What was spain like in the 15th century

Under Charles, Spain looked outwards, confident of its destiny. Under Philip, Spain closed in upon itself. Internally, the Inquisition continued its relentless pursuit of heresy, abetted now by the zeal imparted by the Catholic reforms known as the Counter Reformation to counter the spread of Protestantism. Externally, Spain appeared defensive, reacting to events, seemingly unable to keep its enemies at bay and struggling to keep its territories intact.

The financial burden of empire weighed heavily and in Philip was forced to suspend payment to bankers, in effect declaring the country bankrupt. He did so again in and ; the glitter of imperial power evidently hid serious economic problems. In addition, there were grave political concerns. Although the Turks suffered a humiliating naval defeat in the Gulf of Lepanto Greece in , they soon regrouped, conquered Tunis in and most of Morocco from the Portuguese in In northern Europe, Protestant discontent led to a revolt in the Netherlands in and a constant state of hostilities thereafter.

In the Alpujarras region of Granada in the south of Spain, frustrated Moriscos Moorish converts to Catholicism started a bloody two-year rebellion in So, with bankruptcies and internal rebellions … why was Spain still considered the most powerful country of Europe? Well, Spanish presence was very visible everywhere, and Spain possessed more land in Europe than any other country, and of course it owned vast overseas territories.

Fortunately for Philip, in the late s the attention of the Ottoman Sultan, Murad III, was directed away from the Mediterranean to a situation of anarchy on the eastern edge of his empire. For both leaders, a truce —which was agreed upon in and formally signed in — was in their best interest. Backed by money and his armies, Philip eventually overcame opposition and was grudgingly recognised king by the Portuguese in With all the Iberian Peninsula finally united under one ruler, and a truce signed with the Ottoman Sultan, the omens seemed good for Philip.

At about this time a new method of refining metal in The Indies produced a sharp increase in the silver reaching Spain in the late s. Freed now from pressing financial constraints and from direct threat in the Mediterranean, Philip was able to undertake a number of initiatives against his enemies in Europe in the s and early s. Here he was faced by a constant state of war against the Dutch who were aided by both the English and the French.

Its army was still feared, and its fleet was quickly rebuilt with better ships. Indeed, two further Armadas were dispatched to England, in and , but both were driven back by storms. On the high seas English and Dutch ships were more active than ever in harassing Spanish galleons and attacking ports in the Caribbean.

Meanwhile, Mexico and Peru had developed their economies and no longer required basic goods e. The boom period of the s was over. There was less silver, the Spanish economy was stagnating and agriculture decaying, and people emigrating to the towns which were ill equipped to absorb them.

Their frontiers shifted constantly between and to the detriment of Al-Andalus Muslim Spain , concluding with the conquest of Granada in Economic dynamism resulted in Christian expansion, reflected in demographic, agricultural, livestock, and commercial growth during the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries and comparable to that of other medieval kingdoms.

Under the stress of the midth-century crisis plagues, wars, and civil conflicts , economic growth came to a partial halt in the second half of the century. Yet, unlike other areas in Europe, the late medieval crisis had less of an impact in Spain, differently affecting some of the Iberian realms.

After the second third of the 15th century, as it was the case in Portugal, the economy in the Crown of Castile began to grow once more. As a result, most researchers agree that Spain reached the height of its economic growth in the midth century, although in a number of regions growth extended into the s.

After the late 16th century, however, the Spanish economy began to show signs of fatigue, leading to severe crisis that lasted until at least the midth century. Whereas it was the inland areas of Spain that were the most populated and wealthy during the 12th and 13th centuries, these areas were also most affected by the crisis, while the coastal regions would be the first to emerge from the recession.

Although Spain failed to reach the heights attained in other countries such as Britain, France, or the Netherlands, an economic revival occurred during the 18th century, moving the Spanish economy beyond what it had been during the final third of the 16th century.

Nonetheless, as had occurred in the 17th century, coastal areas developed more intensely than inland, leading to the economic geography of modern-day Spain. You do not currently have access to this article. Please login to access the full content. During the first millennium B. Meanwhile, a megalithic culture was developing in Almeria, characterised by dolmens with covered galleries and circular burial chambers, topped by false domes.

The most famous example is the Dolmen of Menga, near Antequera Malaga province. The Greeks also established colonies along the Mediterranean coast, leaving significant traces of their artistic legacy in areas such as Ampurias Girona province. The Iberian culture is represented by three sculptures of female figures - the Lady of Elx, the Lady of Cerro de los Santos and the Lady of Baza - that are currently on display at the National Archaeological Museum in Madrid.

