2.1: The 16th Century in Spain

 

The beginning of Modernity in Spain is conventionally marked by a series of very significant events from the last decades of the 15th century. Spanish unity was achieved with the marriage (in secret, in 1469) between Isabel of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon, who united the two crowns in 1479 and obtained the title of Catholic Monarchs from the Pope in 1496. His monarchy, which began to be officially called “Spain”, sought to consolidate its ideological unity through Catholicism, founding the Inquisition around 1478 and, in January 1492, absorbing the last Muslim territory (Granada) as well as expelling or forcing the conversion of Jews in July of that same year [1], and of Muslims in 1502. The kingdom also promotes linguistic unity by systematizing the use of Spanish, whose first grammar was published by Antonio de Nebrija in 1492. Simultaneously, it became an empire with the arrival of Columbus in America. This expansion, already underway during the 16th century, brought wealth and commercial activity into circulation in quantities previously inconceivable in Europe. Mercantilism becomes the predominant mode of production, and a monetary economy based on international financial relations is on the rise (capitalism is emerging).

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The Largest Kingdom in Europe

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During the 16th century, the Spanish crown became the largest kingdom in Europe. Charles I, grandson of the Catholic Monarchs, born in Flanders (Belgium), inherited immense territories in the Iberian Peninsula, Southern Italy, the Netherlands, Austria and Germany, as well as America (the West Indies). This is how Emperor Charles V (1519-1556) came to be. A little later, his son, Felipe II (1556-1598), also annexed Portugal and the Philippines (named after the Spanish king). His monarchy thus became a global empire, with possessions on five continents, “where the sun didn't set”. It was, however, an empire with different laws, languages, administrations and societies for its various components.

European dominions inherited by Charles V of Habsburg (Charles I of Spain) in 1519.

Spanish Empire under Philip II, king of Spain, Portugal (and his possessions in Africa and India), Naples, Sicily, the Indies, the Philippines and the Netherlands (Holland, Luxembourg, Belgium). [Image: Trasamundo. , CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The reign of Charles V is a paradigm of the rise of the modern centralist state, financed by the bourgeoisie (merchants and bankers) and politically and militarily led by the aristocracy (the nobles). The wealth of the New World was primarily used to finance wars with other European kingdoms, to suppress internal uprisings, and to fund an expensive administrative apparatus. Paradoxically, Castile itself remained an agrarian and pastoral country, characterized by strong class tensions and limited industrial development, despite facing rampant inflation. The Spanish army, on the other hand, enjoyed great prestige due to its military victories; however, it was also a significant source of costs and debts for the crown, especially from the second half of the 16th century onwards.

Political and Cultural Challenges

Politically, a challenge for Charles V was to face the Protestant Reformation (Luther, Calvin and others) associated initially with serious challenges to imperial authority in areas of what is now Germany, such as mass peasant revolts (1524-26) and the military confrontation with princes who had rejected Catholicism (1531-44). Charles V won this confrontation in 1547, although he later legalized Lutheranism in the region in 1555. To prevent such wars in the name of religion from happening in other parts of its empire, the Spanish administration promoted the Council of Trent (in Italy, 1545-63). This enacted a series of changes in Catholicism known as the Counter-Reformation. One of them was to entrust the intellectual and peaceful struggle against Protestantism to the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits, founded by the Basque Saint Ignatius of Loyola in 1534). This encouraged the study and production of texts, as well as a renewal of Christian practices with the new individual and precious spirit of the era that had begun a few decades earlier. The Inquisition was also especially reinforced in Spain, with the official mission of guaranteeing Catholic orthodoxy through the censorship, often violent, of books, people and ideas. This institution had also served formerly unofficial functions, such as strengthening political authority, facilitating ideological and territorial unity, and enriching the Crown by confiscating the properties of convicted heretics (for example, after expelling many Jewish bankers and merchants in 1492). Philip II further emphasized this connection with Catholicism, of which he proclaimed himself a defender, both against Protestants and Turks (Ottoman Empire).

Another significant element of European life in the 16th century was the colonization of the Indies (present-day America) and the supervision of global explorations. Faced with these processes, a controversy develops in Spain about the morality of colonialism and how “Indians” should be treated. But at the same time, a rapid invasion of the American continent is being financed, one of the few options for social promotion for many inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula. In addition, a series of explorations, such as the famous one led by Fernando Magallanes that circumnavigated the world, brought the kingdom considerable wealth.

At the same time, Spanish society experienced deep regional, ethnic and legal divisions. The situation of Jewish and Muslim converts (forced to practice Christianity) was one of those hotbeds of division, with times of tolerance and times of hostility. By 1547, many civic and religious institutions adopted a policy of “blood cleansing” that treated the descendants of converts as second-class citizens and privileged “old Christians” (not of Jewish or Muslim descent). Many nobles and members of the clergy opposed it, including the founder of the Jesuits, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, favoring a policy of peaceful assimilation. But influential sectors of the Crown and the Inquisition often insisted on this bloodletting. There were also rebellions, such as that of the Moors in 1568, which were violently suppressed.

Within these tensions and transformations, a reevaluation of values occurred. The concept of honor, for example, which had been as significant in the feudal era as the characteristic of courageous nobles, is now connected with the cleansing of blood from “old Christians”. Critically, several literary works of the time represent with irony the contradictions between appearances and real behavior, in many cases promoting the idea that honor should not be based on class, race or reputation, but on inner virtue. In a similar manner, rituals and religious hierarchies are questioned through humanistic principles and a conception of spirituality that focuses more on inner experience.

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[1] Edict of Granada: “We have decided to order that all Jews, men and women, leave our kingdom, and never return. With the exception of those who agree to be baptized, all others must leave our territories on July 31, 1492 to stop returning under penalty of death and confiscation of their property (...)”. This decision had also been economically motivated, but paradoxically, it delayed banking development in Spain,

Fuentes

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• Blanco Aguinaga, Carlos, et al. Social history of Spanish literature. Akal, 2000.
• Davies, Catherine, ed. The Companion to Hispanic Studies. Oxford University Press, 2002.
• Garcia de Cortázar, Fernando and José Manuel González Vesga. A brief history of Spain. Editorial Alliance, 2017.
• Kattan Ibarra, Juan. Cultural perspectives of Spain. NTC Publishing, 1990.