![]() ![]() The crown then established viceroyalties in the two main areas of settlement, New Spain and Peru, both regions of dense indigenous populations and mineral wealth. After a short period of delegation of authority by the crown in the Americas, the crown asserted control over those territories and established the Council of the Indies to oversee rule there. In the 16th century, the Spanish empire conquered and incorporated the Aztec and Inca empires, retaining indigenous elites loyal to the Spanish crown and converts to Christianity as intermediaries between their communities and royal government. The Spanish empire in the Americas was formed after conquering indigenous people and claiming large stretches of land, beginning with Christopher Columbus in the Caribbean Islands. These territories remained under Spanish rule until the War of the Spanish Succession. Following the Italian Wars against France, which concluded in 1559, Spain gained control over half of Italy ( Kingdom of Naples, Sicily, Sardinia, Duchy of Milan) with the Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis. The Spanish empire also included European territories, of which the Spanish Netherlands were the richest. Although the power of the Spanish sovereign as monarch varied from one territory to another, the monarch acted as such in a unitary manner over all the ruler's territories through a system of councils: the unity did not mean uniformity. Iberian kingdoms retained their political identities, with particular administration and juridical configurations. Phillip respected a certain degree of autonomy in its Iberian territories and, together with the other peninsular councils, established the Council of Portugal, which oversaw Portugal and its empire and "preserv its own laws, institutions, and monetary system, and united only in sharing a common sovereign." In 1640, while Spain was fighting in Catalonia, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands, Portugal revolted and re-established its independence under the House of Braganza. ![]() After the Spanish victory in the War of the Portuguese Succession, Philip II of Spain obtained the Portuguese crown in 1581, and Portugal and its overseas territories came under his rule with the so-called Iberian Union, considered by many historians as a Spanish conquest. To end the threat of Portuguese expansion, Spain invaded its Iberian neighbour in 1580, defeating Portuguese, French, and English forces. In the beginning, Portugal was the only serious threat to Spanish hegemony in the New World. The crown's authority in the Indies was enlarged by the papal grant of powers of patronage, giving it power in the religious sphere. ![]() The structure of the empire was further defined under the Spanish Habsburgs (1516–1700), and under the Spanish Bourbon monarchs, the empire was brought under greater crown control and increased its revenues from the Indies. Castile (formed in 1230 from the Kingdom of Leon and the Kingdom of Asturias) became the dominant kingdom in Iberia because of its jurisdiction over the overseas empire in the Americas. It reached its maximum extent in the 18th century.Īn important element in the formation of Spain's empire was the dynastic union between Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon in 1469, known as the Catholic Monarchs, which initiated political, religious and social cohesion but not political unification. It was one of the most powerful empires of the early modern period, becoming known as " the empire on which the sun never sets". One of the largest empires in history, it was, in conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, the first to usher the European Age of Discovery and achieve a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa, various islands in Asia and Oceania, as well as territory in other parts of Europe. The Spanish Empire (Spanish: Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy (Spanish: Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy (Spanish: Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its predecessor states between 14. United States Military Government of the Philippine Islands ![]()
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