The Makings of the Spanish Empire
Reasons for Overseas Expansion
The end of the centuries long Reconquista in Spain ushered in a new era—the age of expansion and conquest of the Americas. There were a number of reasons why the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, were eager to expand Spain’s frontier. Religion, economic prosperity, and material wealth were the strongest forces behind the Monarchs’ desire to enlarge Spain’s territory.
Religion as a driving force for Overseas Expansion
“For centuries the expansion of the faith was inextricably intertwined with military glory and economic profit,” says Stanley G. Payne. For this reason, many historians commonly question whether Spanish conquistadors were motivated more by their hunger for material wealth or by religious zeal. “In the Hispanic crusading-expansionist ideology, the two went together,” says Payne.
The Spanish monarchs of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries used religion as a justification for overseas expansion. Overseas expansion was a tactic used to spread Catholicism to the Indians of the New World in efforts to thwart the spread of Protestantism which took hold of part of Europe in the early sixteenth century. The Spanish also brought their religion to the New World to forcefully remind the natives of who they were.
The quest for Material Wealth
The Spanish Monarchs and conquistadors alike were motivated by their desire for material wealth just as much as they were to spread their Catholic religion. Whether rich or poor, the vast land and exotic resources of the Americas offered Spanish citizens an opportunity to increase their wealth, or obtain wealth.
The first explorers, after Christopher Columbus, were a group of conquistadors, mostly from impoverished families. Their successful conquest of Mexico in 1519 granted them with reasonable plots of land, slaves and access to the gold and other precious metals they fought for. The immense wealth these conquistadors amassed for themselves soon attracted many people from their homeland. Married families and single men and women from all social classes, abandoned their lives in Spain and travelled overseas to Mexico with the hopes of obtaining some of that wealth for themselves.
Demand for National Economic Prosperity
National economic prosperity, as much as personal wealth, was another dominant reason for overseas expansion. During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries there was a rise in demand for luxury goods from the east, such as cotton cloth, fine silks, exotic precious stones and spices to flavour food. Most of these goods, including gold and silver, were discovered in the Americas (Mexico and the Caribbean Islands) and on the Canary Islands.
The discovery of these goods gave rise to a lucrative trade between Spain and her overseas colonies, which in turn lead to the development of the shipbuilding industry in Spain. The wealth of these goods also created a strong Spanish currency, which greatly helped build Spain’s economy and make it a leading empire that was to last throughout the sixteenth century.
Sources
Altman, Ida. Emigrants and Society: Extremadura and America in the Sixteenth Century. Berkely: University of California Press, 2001.
Payne, Stanley G. A History of Spain and Portugal. Vol. 1. Madison, Wisconsin:University of Wisconsin Press, 1973.
Phillips, Carla R. The Organisation of Oceanic Empires: The Iberian World in the Habsburg Period (and a Bit Beyond). Twin Cities, Minnesota: University of Minnesota, 2003.
What do you think about this article?
More in History
Latest Articles