Unification of Spain
Unification of Spain: the Good, the Bad, and the Really Ugly | Alexis Wilson |
The Europeans wanted to expand their minds and their wealth with what the “unknown” world had to “offer”. When I say offer, I mean what they could take and run with without consequence. The Europeans wanted to “expose” and “enlighten” the new world people with their religion. When I say “expose” and “enlighten”, I mean force the new world people to convert to Christianity or they would be slowly tortured to death or burned at the stake. Portugal, one of the all mighty Iberian Sates, was in a hard-hitting competition with Spain, another Iberian State. According to the textbook, Portugal was losing manpower and resources needed to control a vast empire of three continents. Spain on the other hand, depleted their newfound wealth on wars and other unnecessary things when they should have been developing their economy (Wallbank et al.482). Portugal and Spain were battling for greatness, immortality if you will. They would have done anything to get it, even if it meant eradicating peoples and their cultures. Unfortunately, that was exactly what Portugal and Spain did.
Spain and Portugal were trading across the “known” world. Spain exported olive oil, asparagus, conserved fish and more. That was how they received their funds and their power. The Iberian States had a general idea that there were more lands to discover and more money to make. So they set sail to discover and take over anything that were in their way, with their bibles in their pockets and swords in their hands, fueled by the desire of unthinkable wealth and power. According to Juan Pimentel, Portugal and Spain entered the sixteenth century with an advantage in nautical technology and navigation relative to other European nations (20). “The overseas enterprises of Spain expanded dramatically following the first voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492. Even before this historic Atlantic crossing,
The Europeans wanted to expand their minds and their wealth with what the “unknown” world had to “offer”. When I say offer, I mean what they could take and run with without consequence. The Europeans wanted to “expose” and “enlighten” the new world people with their religion. When I say “expose” and “enlighten”, I mean force the new world people to convert to Christianity or they would be slowly tortured to death or burned at the stake. Portugal, one of the all mighty Iberian Sates, was in a hard-hitting competition with Spain, another Iberian State. According to the textbook, Portugal was losing manpower and resources needed to control a vast empire of three continents. Spain on the other hand, depleted their newfound wealth on wars and other unnecessary things when they should have been developing their economy (Wallbank et al.482). Portugal and Spain were battling for greatness, immortality if you will. They would have done anything to get it, even if it meant eradicating peoples and their cultures. Unfortunately, that was exactly what Portugal and Spain did.
Spain and Portugal were trading across the “known” world. Spain exported olive oil, asparagus, conserved fish and more. That was how they received their funds and their power. The Iberian States had a general idea that there were more lands to discover and more money to make. So they set sail to discover and take over anything that were in their way, with their bibles in their pockets and swords in their hands, fueled by the desire of unthinkable wealth and power. According to Juan Pimentel, Portugal and Spain entered the sixteenth century with an advantage in nautical technology and navigation relative to other European nations (20). “The overseas enterprises of Spain expanded dramatically following the first voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492. Even before this historic Atlantic crossing,
Cited: Andrien, Kenneth J., Atlantic History: A critical Appraisal. New York. Oxford University Press. 2009. The Spanish Atlantic System. Print History of Spain Historyworld.net. N.p. n.d. History of Spain. Web. 10 Feb. 2013 Pimental, Juan. The Iberian Vision: Science and Empire in the framework of the universal monarchy, 1500-1800. Vol. 15 issue 1. 2000. Wallbank, Walter T, Alastair M. Taylor, Nels M. Bailkey, Clyde J. Lewis, Palmira Brummett. Civilizations Past and Present. Twelfth Edition. Volume 2. Pearson Education 2008. Spain: Ferdinand and Isabella and the Reconquista, The Iberian Age. Print.