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To  what  extent  did  Charles  V  lay  the  founda5ons  for  a  Golden  Age  in  Spain?  1469-­‐1556  

Charles  V  became  king  of  Spain  in  1516  at  the  age  of  16;  according  to  Green  he  inherited  ‘a  foreign  
and  troubled  land’1
...
 Since  the  death  of  
Isabella  in  1504,  the  authority  of  the  crown  had  weakened
...
 The  Golden  Age  was  not  only  to  do  with  
Spain  as  a  cultural  centre-­‐  embracing  the  arts  and  literature;  it  was  also  named  so  for  the  
developments  of  the  Spanish  empire  itself
...
   
ATer  overcoming  the  problems  at  the  start  of  his  rule,  including  rebellions,  financial  and  economic  
difficulAes,  the  need  for  administraAve  reform,  exploitaAon  of  the  new  world,  and  foreign  policy  
commitments,  Charles  managed  to  gain  acceptance  and  went  on  to  create  a  Spain  that  was  feared,  
wealthy  and  powerful,  with  a  stable  religious  situaAon
...
 One  of  the  most  important  foundaAons  laid  for  Phillip  at  Charles’  abdicaAon,  was  the  
division  of  his  vast  Hapsburg  empire,  (leaving  Spain  to  Phillip,  and  the  Holy  Roman  Empire  to  his  
brother  Ferdinand)  Nevertheless  historians  argue  that  Charles’  legacy  leT  for  Phillip  was  not  a  good  
one,  and  he  is  described  by  Richardson  as  ‘a  tragic  figure’4
...
 Their  reigns  were  far  from  that  of  Isabella’s  father  Henry  IV,  Which  Kamen  describes  as  ‘a  period  
of  great  instability  in  which  the  great  nobles  exploited  freely’5
...
 They  made  it  clear  that,  in  contrast  to  Henry  IV’s  reign,  power  
lay  with  the  monarch  of  the  day,  not  the  aristocracy
...
 This  
encouraged  poliAcal  neutrality,  and  further  equality;  something  the  monarchs  believed  in
...
 During  their  reign  the  Catholic  Kings  had  managed  
to  iniAate  a  very  important  redistribuAon  of  power;  the  nobles  were  no  longer  independent  of  power  
from  the  monarch,  but  were  dependent  on  the  crown
...
 This  was  an  extremely  important  
foundaAon  for  the  Golden  Age
...
 Rebellions  such  as  
the  Germania  revolt  in  1519,  and  the  Revolts  of  the  Communeros  1520-­‐1521  were  caused,  to  a  
certain  extent,  by  the  effecAve  policies  the  Catholic  Kings  iniAated  to  deal  with  the  nobles
...
 At  the  start  of  his  
rule,  he  was  an  absent  ruler  from  Spain,  leaving  others  in  charge  while  he  travelled  to  oversee  his  
vast  empire,  and  take  up  various  other  Atles,  such  as  Holy  Roman  Emperor
...
 Charles  governed  the  largest  
amount  of  land  in  Christendom;  some  historians  such  as  Green  would  suggest  that  ‘there  could  be  
no  doubt  as  to  his  ulAmate  failure’9  as  a  result  of  this
...
 Charles  brought  in  effecAve  Spanish  
advisors  such  as  GaYnara  who  reformed  the  council  of  finance  for  the  beQer,  and  Cobos  who  also  
made  sure  finance  ran  smoothly,  and  he  restored  the  conciliar  system,  including  the  council  of  
CasAle,  made  up  of  nobles  and  letrados  working  together
...
 Cobos  rose  up  from  the  poorer  ranks  to  
his  posiAon  of  power,  something  that  Isabella  and  Ferdinand  pracAced,  laying  the  foundaAons  for  
poliAcal  neutrality
...
 However  historians  such  as  Kamen  describe  the  economy  under  
Charles  as  his  ‘greatest  failure’11
...
 Colin  
Pendrill  suggests  that  the  CasAllian  economy  prospered  over  that  of  Aragon,  as  it  had  a  successful  
wool  producAon
...
 Out  of  this  increase,  90  percent  was  collected  from  
the  alcabala,  which  the  richest  people  in  society  were  exempt  from
...
 This  was  achieved  by  making  sure  the  exisAng  taxes  were  being  collected  efficiently,  as  well  as  
the  introducAon  of  some  new  taxes
...
 From  this  point  onwards,  the  Spanish  economy  and  finances  went  into  
decline
...
 Although  at  the  end  
of  his  predecessors  rule,  finance  was  in  good  shape,  his  obsession  with  war  caused  a  series  of  
embarrassing  bankruptcies  in  Spain;  a  poor  foundaAon  for  his  son  Phillip  II
...
 Historian  Cooper  
suggests  that  the  Golden  age  of  Spain  was  confined  only  to  the  aristocracy  in  Spain,  amounAng  to  
only  10  percent  of  the  populaAon15
...
 He  raised  most  money  from  CasAle,  which  was  the  richest  of  
the  provinces  in  Spain,  but  spent  it  over  the  whole  of  his  empire
...
 Much  of  Charles’  rule  was  spent  
prevenAng  collapse  in  one  part  of  his  empire,  to  another
...
 They  voted  for  taxes  in  the  Cortes,  having  a  negaAve  effect  on  the  lower  classes  of  
society
...
 Another  great  source  of  wealth  came  from  the  
New  World,  from  1536  unAl  1555,  the  annual  income  increased  from  324,000  ducats  to  870,000  
ducats17
...
 In  reality  Charles  did  not  trade  as  efficiently  as  he  
should  have  with  the  new  world,  and  he  neglected  the  agriculture  industry  in  focusing  too  much  on  
sheep,  and  not  enough  on  crops,  which  in  turn,  had  to  be  imported
...
 
