Habsburg Spain facts for kids

Habsburg Spain means the history of Spain over the 16th and 17th centuries (1506–1700). This was when Spain was ruled by the major branch of the Habsburg dynasty. Under Habsburg rule (mostly under Charles I and Philip II), Spain reached the height of its influence and power. The Hapsburgs had land including the Americas; the East Indies in Asia; the Low Countries, territories now in France and Germany in Europe. From 1580 to 1640 they had the Portuguese Empire; and various other lands such as small enclaves like Ceuta and Oran in North Africa. Habsburg Spain was, for well over a century, the world's greatest power. For this reason, this period of Spanish history has also been called the "Age of Expansion."

Among the most outstanding figures of this period were Diego Velázquez, El Greco, Miguel de Cervantes, Teresa of Ávila, Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Francisco de Vitoria, Domingo de Soto and Francisco Suárez.

Images for kids

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  Conquest of Mexico, executed between Spanish and rival Indians.

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  A map of the dominion of the Habsburg monarchy following the Battle of Mühlberg (1547) as depicted in The Cambridge Modern History Atlas (1912); Habsburg lands are shaded green

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  Europa regina, associated with a Habsburg-dominated Europe under Charles V

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  The Iberian Union in 1598, during the reign of Philip II

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  The Battle of Lepanto (1571)

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  Siege of Haarlem (1572–73)

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  Spanish Fury at Antwerp, demonstration of Spanish military power as a leading world power at the time.

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  Routes of the Spanish Armada

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  Tlaxcalan codex with their new Government, including the Spaniard in the top tier. Full History of Tlaxcala, 1585.

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  Potosi, discovered in 1545, produced massive amounts of silver from a single site in upper Peru. The first image published in Europe. Pedro Cieza de León, 1553.

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  The last Inca leader, Túpac Amaru was executed in 1572 at the order of the Viceroy Francisco de Toledo.

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  Sir Francis Drake's voyage, 1585–86

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  Routes of early Spanish expeditions in the Philippines.

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  Collection of Philippine lantaka gunpowder weapons in a European museum

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  King Philip III of Spain (r. 1598–1621)

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  King Philip IV of Spain (r. 1621–1665) by Diego Velázquez

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  The Battle of Rocroi (1643), the symbolic end of the greatness of Spain

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  Charles II, the last Habsburg king of Spain (r. 1665–1700)

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  An auto-da-fé, painted by Francisco Rizi, 1683

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  The expulsion of the Moriscos from Valencia

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  A Spanish galleon, the symbol of Spain's maritime empire

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  View of Zaragoza, 1647, by Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo

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  The Harvesters by Pieter Brueghel the Elder

See also

In Spanish: Casa de Austria para niños