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Artist rendition of the Battle of Lepanto.

To rebuild, money had to come out of the Spanish treasury. Although the battle ended with a Holy League victory, the Spanish Armada and the other members navies were damaged heavily by the encounter. Seeing the Ottoman Navy as the biggest threat to Christians in the Mediterranean, the decision was taken to annihilate it once and for all. A Holy League was formed to fight back against the eastern aggressor and to ensure safety for the smaller nations of the Mediterranean.Ī notable effort by the Holy League to placate the ever-expanding empire was at the Battle of Lepanto, where the Holy League’s Navy and the Ottoman Navy fought for control of the Mediterranean. Placating the most powerful Muslim power of the East was not going to be cheap. The Ottoman expansion in the Balkans put a lot of pressure on the Spanish by not pushing back the Muslim empire, Spain would lose prestige and legitimacy as there was an expectation for Spain to protect all Christians. Two major problems came about because of this.

This meant that the monarch of Spain was responsible for protecting both Spain and Christianity within Europe. This became a big problem as the king of Spain was traditionally awarded the title of the Catholic Monarch by the Pope. While Spain reached their golden age, so did the Ottoman Empire on the other side of Europe. The extent of the Spanish Empire at its height after the integration of Portugal. Later into Philip’s reign, he would also inherit Portugal, which further increased the colonial extent of the Spanish Empire as well as its holdings in Europe. Gold from the New World, more specifically South America, came directly to the capital, making the empire one of the richest in Europe. While they were in power, the treasury of Spain would grow to an unimaginable size. Under Charles I and Philip II, Spain was at the height of its power. What led to the downfall of one of the biggest empires history has seen? A literal Golden Age With a growth rate well below the average within the union, we must enquire. Spain nowadays can best be described as one of the sick men of the European Union. With the powerful House of Habsburg on their throne, which also ruled the Holy Roman Empire, Spain now became the de facto leader of Europe. Going from Louisiana to South Georgia, the Spanish overseas holdings in the Americas made the already rich empire even richer. He discovery of the new world by Columbus in 1492 gave way to an era of Spanish dominance across Europe.