 버린 것입니다. 여기에 오스만 제국과 전쟁을 벌였으니, 전비 지출은 어마어마했죠. 이건 국가 경제에 엄청난 악영향이었습니다. 사실, 펠리페 2세 때는 정복한 아메리카 식민지가 활발히 개척되어 아메리카에서 엄청난 양의 은이 스페인으로 흘러들어오기 시작했습니다. 이때 1,600만 kg의 은이 들어와서 전 유럽에 인플레이션이 올 정도였습니다.

However, Philip II was all smiles as he wasted all that money on the war. The war consumed money at an overwhelming rate, with expenditures far exceeding revenues. As a result, the national debt increased exponentially, and eventually, during Philip II's reign, Spain declared national bankruptcy. This is where the problem arose. At that time, financially strapped Philip II borrowed money from overseas financiers, particularly from wealthy Jewish financiers abroad. However, due to the war, he was unable to repay the loans. Instead, Philip II transferred various lands and mines in Spain to those who lent him money, and all of Spain's assets became mortgaged. Ultimately, the Spanish Empire, despite its grand name, found itself at the mercy of foreign creditors, dictating the affairs of the nation. However, in reality, Philip II...

If it weren't for Isabel and Ferdinand, there is a high probability that we wouldn't have had to face such difficulties. Earlier, I mentioned that the joint monarch expelled 260,000 Jews. If they had not been expelled, Spain would have certainly secured a massive amount of taxes from those 260,000 wealthy individuals, and there would have been no need to mortgage the country to foreign creditors. However, the expulsion decree from the joint monarchs turned this into a pipe dream. Additionally, the Jews held a strong position in the manufacturing industry, and as they were expelled, Spain's manufacturing sector rapidly declined. Consequently, Spanish goods became so low in quality that they struggled to compete with other products. Meanwhile, many of the expelled Jews sought refuge in the Netherlands, which, thanks to this influx, experienced significant growth and began to undermine Spain. However, in reality...

There was another snowball that the joint kings rolled. They added not only the expulsion of Jews as a religiously centered policy but also established the Inquisition. In 1480, to strengthen the religious focal point, they established the Spanish Inquisition and granted judicial authority over heretics who did not believe in Catholicism. Initially, this was set up to tightly bind the nation through religion. However, as it gained power, it became corrupted, leading to the Inquisition becoming too strong, which naturally caused the power of the Spanish Catholic Church to swell. As a result, various witch hunts and religious executions took place, and by the 16th century, Spain became a highly religiously fundamentalist and closed-off nation. This had an enormous negative impact on the scientific development of Spain, particularly against the backdrop of the Spanish Catholics' adversaries in the Netherlands.

같은 개신교도들은 유대인 덕분에 산업이 발전했으며, 선진화된 지식을 대거 들여와 과학 기술도 급속히 발전하고 있었습니다. 따라서 개신교도들은 매우 빠르게 국가 테크트리를 올렸죠. 하지만 이러한 신 지식에 대해 폐쇄적인 종교화가 진행된 스페인은 개신교도의 이단적 지식이라면 받아들이지 않았습니다. 때문에 스페인에서는 무려 700종이 넘는 과학 서적이 금지되는 등 금서 목록이 발표되었고, 이를 어길 시 종교 재판소가 가혹한 탄압을 가했습니다. 더하여 개신교도의 지식을 배울 유학을 가는 것마저 금지되었습니다. 결국 스페인의 과학 발전이 멈춰버리면서 국제적 경쟁력을 잃는 큰 요인이 되었습니다. 결국 이사벨과 페르난도의 지나친 종교 중심 정책은 스페인 제국에 지대한 악영향을 끼친 것입니다. 이는 이후로도 계속되었습니다.

