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Jan 1, 1469
The Catholic Kings.
The marriage of Isabel I and Fernando II, called the Catholic Kings, united the Kingdoms of Castile and Aragon. -
Jan 1, 1492
The beginning of the Modern Age.
The Canary Islands became part of Spain and the conquest of Granada happened the same year. Also Christopher Columbus discovered America. This marks the beginning of the Modern Age. -
Aug 3, 1492
The trip of Christopher Columbus.
Columbus set off with three caravels from the port of Palos de la Frontera, in Huelva. -
Oct 14, 1492
The discovered of America.
Two months later, on 14th October, the expedition reached land. Columbus thought he had arrived Japan, but in actual fact, he had landed on an island in the Caribbean. -
Jan 1, 1500
The Earth.
In the 15th cantury, many people believed that the Earth was flat. However Christopher Columbus was conviced that it was round. -
Jan 1, 1507
Amerigo Vespucci.
The Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci proved that these islands were part of a new continent. In his honour, the continent was named America. -
Jan 1, 1516
The reign of Carlos I
King Carlos I, the gradson of the Catholic Monarchs, was educated in Flanders in the Netherlands. In this year, he became the King of Spain.
Frustrated by the expanding Lutherans, he divided his Empire between his brother and his son, Felipe II. -
Jan 1, 1556
The reign of Felipe II.
Felipe II became ruler of the largest empire of its time. -
Jan 1, 1566
The Netherlands
The Netherlands rose up against Spanish rule. The northern provinces declared independence, but Felipe II did not accept it.
This began a long and costly war. -
Jan 1, 1571
Battle of Lepanto.
Felipe II defeated the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto. -
Jan 1, 1580
The Empire.
The Empire expanded more when the Kingdom of Portugal came under Spanish rule.
Each terrytory in the Spanish Empire had its own laws and institutions, but they were all ruled by the same King. -
The Armada.
England supported the uprising, so Felipe II sent the Spanish Armada against them, although the armada was a powerful fleet of warships, it was defeated in 1588. -
The Fragmentation of the Spanish Empire.
After the death of Felipe II in 1598, the Spanish Empire weakened and began to break up. The Kings of the 17th century, Felipe III,Felipe IV and Carlos II all had favourites called validos. Some had a lot of power, such as the Duke of Lerma and the Count-duke of Olivares. -
Spain.
In the 16th century, Spain became a powerful empire, the largest that had ever existed.Spain lost its superiority in Europe, and was attacked by other European countries. -
The end of the Modern Age.
In the 18th century, Great Britain and Portugal disrupted trade routes between Spain an the Americas. As a result of this conflict, there were various wars between Spain and these countries. -
The War of Sucession.
King Carlos II died without leaving a succesor. There were two candidates to succeed to the throne: the Archduke Charles from Germany and Philip of Anjou from France. Spain was divided: Castile supported Philip, whilst Aragon supported Charles. These conflicts promted the War of Succession. This was both and International war and a civil war. -
The end of the War of Succession.
The War of Succession ended in 1713, with the signing of the Traty of Utrecht. This recognised the triumph of Philip of Anjou, who became Felipe V. The treaty also required that the Spanish Empire give some territorries in Europe to Austria and England.
Also Felipe V established a new form of government, an absolute monarchy. In an absolute monarchy, the King controls all the powers os state. -
The Riot of Aranjuez.
The Riot of Aranjuez forced Carlos IV to abdicate. His son became the next King, Fernando VII.
