The spanish Habsburg dynasty (o Los Austrias)

XVI-XVII centuries
(summary)

• The habsburg dynasty begins with Felipe I "el hermoso": married to Juana “la loca”
Queen of Castile.

• Carlos I de España y V de Alemania: son of Felipe y Juana. He

received a large empire on his father's and mother's side. On
the death of his paternal grandfather, Maximilian III was
elected Emperor of Germany.

Thus, Charles arrived in Spain, a country whose customs and

language he did not know, provoking the Revolt of the
comuneros (1520) *Comunero was the name of the person
who took part in the revolt of the Communities of Castile. (I explain this below)

• Felipe II: Son of Carlos I. During his reign, Spain became the most
powerful country in the world, which is why the phrase “the
empire on which the sun never sets” is so popular. He was a great
defender of Christianity. The most popular event of his reign is
the defeat of the so-called Armada Invencible, a military
expedition against England.

• Felipe III: During Felipe’s III reign, his valido, the Duke of Lerma,
governed. Spain was bankrupt. In 1609 the expulsion of the
Moriscos was ordered. They were accused of being fake christians
and practsing their own religion in secret. As a consequence, the
Spanish economy weakened, especially in agriculture, a sector in
which the Moriscos mainly worked.
 Felipe IV: delegated power to this valido Conde-duque de Olivares,
who attempet to regain power over Europe. To achieve this, Spain
took part in the Thirty Years’ War (I explain this below) trying to
centralise all power. On these reforms was the Union of Arms which
proposed that all kingdoms ruled by the Spanish Monarchy provide
soldiers and fund to cover the cost the european wars.

• Carlos II: He represents the decline of the dynasty. He was a sick king
who was called "El hechizado". Due to his many mental and physical
illnesses he was unable to reign.

THE REVOLT OF THE COMUNEROS

• Why were Castilian nobles and cities angry about?

-Lower nobility and bourgeoisie in some cities rose up against the government
because Carlos I de España y V de Alemania did not know the country he was
going to reign over. He did not speak spanish and this upset the Castilian
nobility, who viewed this monarch as a foreigner. Further more, Castilla was
experiencing an economic crisis and Carlos used the taxes collected to
finance his appointment as Holy Roman Emperor, as well as his disrespect for
the laws of the kingdom. All this angered the comuneros.

• Where did the Revolt start?

-Segovia, Corona de Castilla.

• How does the revolt end?

-The battle of Villalar ended the war, and Carlos defeated the comuneros

• What happened to the leaders of the rebellion?

 -Padilla, Bravo and Maldonado, the instigators of the revolt, were executed

• List the consequences of the Revolt.

-The decline of the power of the nobiluty and also of the Castilian economy
due to higher taxes and the costs of the revolt.

THE THIRTY YEARS’ WAR

A confrontation between Lutherans and Catholics in the region of Bohemia which
ended with the Peace of Westphalia and the Peace of the Pyrenees.