Religious  policy  was  an  important  part  of  Isabella  and  Ferdinand’s  rule,  and  later  on  the  reign  of  
Charles  V,  that  helped  to  lay  the  foundaAons  for  the  Golden  Age  in  Spain
...
 The  Catholic  kings  did  not  significantly  change  the  church  in  Spain;  however  they  
improved  on  the  values  that  existed
...
 Religion  
was  very  influenAal  in  Spain  at  the  Ame  and  so  it  was  incredibly  important  for  the  monarchs  to  keep  
them  on  side
...
 The  Cruzada  tax  was  
granted  indefinitely  in  1508  meaning  this  privilege  would  carry  on  into  the  reigns  of    Charles  and  
Phillip-­‐  not  only  did  this  mean  that  they  had  more  control  over  the  church,  they  also  had  more  
money  coming  into  the  crowns  funds
...
 Isabella  did  this  by  eradicaAng  
corrupAon  from  the  church  and  keeping  it  in  order  so  that  ProtestanAsm  did  not  spread
...
P Cooper- the decline of Spain and the Thirty Years War 1609-48/59

16

Roger Lockyer- Hapsburg and Bourbon Europe 1470-1720

17

Colin Pendrill, Spain 1474-1700

18

J H Elliott, Imperial Spain 1469-1716

inquisiAon  was  set  up  in  1478  and  was  used  by  Isabella  and  Ferdinand  against  the  Jews
...
 Spain  was  an  intolerant  
society,  and  the  most  evident  example  of  this  was  Isabella's  Reconquista  and  expulsion  of  the  Moors-­‐  
The  success  of  this  made  the  Pope  give  the  monarchs  the  Atle  of  ‘ The  most  Catholic  Kings’  and  it  also  
‘united  the  CasAlian  nobles  under  the  banner  of  ChrisAanity’19
...
 Reasons  for  this  included  the  fact  that  
there  were  divisions  between  the  Moors  as  opposed  to  the  clear  aims  of  the  Catholics,  and  there  
was  great  support  throughout  Spain  to  defeat  them,  as  land  would  be  gained  and  it  was  thought  
among  the  nobles  that  their  defeat  would  help  them  to  get  to  heaven,  Lotherington  also  explains  ‘in  
early  modern  Europe,  it  was  a  sign  of  weakness  for  states  to  permit  more  than  one  religion  inside  
their  borders’20
...
 They  also  raised  money  from  taxing  the  Jews  
and  borrowing  from  the  wealthy  Mesta  at  a  10%  rate  of  return
...
 The  result  was  that  Spain  became  a  unit,  apart  
from  Portugal,  and  was  regarded  as  a  great  power  in  Europe-­‐  this  set  the  scene  nicely  for  the  Spanish  
Golden  Age
...
 This  was  ulAmately  the  main  reason  why  religious  unity  was  greater  achieved  by  the  end  of  
Charles’  rule,  then  that  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella
...
 a  reason  for  Charles  
gaining  further  religious  unity  during  his  reign,  was  the  expansion  of  religious  groups  his  InquisiAon  
was  aimed  at
...
 He  dealt  with  them  severely,  calling  for  the  expulsion  of  
all  Muslims  from  Spain  in  1525,  who  did  not  agree  to  convert,  however  this  policy  was  only  
halmeartedly  imposed
...
 He  
also  went  to  great  lengths  to  prevent  ProtestanAsm  from  spreading  to  Spain
...
 
