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The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery.
Jun 13, 2022 · by Mark Cartwright. published on 13 June 2022. Available in other languages: French, Portuguese, Spanish. The apparatus of colonial government in the Spanish Empire consisted of multiple levels, starting with the monarchy and Council of the Indies at the top and moving down to the viceroy, audiencias, mayors, and local councils.
The Spanish Empire became the foremost global power, dominating the oceans as well as European battlefields. Spain enjoyed a cultural golden age in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries when silver and gold from American mines increasingly financed a long series of European and North African wars.
Key terms. In 1494, Spain and Portugal moved the line of demarcation several degrees west, establishing Portugal’s claim to Brazil. A labor system in which the Spanish crown authorized Spaniards, known as encomenderos, to enslave native people to farm and mine in the Americas.
Overview. In the European race to colonial dominance, the Treaty of Tordesillas legitimized Spain’s holdings in the New World, indicating Spanish primacy over Portugal. The successes of Columbus ushered in an era of Spanish conquest that led numerous other European explorers to attempt similar colonization projects.
Definition. The Spanish Empire generally means Spain's overseas provinces in the Americas, Africa, the Pacific and Europe. Territories such as the Low Countries or Spanish Netherlands were included as they were part of the possessions of the King of Spain, governed by Spanish officials and defended by Spanish troops.
One special feature of the system of government was the overlapping jurisdictions of institutions, a system designed to prevent the concentration of power in a single office and to ensure that officials such as the viceroy and the audiencia judges acted as a check on the authority of the other.
