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Home > Spanish Empire

1 Precedents

The countries that we now know as Portugal and Spain spent the Middle Ages after 722 in an intermittent struggle called the Reconquista. This struggle pitted the northern Christian kingdom against the Islamic kingdoms of the South.

In the Late Middle Ages, the Aragonese expansion southwards met with the Castilian advance northward in the provine of Murcia . Afterward, the Aragonese Empire focused in the Mediterranean, acting as far as Greece and Barbary.

The Castilians, meanwhile, kept power in the vassal kingdom of GranadaThis article is about Granada in Spain. For alternate meanings see Granada (disambiguation). The City of Granada Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in Andalusia, Spain Andalucia, Espana . As of the 2003 census, the population of by exacting tributes of goldFor alternative meanings, see gold (disambiguation Gold is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Au ( L. aurum and atomic number 79. A soft, shiny, yellow, heavy, malleable, ductile (trivalent and univalent) transition metal, gold d, and, in so doing, ensured that gold from the NigerRepublique du Niger ( In Detail) (Full size) National motto: Fraternite, Travail, Progres(Fraternity, Work, Progress Official language French (official), Hausa, Djerma, Tamajaq Capital Niamey Capital's coordinates 13° 32' N, 2° 05' E Largest City Niamey P region of AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest continent in both area and population, after Asia. 30,244,050 km2 (11,677,240 mi2) including the islands, it covers 20. 3% of the total land area on Earth, and with over 800 million human inhabitants it accounts for ar entered EuropeFor the band of the same name, see Europe (band . Europe is a continent forming the westermost part of the Eurasian supercontinent. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Se. Castile also interevened in Northern Africa itself, competing with the Portuguese EmpireThe Portuguese Empire was one of the earliest overseas empires. There are several reasons for its early colonial flourishing: Hemmed in territorially on all sides by territories controlled by Castille, Portugal had nowhere to expand besides seawards., by acquiring the Canary IslandsComunidad Autonoma deCanarias ( In Detail) Capitals Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Santa Cruz de Tenerife Area total % of Spain Ranked 13th 7 447 km² 1,5% Population Total (2003) % of Spain Density Ranked 8th 1 843 755 4,4% 247,58/km² Demonym English Spanish from a Norman lord.

The Portuguese capture of Ceuta in 1415

2 Reyes Católicos

The marriage of the Reyes Católicos ( Ferdinand V of Castile and Isabella I of Aragon) created a confederation of reigns, each with their own administrations, but ruled by a common monarch. In 1492, Spain drove out the last Moorish king of Granada. After their victory, they negotiated with Cristopher Columbus, a genovesian sailor attempting to reach Asia by sailing west. Columbus instead inadvertently discovered the Americas, inaugurating an age of Spanish conquest and colonization of the continent. This Castilian Empire was the result of a period of rapid colonial expansion into the New World, as well as the Philippines and colonies in Africa.

After Columbus, the subjugation of the New World was led by a series of warrior-explorers called the Conquistadors (conquistador is Spanish for conqueror.) Native tribes were usually at war with one another and some of them were only too willing to form alliances with the Spanish in order to defeat powerful enemies, such as the Aztecs or Incas

The first Spanish conquest in the Americas was the island of Hispaniola. From there Juan Ponce de León conquered Puerto Rico and Diego Velázquez took Cuba. The first settlement on the mainland was Darién in Panama, settled by Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1512.

The following material (originally from " island hopping" needs to be merged

The Spanish colonization of the Caribbean began when Christopher Columbus “discovered” the New World when he arrived on San Salvador in October of 1492. Queen Isabella of Spain felt obligated to rule over the islands of the pagans as a Christian monarch. Columbus was made an admiral and viceroy of the islands by Queen Isabella, and also he was given a large portion of any profits from ruling the islands.

Columbus soon thereafter started exploring the Caribbean with the help of some Lucayo Indians, and he found island of Cuba. When his flagship the Santa Maria was grounded he set sail to go back to Spain. He eventually returned to Spain, creating much excitement among the royals and soon a much larger expedition led by Columbus set sail for the New World. Seventeen ships, along with 1,500 men and many animals such as horses, sheep, and cattle and plants such as wheat, barley, grapes, and sugarcane landed in Dominica, and passed through a great number of other small Caribbean islands before reaching Hispaniola. He discovered the colony of Navidad deserted, so he founded Isabella and put his brother, Bartholeme, in charge of the colony so that Columbus could explore Jamaica and even more of Cuba. Hispaniola suffered as a colony, and by 1496 the colonists complained about Columbus’ rule when he returned to Spain.

Slavery first got a foothold in the Caribbean when Columbus negotiated peacefully with Francisco Roldan and his group of rebels from Hispaniola. The encomienda agreement allowed settlers to put Indians to work without having to pay them any wages. This illegal practice became the norm for Spanish colonies for centuries to come, being allowed both by Queen Isabella and Charles V who believed that slavery made the colonies profitable.

Upon the settlement of Hispaniola which was successful in the early 1500s, the colonists began searching elsewhere to begin new settlements. Those from the less prosperous Hispaniola were eager to search for new success in a new settlement. Thus began a pattern of ravaging the islands in a similar manner to what had taken place in Hispaniola. The process of island-hopping involved the soldiers rapidly moving through the island and fighting off any rebels, and terrorizing the native islanders. When gold was discovered, thousands of Spaniards flocked to the island, throwing the natives into the encomienda slavery. A few years later no more gold was to be found on the island and all the labor force (slaves) had died, so the colonists moved on to another island to start a new conquest.

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Spanish languageThis article is about the international language known as Spanish. For other languages spoken in Spain see Languages of Spain Spanish is an Iberian Romance language, and the third or fourth most spoken language in the world. It is spoken as a first langua SpanishThe word Spanish can mean: The Spanish language (also known as Castilian) The ethnic Spanish people Spaniards , see also list of Spanish people From or related to Spain. Spanish-American WarThe Spanish-American War took place in 1898, and resulted in the United States of America gaining control over the former colonies of Spain in the Caribbean and Pacific. Background For several centuries Spain's position as a world power had been slipping Spanish InquisitionThe Spanish Inquisition was a version of Inquisition acting in Spain under the control of the Kings of Spain. This Inquisition was the result of the reconquest of Spain on the Muslims and the policy of converting the Jews and the Muslims to Christianity. Spanish Civil WarTeruel, east of Madrid. For an article about the 1820-1823 civil war in Spain, see: Spanish Civil War, 1820-1823 The Spanish Civil War ( 1936 1939) was the result of complex political differences between the Republicans — supporters of the government of t Spanish ArmadaThe Spanish Armada ( Old Spanish: La felicissima armada "most fortunate fleet"; modernly la Armada Invencible "the Invincible Fleet") was a fleet which the Habsburg King Philip II of Spain used as part of an attempt to invade England in 1588. It was the l Spanish colonization of the Americas Spanish hip hop Spanish euro coins Spanish submarine G-7 Spanish Moss Spanish Revolution Spanish Fort, Alabama Spanish Springs, Nevada Spanish Lake, Missouri