However, there is something I would like to briefly touch on. If we take a closer look, Spain has been particularly obsessed with Catholicism, and because of this, it has made many mistakes. But why is that? The reason is that the Spanish Empire could not have been maintained without Catholicism. The religion of Catholicism served as the focal point that held the empire together. Spain rapidly expanded its territory and formed a vast empire, but as the territory suddenly increased, there was no time to integrate all of them under the Spanish system. Consequently, the Spanish government adopted an attitude that as long as the regions were under the empire, everything was okay. As a result, each region ended up being in a state of disconnection, with laws, culture, and economic structures that were quite different from those of the Spanish mainland. However, all these regions shared the belief in one religion: Catholicism.

The situation was the same in that regard. Therefore, for the empire not to disintegrate, the Spanish government had to somehow push Catholicism strongly to unite them, which was a situation they couldn't openly discuss. However, despite this, Spain was collapsing. In the 16th century, the lives of the Spanish people, especially the peasants, were miserable. Due to high price controls, no matter how skilled they were in mathematics, their earnings were limited. Additionally, Spain faced financial shortages and could not adequately pay its soldiers. As a result, the Spanish army frequently plundered their own farmers. Consequently, the despairing peasants abandoned their farms and flocked to the cities. With fewer people farming, Spain's food production decreased, and grain prices skyrocketed. This led to an overall increase in prices across Spain, making Spanish goods even more expensive.

The competitiveness was lost, but that doesn't mean the lives of city dwellers were miserable. The wealth gap in the city was very severe, with the lowest-paid workers earning only one-thousandth of the income of the urban elite. Additionally, Spain was struck by diseases during the 16th and 17th centuries, resulting in 60,000 deaths in a single city in one year. As we entered the late period of the 16th century, the social atmosphere had become gloomy, and the members of society lost the motivation to live diligently. However, the surprising fact is that under Charles V and Philip II, Spain was at the height of its power and influence. Despite all the hardships, there was immense wealth coming from the colonies and the accumulated resources from the past. However, after the death of Philip II in 1598, that wealth began to diminish. Following him, Philip III had to deal with many wars initiated by his predecessor.

The peace treaty was signed, which roughly brought an end to the war. As a result, many financial drains were eliminated, and it was the right time to focus on internal affairs. However, Philip III missed the opportunity to repair the country. His excessive religious persecution policies led the nation to decline. At that time, Spain had more or less stopped fighting, but the expenditures from the past had put the country in a dire financial situation. Therefore, money was needed, and at this time, Philip III followed the same misguided policies as his predecessor. Inside Spain, there was a group of Moriscos, who were originally Muslims. At that time, there were about 300,000 of them, but in 1609, Philip III seized their property overnight and expelled them to obtain money. It was a disastrous situation, as they had clearly converted to Catholicism, yet they were expelled for financial reasons. However, there was an even bigger...

The problem is that these Morris codes were forming the working class of Spain at the time and playing a key role in the national industry. With 300,000 workers having vanished, Spanish industry suffered a devastating blow. Consequently, the already poor Spanish manufacturing sector fell into decline, leading even the Spanish colonies to smuggle British and Dutch goods instead of Spanish products. Furthermore, between 1599 and 1600, another epidemic spread in Spain, resulting in the deaths of more than 10% of the Spanish population. The nation was in decline, and later, in 1621, Felipe IV, who took office, attempted reforms but ultimately failed. Instead, he sought to implement centralizing reforms by unifying the various regions under one government, which had already been annexed to Spain during the reign of Philip II. A rebellion erupted in Portugal, ultimately leading to Portugal's resurgence.

Spain became detached, and from that point on, Spain and Portugal would forever remain distant. Then, in 1665, Carlos II took the throne, and the influx of silver from the Americas began to surge, leading to an increase in Spain's population. It seemed like the empire was entering a phase of recovery. However, since Carlos II left no heirs, a war broke out in Europe over the Spanish throne after his death. The Spanish royal house was already intertwined with the bloodlines of many countries. Ultimately, after 14 years of succession wars, the Habsburg dynasty in Spain came to an end, and the Bourbon dynasty of France succeeded to the Spanish throne. Thus, the Bourbon dynasty, pronounced in the Spanish way as Borbon, was established in Spain. This marked the end of the era of the Habsburg dynasty, which had achieved Spain's greatest heights.

