When your grandparents are Ferdinand II and Isabella I from Spanish Kingdom and Maximilian I from the Holy Roman Empire, you’re getting great birthday presents. Two of the most important kingdoms in the planet ended in the hands of Charles I after some strategic marriages. Born exactly in 1500, the new century started with him as protagonist. In 1516 was crowned King of Spain and in 1519 Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (as Charles V), starting the dominance of the House of Habsburg.
«The Empire on which the Sun never sets». That was how the Spanish Empire was known. Its territory expanded from Peru to Philippines, with possessions in Europe, Africa and India. Although he did not inherit the titles of Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from his father, Philip II managed to enlarge his possessions in 1580 with the annexation of Portugal. That way the Spanish Empire controlled all the Portuguese ports -and they were many- in South America, Africa and South Asia.
Funding expeditions by Hernán Cortés in the north and Francisco Pizarro in the south, both Charles I and Philip II conquered America in barely 50 years. The Spanish defeated the Aztec Empire in the Battle of Otumba (1521) and the Inca Empire in the Battle of Cajamarca (1532). To administrate those vast territories, Spanish crown from Toledo established two new entities: the Viceroyalty of New Spain and the Viceroyalty of Peru. The two viceroyalties were ruled by one viceroy. Here you have a list of the viceroys of New Spain and Peru.
In 1534 the conquistadors heard the legend of El Dorado, a place hidden in the rainforest and full of gold and jewels. Many expeditions were organized by the Spanish to find that precious treasure, meant to be hidden in the heart of modern Colombia, where the Muisca people lived.
The conquest of America was violent, as described by friar Bartolomé de las Casas, who reported the treat Spanish soldiers gave to the indigenous people. Philip II created a branch of the Spanish Inquisition to cover the American region: natives had to convert to catholicism.
Linking the future of the Empire to the will of God, Spanish kings established themselves as protectors of the Catholic Church. Both Charles I and Philip II fought against the Protestant churches, but their main contribution to Christianity was the fight against the muslim Turkish Empire. In 1535 Charles I occupied Tunisia to stop the expansion of the Ottomans and in 1571 Philip II responded to the Pope’s call for help creating the Holy League. The fleet of the Holy League sailed to the Ionian Sea and fought against the Ottoman fleet in the Battle of Lepanto, the biggest naval battle of modern History. The victory of Spain stopped the advance of the vast Turkish Empire in Europe.
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