Unfortunately  he  was  strongly  threatened  by  reformaAon  in  other  parts  of  his  empire,  but  he  has  
been  criAqued  for  isolaAng  Spain  from  the  rest  of  Europe,  however  in  terms  of  strengthening  
Catholicism,  this  is  a  posiAve
...
 In  terms  of  religion,  
although  in  theory  Charles’  policies  should  have  been  successful,  and  he  did  achieve  further  religious  
unity,  the  country  was  leT  in  a  worse  state  then  before,  and  pockets  of  ‘heresy’  sAll  remained
...
 This  was  a  large  factor  in  laying  the  foundaAons  for  the  
Spanish  Golden  Age
...
 Unfortunately  she  died  before  she  could  go  through  with  her  plans  however;  
Ferdinand  pursued  her  wishes  and  captured  a  thin  coastal  strip  on  the  southern  African  coast
...
’23  He  also  seized  control  of  Navarre,  
uniAng  the  state  into  Spain
...
 
Kamen  dismisses  this  acquisiAon  as  a  lucky  acquirement  saying  that  it  was  ‘reluctantly  backed’24,  
however  this  was  mainly  the  case  for  the  other  countries  in  Europe  who  dismissed  Columbus  and  his  
plans  for  an  overseas  expediAon
...
 By  the  reign  of  Charles  I  ‘Spain  possessed  
an  extensive  overseas  empire’  25,  and  during  the  rule  of  Phillip  it  funded  his  ambiAous  foreign  policy,  
however  with  Ame  it  contributed  to  the  decline  of  the  domesAc  Spanish    economy
...
   
Although  foundaAons  had  been  laid  for  a  successful  foreign  policy  by  the  Catholic  Kings,  Charles’  
approach  to  war  ‘brought  Spain  liQle  Joy’26
...
 His  main  aims  were  to  fight  against  the  non-­‐  ChrisAans,  and  
protect  his  empire  from  heresy  and  ProtestanAsm,  and  the  French
...
 In  France,  The  main  cause  of  war  was  disputes  about  territories
...
 In  1521  they  were  at  war  again,  and  
Charles  gained,  and  was  able  to  keep  Tournai
...
 This  was  paired  with  a  personal  rivalry  between  Francis  and  
Charles
...
 
It  is  important  to  remember  that  at  this  Ame,  there  were  extremely  strong  links  between  Foreign  
Policy  and  Religion
...
 Although  these  things  disconcerted  the  Spanish,  they  sAll  ‘basked  
in  the  reflected  sunlight  of  imperial  glory’28,  however  with  hindsight  we  can  see  that  the  
achievements  of  Charles’  foreign  policy  were  much  highly  regarded  by  contemporizes,  then  the  
historians  of  today
...
   
Overall,  Charles  V  laid  the  foundaAons  for  the  Spanish  Golden  Age  through  his  advances  in  Religious,  
Foreign,  Economic  and  PoliAcal  policy
...
 At  the  start  of  his  rule,  he  
overcame  rebellions,  financial  and  economic  difficulAes,  the  need  for  administraAve  reform,  
exploitaAon  of  the  new  world,  and  foreign  policy  commitments,  however  Charles  managed  to  gain  
acceptance  and  went  on  to  create  a  Spain  that  was  feared,  wealthy  and  powerful,  with  a  stable  
religious  situaAon
...
 Some  historians  would  say  that  ‘Spain  became  a  great  power  in  its  own  right  only  under  Phillip  
II’,  however  this  could  not  have  been  achieved  without  the  advances  and  efforts  of  Charles’  reign

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