Introduction
History
The Kingdom of Spain is a picturesque country with a very interesting history, vast art scene, and rich culture. People first came to Spain in about 2500 B.C but in 715 A.D, the Muslims conquered Spain which stayed under Muslim rule for over 700 years. In 1492, the Christians overthrew the Muslims, and from the 15th to the 17th century, Spain was the most powerful country in the world. In 1939, a General in Spain’s Army and a staunch dictator launched a coup against the elected second republic and Spain split into two groups of government, marking their Civil War that killed over a half million people by the end of and repressed the culture and language of the Basques and Catalan regions. After Franco, the generals, death in 1975, Spain became a democracy. Currently, Spain has a hybrid rule consisting of a parliamentary government under a monarchy that is ratified by the constitution. The Spanish economy is slated ninth in the developed world and is characterized by high living standards. The country is composed of 17 autonomous states. This makes Spain one of the most decentralized nations within the European continent. These autonomous regions have their own budgets and resources, elected legislature and administrations.
Religion
In the 16th and 17th centuries, Spain notably magnified its influence through colonization of countries in South America, North Africa, and Europe. It is through colonization that this country was able to impact other
Political power acts as a foundation for society through persuasion. This influential ability controls the thoughts and actions of society as a whole, and who is in control heavily determines how successful their influences will be. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella were the political rulers of Spain during the late 15th century, and remained in control up until the early 16th century. They craved unity for their country, and would do anything they could to achieve their desired conformity. Spain was to be united under one flag, one form of ruler, and one religion; those who did not oblige, became targets. For more than three hundred years, the Spanish Inquisition hovered over Spain, inciting fear and inflicting brutality upon those
Throughout history, as we study Spain we can clearly recognize high and low points in their success. In the fifteen hundreds Spain had no influence on European affairs, Spain essentially vanished out of Europe. However, within one complete century Spain had become not only a leading power but they also had a great sense of effectiveness in Europe. Spain experienced a Golden age with many social, economic, political aspects. On the other hand, within
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, New Spain and New France came to the New world for two different reasons. New France came to the new world in search of a new west passage and Spain came in search of gold and religious freedom. They both wanted to spread their religious beliefs through missionaries. The Spanish were the first to establish large settlements. The Spanish had over 200 cities by 1570. The French didn’t start colonizing until 1604. The first French colony was Acadia and Quebec which came years later in 1608. The Spanish had a huge head start on colonization over New France but they both thrived in their own ways by using Natural Resources and slaves.
In the 17th century England and Spain were both in a race to settle the New World. After Christopher Columbus had reached this New World Spain almost immediately sent people over to explore and colonize. After the Treaty of Tordesillas secured their land, Spain’s empire quickly expanded across The Americas. England had a bit of a late start when it came to colonization. Even though their first few attempts such as Jamestown, and Roanoke were not very successful England kept at it. Eventually, England and Spain became the two most powerful nations in the Americas. Even though both nations had the same goal, their political, religious, and economic development were very different.
During the 15th century, many considered Spain insignificant. However, within a century it became a world-dominant power in Europe. Although Spain only took a brief time to rise, it was also short-lived. The rise of Spain was due to its flourishing culture, stable political system and successful voyages to the New World. On the other hand, its decline was due to religious control, resistance from other countries and inflation.
In Victors and the Vanquished, Schwartz poses the question of “How can we evaluate conflicting sources” (ix)? Through reading historical events such as the “Conquest of New Spain” there is an undeniably large amount of destruction of cultural material and bias testimonies of events recorded several years after they occurred. After analyzing the Spanish Conquest of Mesoamerica there is a debatable amount of evidence from the Mesoamericans and Spanish explanations of this event in history. The intentions of each explanation created a conflict to historians, art historians and anthropologists on which viewpoint holds to accuracy. There is also the issue of not only inaccuracies, but the motives behind each bias account. As many of these aspects are taken into consideration, interpreting each justification between both sides of history in Mesoamerica as a clash of ethnocentrism between two different cultures that causes an uncertainty of what actually happened in history.
According to Spain then and now, (2011), “In contrast to Spain’s startling growth of political power and prestige during the 16th century, the 17th century is commonly seen as one of decline.” Not merely historical hindsight, this view was already articulated in the early 17th century by a group of writers known as arbitristas. They lamented the deterioration of the country, and offered suggestions for both political and especially economic reform. Who recognised the stark contrast between the appearance of imperial greatness and the reality of social and economic problems in their country. Events of the 17th century confirm the foresight of the best of these early political economists. Since then there has been general consensus that Spain
In Imperial Spain, J.H. Elliot examines the history of early modern Spain from the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella and Ferdinand, to the reformation of the Spanish government by the first member of the Bourbon dynasty. According to the author, at the start of the 15th century, Spain was internally weak, hopelessly divided and isolated from the continent by the Pyrenees. Yet, by 1492, Spanish society experienced a tremendous transformation which allowed Isabella and Ferdinand to unify the country, secure the largest transoceanic empire the world has ever known, and for a
Spain and the United States began relations in the earliest days of North America’s colonization. Spain’s settlements in Florida, followed by other colonies in Louisiana, Texas, and the Southwest and California, meant that early American colonists would come into contact and later into conflict with the Spanish. In the early days of the American Revolutionary War, Spain assisted the Americans in their struggle for independence. Many years later, relations between Spain and the U.S. deteriorated and war broke out; in recent decades, however, the countries began repairing economic relations once again.
The rise of a powerful government and the enforcement of religious orthodoxy were factors that help established the Spanish Empire.
There were several factors that accounted for the Unification of Spain. Aragon and Castile were strong Spanish kingdoms while the kingdom of Portugal was an independent monarchy. However, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile were Catholic rulers who worked to unite with Spain. As portrayed in the text it states "Seeking to replace the undisciplined feudal levies they had inherited with a more professional royal army, Ferdinand and Isabella reorganized the military forces of Spain." For that reason, the alliance changed the way the Spanish military works from old fashioned duties to a dominant army in Europe. This led Isabella and Ferdinand to understand the significance of ruling the Catholic church with the amount the amount of wealth
The Spanish built an elaborate empire in the Americas, covering the whole western-coast of South America, all of Central America, the Caribbean, Mexico, and parts of the United States, including New Mexico and Florida. It took years of effort in order to set up to colonize this big region and set up a structured system. The 3 main motives of Spain was “God, Gold, and Glory”. With these motives, Spain was able to conquer an extensive territory. However, the Spanish arrival in the New World resulted into both negative and positive impacts.
The European countries experienced the unprecedented territorial expansion during late fifteenth and the sixteenth centuries. Spain was one leading country that had expanded its power over Latin America. Just as Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Spain supported Christopher Columbus for the sake of God and Spain, the first conquistadors shared in some measure the sense that they had both a territorial and a religious mission to accomplish.
There are a multitude of political systems around the world today. Regardless of similarities, each has its own unique qualities. This paper will discuss the differences and similarities of the political systems and government of both the United States of America and Spain. First, a short analysis of each countries history will be provided. This will give some background to the political, emotional and economical state of each country. This will lead to how the governments and political systems are now. Finally, there will be an analysis on the similarities and differences between both countries.
The fascinating and beautiful country of Spain is one of the largest countries in Europe. The history that Spain has had has left great stories to tell and remarkable landmarks to visit. Spain is located in the south west corner of Europe, with its neighboring countries, Portugal and France. It has a population of forty million plus people, but almost one-third of the nation’s population is foreigners that reside in its territory. One of the most important facts about Spain is that its economy is one of the largest in the world. Spain is currently in a recession, with low employment rates and poverty.