Ironically, it ended with the problems that had been brewing since the early days of Spain. It was truly a country where the snowball had rolled far. The Habsburg dynasty, which came to power due to Fernando's marriage alliance, squandered Spain's treasury through war. During the co-monarchy, the expulsion of the Jews and the establishment of the Inquisition steadily eroded Spain's national influence. Extreme Catholicism also played a part. But did you know this? In fact, many people believe that after the end of the Spanish Habsburg dynasty in the 16th to 17th centuries, Spain immediately fell into decline. However, that was surprisingly not the case. Even the wealthy do not fall in just three generations; the fate of the empire actually enjoyed a brief revival when the Bourbon dynasty came to power afterward. To put it simply, in the 18th century, the Bourbons...

Felipe V of the dynasty, followed by Carlos III, was quite a good king. Spain implemented a degree of centralized reforms and robustly supported industry and trade, briefly regaining its former power. This lasted for about a century, from the early to the late 18th century, and in the late 18th century, Spain boasted the largest territorial extent in its history. It did not collapse all at once. However, ultimately, limitations arose. Despite the reforms, Spain could not escape the accumulated problems of the past. As a result of exploiting the peasants, agriculture collapsed, and although the Jewish class was expelled, issues persisted that reforms could not resolve. Furthermore, given the vastness of the empire, Spain's military and population were limited, leading to difficulties in managing the empire. Thus, in 1788, Carlos...

From the age of four, a decline began again, and as soon as the 19th century started, Napoleon's France invaded Spain, turning the entire country into a battlefield. After some struggle, Napoleon's troops were driven out, but taking advantage of the chaos, most of the American colonies gained independence in the early 19th century. Meanwhile, in Spain, a series of military coups created ongoing turmoil, culminating in the loss of the last colony, the Philippines, in 1898, marking the end of the Spanish Empire. On the other hand, Europe entered a full-fledged imperialist era in the 19th century, with Britain and France emerging as new international powers, while the glory of the Spanish Empire faded into the past. Subsequently, Spain went through a tumultuous period filled with social unrest, civil war, and dictatorship, eventually transitioning into a democratic state. Of course, Spain still...

Despite the formalities, Spain's national identity has been shaped by the historical context, particularly through the leadership of Felipe VI, who took the throne in 2014. We have examined the rise and fall of the Spanish Empire from beginning to end. There are various reasons for the empire's decline, but Spain can be seen as particularly unfortunate. The butterfly effect that started with the country's inception spread too widely, leading to its downfall. The dramatic shifts in history due to a series of poor choices have sparked many questions among Spaniards, such as What if this had happened? or What if we had implemented that policy instead? However, one could argue that Spain's very identity was formed through the struggle against paganism over 800 years, which might have increased the likelihood of extremism. The burdens of the empire and its decline may have been foreseen. Nonetheless,

Despite everything, it is a fact that Spain was a country with tremendous potential for development. If things had gone well, it could have become a major empire or even more. Therefore, when reading articles that interview Spanish people abroad, they often express self-deprecation and regret about the Spanish Empire, acknowledging that it could have been much better. Of course, this is all a retrospective interpretation. The policies implemented during the empire can be seen as the causes of its decline, but at the time, there were actions that had to be taken in accordance with the flow of events. Initially, the Catholic Defense War that Philip II abandoned was well-received in the Catholic world. It makes one ponder whether there are indeed unstoppable wheels of history. I will conclude the video here. If you enjoyed this video, please like and subscribe. Thank you for watching.

한때 세계 최강이던 '스페인 제국'은 왜 갑자기 몰락해 버렸을까?

이 세상의 별별 역사, 모조리 전해드리겠습니다.
빠져드는 특제 스토리텔링, 그리고 역사에서 얻을 수 있는 예리한 통찰을 통해 이 세상의 별별 역사를 전해드리는 별별역사입니다. 함께 공부하고 성장해나가며, 재미와 통찰을 겸비한 가치 있는 역사지식을 여러분들과 나누고자 합니다.
제 채널의 모든 영상은 학교 수업자료로 자유롭게 활용하셔도 좋습니다 :)⭐

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