Spain’s Golden Age and the Reign of Philip II
A ‘golden age’ can be interpreted in many ways; it can be a time of
great power for a monarch, or a country. It can be described as a
time when some activity is at its peak, or as a period of great peace,
prosperity and happiness. I will look at the period 1474 – 1598 to
see if any of the monarchs’ reigns meet any of these interpretations
of a ‘golden age’.
The kingdom of Aragon had its own Cortes, which limited Ferdinand’s
power as he was subject to the fueros[1]. In Castile however, the
Cortes were relatively powerless; not necessary to pass laws and had
little interest in taxation. No Cortes was called between 1480 and
1498, which is indicative of Isabella’s power.
To help keep peace and control Isabella appointed ‘corregidors’, and
town councillors. However these methods were unsuccessful; the town
councils became too large and the ‘corregidors’ were disliked and were
withdrawn in some cities; Segovia and Burgos, and Aragon. The Royal
Council did not increase much in Ferdinand and Isabella’s reign, as
they dealt with matters in person and did not delegate to officials.
In Aragon the royal authority diminished, and it was run by viceroys,
as Ferdinand spent very little time there. There was also no
permanent place of government, as Ferdinand and Isabella travelled
most of their life, so the administration was wherever they were.
Charles I of Spain had many problems even before he arrived in Spain;
the idea of uniting Spain was under threat. He could not pay
officials properly, so administration was corrupt, as bribery was
often used. However, Charles did make re...
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...reign could be described
as a ‘golden age’, as they were mainly at peace, they eradicated
heresy and internal enemies, their finances were reasonably balanced,
and they made Spain a great power in Europe.
[1] The laws or traditions of the land
[2] Annual payment to pay for the crusade against Granada
[3] They were originally a peacekeeping force in Castile and Aragon,
but they ended up supplying troops and money for the Crown.
[4] Sales tax
[5] Process that allowed towns to convert the sales tax into a fixed
sum
[6] A new church tax, levied on the income from property in each
parish
[7] A subsidy levied on 4 basic foodstuff; meat, wine, oil and vinegar
[8] A church the monarch controls, even if officially the Pope does
[9] Moriscos are converted Muslims and Conversos are converted Jews
King Philip's War King Philip's War, 1675-76, the most devastating war between the colonists and the Native Americans in New England. The war is named for King Philip, the son of Massasoit and chief of the Wampanoag. His Wampanoag name was Metacom, Metacomet, or Pometacom. Upon the death (1662) of his brother, Alexander (Wamsutta), whom the Native Americans suspected the English of murdering, Philip became sachem and maintained peace with the colonists for a number of years. Hostility eventually developed over the steady succession of land sales forced on the Native Americans by their growing dependence on English goods.
be called or celebrated as the age of the “common man.” True, a few advances were made
Sklar, Robert. “The Golden Age or Turbulence And The Golden Age of Order.” Movie-Made America. New York: Random House, 1975. 175-194. Print.
Velazquez was a Spanish craftsman, he was known for the work he painted for his real benefactor; lord Philip IV. with that benefit Velazquez had it gave him an enormous begin to make more significance to the craftsman amid the baroque period, at the end of the day he rolled out a phenomenal improvement to the specialists social status. lord Philip IV was struck by tremendous ability of Velazquez and named him to the position of court painter. Velazquez's cozy association with the lord and his high office as chamberlain of the castle gave him glory and an uncommon chance to satisfy the guarantee of his virtuoso with an assortment of aesthetic assignments. in any case, Velazquez was affected via Caravaggio's work and had contemplated them.
To most it will be seen as the Gilded Age but also to most it is just seen as a period of great
The palace of Versailles was built by King Louis XIV of France and the Escorial was built by King Philip II of Spain. The two kings each had their differences about their beliefs on how to rule, yet there are some similarities. Louis XIV believed in showing off his power and being open. Philip II was a simplistic guy devoted to Catholicism. They both had military to spread their beliefs and ideas. Despite the kings’ beliefs, their palaces reflected their ideals.
“The Conquest of New Spain” is the first hand account of Bernal Diaz (translated by J.M. Cohen) who writes about his personal accounts of the conquest of Mexico by himself and other conquistadors beginning in 1517. Unlike other authors who wrote about their first hand accounts, Diaz offers a more positive outlook of the conquest and the conquistadors motives as they moved through mainland Mexico. The beginning chapters go into detail about the expeditions of some Spanish conquistadors such as Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba, Juan de Grijalva and Hernando Cotes. This book, though, focuses mainly on Diaz’s travels with Hernando Cortes. Bernal Diaz’s uses the idea of the “Just War Theory” as his argument for why the conquests were justifiable
The Gilded Age (1870-1900) was considered the golden age of America. The term the Gilded Age was coined by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner in their book The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today (1873). The Gilded Age had success, like the economic boom and the formation of labor unions, but the weaknesses of that era were far greater than those accomplishments, like the ill prepared government, the unequal distribution of wages and the racial discrimination held against the Chinese, African Americans and the Indians
The Conquest of New Spain Cortés came not to the New World to conquer by force, but by manipulation. Bernal Daz del Castillo, in the "Conquest of New Spain," describes how Cortés and his soldiers manipulated the Aztec people and their king Montezuma from the time they traveled from Iztapalaopa to the time when Montezuma took Cortés to the top of the great Cue and showed him the whole of Mexico and its countryside, and the three causeways which led into Mexico. Castillo's purpose for recording the mission was to keep an account of the wealth of Montezuma and Mexico, the traditions, and the economic potential that could benefit Cortés' upcoming conquest. However, through these recordings, we are able to see and understand Cortés' strategy in making Mexico "New Spain." He came as a wolf in sheep's clothing and manipulated Montezuma through his apparent innocence.
The inherent inequality within Spanish society was a primary reason for the dismantling of the Spanish Empire by the year 1898. With colonial powers becoming more problematic, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines grew eager for their independence from Spain. The Empire was met with strong resistance by rebel fighters from each nation, influencing a greater event known as the Spanish American War. The unfair and often racist treatment of lower-class-mixed-race citizens under the Spanish Empire ignited many rebellions that separated not only Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines, but the country of Spain as well.
that. If I were to come up with my own Golden Age, this is what I would do.
Our Earth is dated around 4.5 billion years old. Homo Sapiens, 250,000 years ago. In this macrocosmic time frame, our recorded history spans a mere 5,000 years. This knowledge contextualizes the limited nature of present human cognizance. Understanding human folly and wider perspectives becomes necessary in analyzing Ben Singer’s work Melodrama and Modernity, as he attempts to define modernity in contrast to this universal antiquity. Singer portrays modernity as something fluid, saying “Modernity is ostensibly a temporal concept” (Singer 17). The truth is modernity is a pattern that transcends time. Singer fancies modernity as a straight line progressing from caveman to businessman. John Anthony West, an author and Egyptological researcher
Analysis: When something is used in circa 400 B.C.E and still used in 2015 then you know it must have been thought through well. A golden age is when a civilization flourishes, and to create something use for 2,500 years later is certainly
asserts in the opening proem of book V as the mythical “golden age” (5.2.1) of England
...e been revolutionary; however, that excess amount of time has allowed the Renaissance to make more contributions to the future generations of societies.