Romanisation induced the cultural unification of the Iberian Peninsula, leaving not only the language and numerous social institutions but also a plethora of artistic remains. Such is the quantity of Roman remains in this town that it was chosen as the site for the National Museum of Roman Art , inaugurated in While Rome built the Hispania of the first five centuries, Hispania returned the favour by providing with some of its best sons, including emperors Trajan and Hadrian , writers and philosophers.

This Roman legacy not only pervades numerous institutions but also the law of the land. The generalised spread of Christianity coincided in Spain with the beginning of the Germanic invasion. Little has remained of Visigothic art, which gradually distanced itself from Roman art and fed rather on Byzantine and North African influences.

Horseshoe arches, geminate windows sharing a central column, square-shaped apses and barrel vaults are the distinguishing characteristics of the early Christian churches.

The Muslim invasion and subsequent Christian reconquest generated a confluence of three cultures - Christian, Islamic and Hebrew - whose fusion and interrelation gave rise to one of the most fruitful processes in European culture. Meanwhile, the perpetuation of the classical legacy was guaranteed by Alfonso X, who created the Translation School of Toledo and Seville.

Alfonso the Wise, as he is also known, is also credited with writing The Seven Divisions of Law and making major contributions to the world of science Lapidarium. The Arabic tradition also made a lasting impression on the field of poetry, with figures such as Ibn Hazm of Cordoba The Ring of the Dove and Ibn Quzman, famed as the inventor of the classical metre. One of the most important philosophers was the great Averroes , Cordoba , an Aristotelian scholar.

The culminating structure from this period is the magnificent Alhambra palace in Granada. Although the Arabic presence persisted in the south, the north of Spain maintained close contact with the prevailing European culture thanks to the Pilgrim Way of St.

James, which ends at the tomb of the apostle in Santiago de Compostela. Along the way, churches were built in which European Romanesque art blended with the Pre-Romanesque style typical of Spain. Sculpture acquired a distinct physical identity in the 11th century, which was mainly manifested in the cloister of Santo Domingo de Silos Burgos , the royal pantheon and the portals of the Basilica of San Isidoro Leon , the capitals in the cathedral of Jaca Huesca , the monastery at Ripoll and the mentioned cathedral of Santiago.

Other noteworthy Romanesque monuments can be found in the region of Castile and Leon Avila, Zamora, Soria, Salamanca, Segovia, Burgos , while Navarre, Aragon and Catalonia all boast magnificent churches with superb paintings.

During this period - the 12th century - Castilian began to develop as a literary language with the publication of the first great epic, The Lay of the Cid. Gothic art first emerged in Spain during the 13th century in the old Cistercian style, as evidenced in the monasteries of Las Huelgas in Burgos and Poblet in Tarragona, and achieved its finest expression in the cathedral of Leon.

The 14th century was characterised by the emergence of the Catalonian Gothic style cathedrals of Barcelona, Girona and Palma, Majorca and the 15th century by the Late or Flamboyant Gothic style cathedrals of Seville, Toledo and Burgos. Civil architecture also began to develop during this period, notable examples of which are the shipyards in Barcelona and the old markets in Valencia and Palma, Majorca.

In the field of literature there were important advances, with popular minstrel verses giving way to more learned poetry. It was also during his reign that the first collections of stories appeared such as The Eastern Fables of Kalilag and Damnag as well as the first dramatic script, Play of the Three Wise Men.

In the following century, literature adopted a more lyrical and courtly form, paving the way for the ideological transition between medieval and Renaissance ideals that took place at the beginning of the Modern Era, which spans the period from the last decade of the 15th century to the end of the 18th century. The main figures of this period were the Marquis of Santillana , who was the first person to use the sonnet in Spain, and Jorge Manrique with his Coplas por la muerte de mi padre Verses on the Death of My Father.

Meanwhile, consolidation of Castilian Spanish came with the publication Arte de la lengua castellana Art of the Castilian Language , the first grammar text applied to a vulgar language. The first chivalrous novels also emerged at this time, including the famous Amadis of Gaul.

A similarly notable evolution took place in the genre of drama. Juan de la Encina was the first to write about nonreligious themes, but the genuine breakthrough came with The Celestina or the Tragic Comedy of Calisto and Melibea by Fernando de Rojas, the second most important work in Spanish literature after Don Quixote.

Chronologically situated mid-way between the Renaissance and the Baroque, the Spanish Golden Age 16thth centuries was a glorious flourishing of the arts and letters in Spain. John of the Cross, and in the prose of St. Major changes were also afoot in the field of drama.