Consolidation of Royal Power and the Great Voyages of Discovery

Consolidation of Royal Authority in Spain

The Catholic Monarchs asserted royal authority. In return, the nobles kept their privileges and passed their great estates on to their descendants through a system called mayorazgo.

Key administrative and judicial figures played a crucial role in imposing royal authority:

• The corregidor served as the administrative and judicial figure in the cities.
• The Santa Hermandad was a precursor to a police force, operating in both the cities and the countryside.

The monarchy managed to guarantee a regular income by creating new taxes and establishing a central tax office called the Contaduría Real de Hacienda. Furthermore, the Catholic Monarchs created a permanent professional army so that they were no longer dependent on feudal armies.

The Impetus for Global Exploration

In 1453, the Turks conquered Constantinople. Since Byzantium had been a key channel for trade between Europe and Asia, Europeans urgently needed to find alternative trade routes to Asia.

Technical Advances and Expeditions

Technical advances made it possible to navigate over longer distances. These included:

• Cartography
• Caravels
• The compass
• The mariner's astrolabe

There was also an ideological side to these expeditions, often linked to the spread of Christianity.

In 1492, the Capitulations of Santa Fe granted Christopher Columbus many privileges if he was successful. He left Huelva in three ships on August 3, 1492, and reached the Bahamas on October 12, 1492.

In 1494, the Treaty of Tordesillas established that all territory more than 370 leagues west of Cape Verde belonged to Spain. Later, the circumnavigation of the globe was completed by the expedition led by Fernando de Magallanes (Ferdinand Magellan) and Juan Sebastián Elcano, beginning in 1519.

Major Pre-Columbian Civilizations

Before European arrival, Native American civilizations had achieved significant advancements, including the invention of writing and astronomy, the discovery of agriculture, and the mastery of ceramics, although they did not utilize the wheel.

The Maya

Maya civilization was hierarchical. It was based on important cities like Tikal and Palenque, where palaces and temples were built. The Maya's most famous monuments were their great stepped pyramids.

The Aztecs

The Aztecs had a hierarchical society dominated by noble warriors and priests. Their society was organized for war and practiced human sacrifice. They were polytheists and utilized a form of pictorial writing.

The Incas

The Incas also had a hierarchical society and were polytheists. Their emperor was both the political leader and a god. Key features of the Inca Empire included:

• They built a very good road system to control their vast empire.
• Tax and census records were kept on knotted strings called quipu.
• The Inca economy was based on agriculture.
• Inca architecture was especially remarkable, featuring great stone temples.

The Incas spread the Quechua language throughout their empire, and it is still spoken by many people in the Andes today.