Spanish Monarchy: Key Reigns and Conflicts (16th Century)

The Reign of Charles I (1516-1556)

Charles I had to tackle serious domestic and foreign conflicts.

Domestic Conflicts Under Charles I

• The domestic conflicts broke out following his arrival in Spain in 1517, at which time he did not even speak Castilian. He asked for enormous sums of money from the Cortes to finance his election as Holy Roman Emperor, and he also left the government of his Hispanic territories in the hands of Flemish advisors. The two main revolts were that of the Comuneros in Castile (1520-1521); and that of the Brotherhoods in Valencia and Mallorca (1519-1523), which was a confrontation between the urban guilds and the nobility. Both sides revolted against Charles I, as he did not respond to their petitions; they were subjugated by the king's army.

Foreign Conflicts Under Charles I

• The foreign conflicts faced by Charles I were numerous. France sought to dominate northern Italy, but lost the duchy of Milan. The Turks were a threat to the empire in both Central Europe and the Mediterranean, where they forged alliances with North African pirates. However, they lost the city of Tunis. The Protestant German states were seeking autonomy and rose up against the emperor on numerous occasions. Eventually, at the signing of the Peace of Augsburg (1555), Charles permitted religious freedom in Germany.

The Reign of Philip II (1556-1598)

Philip II also tackled serious domestic and foreign problems. Moreover, his support for Catholicism led him to engage in the European Wars of Religion.

Domestic Conflicts Under Philip II

• On the domestic front he fought against a rebellion of the Moriscos in Las Alpujarras (1568). This was sparked by the insistence that the Moriscos had to abandon their religion and customs. After two years of conflict, the rebellion was suffocated and the Morisco population was expelled from the kingdom of Granada and dispersed across Castile. He also dealt with a rebellion in Aragon (1590), where it was considered that the monarch's actions had not respected the people's fueros or traditional rights. The rebellion was eventually put down by the king.

Foreign Conflicts Under Philip II

• The foreign conflicts faced by Philip II led to the defeat of the French at the Battle of Saint Quentin (1557); and the defeat of the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto (1571), which was won thanks to a naval alliance with Venice and the Papacy. Philip II's support for the Catholic cause resulted in his having to face a rebellion in the northern provinces of the Netherlands (1566): they had adopted Protestantism and became independent in 1579. He also confronted England, which, as a Protestant country, supported the uprising in the Netherlands and the attacks by corsairs on Spanish trade with America. Philip II planned to invade England by sending the Invincible Armada, but its failed invasion attempt in 1588 became the first major defeat suffered by the Hispanic Monarchy.