Civilization · 1492 – 1898
Spanish Empire
The first global empire on which 'the sun never set'.
Capital: Madrid · Western Europe
Overview
From Columbus's 1492 voyage to the 1898 loss of Cuba, Spain ran the largest empire of the early modern era, extracting American silver, spreading Catholicism and Castilian, and irrevocably reshaping the world.
Timeline
- 1492Fall of Granada; Columbus reaches the Caribbean
- 1521Cortés conquers the Aztecs
- 1533Pizarro captures Cuzco
- 1571Battle of Lepanto
- 1898Loss of Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines
Rulers
Co-monarch at 1492
Habsburg emperor
Empire at greatest extent
Wars & conflicts
- Reconquista
- Italian Wars
- 80 Years' War
- Spanish-American War
Architecture
El Escorial, Baroque cathedrals in Mexico and Lima, colonial fortresses.
Religion
Militant Roman Catholicism; Inquisition; missionary orders.
Economy
Potosí silver, Manila galleons, Atlantic slave trade.
Technology
Ocean-going carracks and galleons, chart-making, cannon foundries.
Art
Golden Age painting (Velázquez, Zurbarán, El Greco), colonial baroque.
Influence
Made Spanish the world's second-most-spoken native language.
Decline
Napoleonic invasion, Latin American independence wars, 1898 collapse.
Key sites
- El Escorial
- Seville Cathedral
- Cartagena de Indias
- Intramuros (Manila)