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The Modern Age began on the Iberian Peninsula during the joint reign of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon (1469-1504/1516) and ended with the Spanish War of Independence (1808-1814). There were two dynasties that ruled throughout that period, the Habsburgs dynasty (1517-1700) and the Bourbons one; the latter since the childless death of Charles II.<br>

The second trip to the Indies had a colonising purpose. They were up to 21 ships and 2,500 pioneers: soldiers, friars, merchants, artisans, supplies, farm animals, etc. Juan de la Cosa, Ponce de León, Father Las Casas were all travelling when Columbus was sailing on his third voyage and widespread explorations of the islands and the coasts were already taking place. Balboa confirms that there is another ocean to the west. It is a new continent, with unknown flora and fauna, unimaginable cultures and fabulous empires, whose mythology predicted the arrival of mysterious gods from the sea.<br>

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[[File:North-Atlantic_Columbus-voyages-and-contemporary-explorations_1492-1504_map_17064_eng.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Map: Columbus voyages and contemporary explorations. 1492-1504. North Atlantic. [//centrodedescargas.cnig.es/CentroDescargas/busquedaRedirigida.do?ruta=PUBLICACION_CNIG_DATOS_VARIOS/aneTematico/North-Atlantic_Columbus-voyages-and-contemporary-explorations_1492-1504_map_17064_eng.pdf PDF]. [//centrodedescargas.cnig.es/CentroDescargas/busquedaRedirigida.do?ruta=PUBLICACION_CNIG_DATOS_VARIOS/aneTematico/North-Atlantic_Columbus-voyages-and-contemporary-explorations_1492-1504_map_17064_eng.zip Data].]]

America was the discovery of an unexpected and prodigious reality, which Spain had to tackle. The original peoples of the new continent also had to face the discovery of a “western culture” (oriental for them) in its Hispanic interpretation. For them it was, equally, an unthinkable and prodigious scenario. Both existences accepted their common challenge with the mindset and the instruments that were available at that time.<br>

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Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer familiar with Southeast Asia, who fell into disgrace (1514) at the Lisbon court, went to Seville and proposed to an assenting Charles I, to start a spice route to the west, in the opossite direction to the ''carreira da India'' of the Portuguese, through Africa and the Indian Ocean. He undertook to find the passage to the ''Southern Sea'' of Balboa, reach the Moluccas and return the same way, always within the Spanish hemisphere of the Teatry of Tordesillas. In 1519, he set sail with 5 ships and 239 crew members, including Juan Sebastián Elcano and the Italian chronicler Antonio Pigafetta, author of the ''Diary'' that chronicled the expedition. Magellan discovered the strait that bears his name, crossed the ocean, to which he gave a new name, and arrived as far north as Cebu, where he died in a skirmish with the natives.<br>

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Charles I of Spain and Holy Roman emperor Charles V, a remote foreigner who knew nothing about Spain, arrived in 1517 surrounded by Flemish lords, with whom he replaced the peninsular nobility in government. This inheritance was, for him, a simple addition to the glory of the Habsburgs. The disappointment of his subjects increased with his claim to the Imperial Crown, after the death of his grandfather Maximilian, and his demand that the cost (donations to the German prince-electors) should come from the ''Cortes de Castilla'' convened in 1519 while he was marching to Germany. He was crown Emperor in 1520, but caused an uprising in the cities of Castile (the ''Comunidades'') and trade union revolts in Valencia and Majorca (the ''Germanías''). The nobility condescended to them, until they saw their anti-lordly character (anti-Moorish in Valencia). The ''comuneros'' Padilla, Bravo and Maldonado were executed in [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Comuneros.jpg Villalar] (1521) and the ''Germanías'' (Llorens in Valencia) suffocated in 1522. From then on, the aristocracy and the people of the Spanish kingdoms became hopelessly enthusiastic about the labyrinth of European imperial politics.<br>

In order to isolate France, the Catholic Monarchs arranged the marriage of their children, Juan and Juana, with two Habsburgs. Although there was an economic interest as well. Spanish merino wool, the main raw material for export had competed advantageously with English wool since the 14^th century with which it disputed the markets of Flanders and the Netherlands, a flourishing domain of the Habsburgs, inherited from the House of Burgundy. The great European textile centres were there: cloths, lace, tapestries, rugs and bedspreads. The fine linens were known throughout Europe as “cloth from Holland”. Nevertheless, while Flanders, in the south of the Netherlands, remained faithful to Spanish wool, the Dutch soon preferred English wool and linen or cotton, imported from overseas.<br>

The herds were owned by the nobility, powerfully organised in the association called the ''Mesta'' (1273-1836). The cattle migrated in winter, grazed on rented meadows in La Mancha and Extremadura, and returned in spring. They moved along their own paths, protected by cane (''cañas'') fences, or by ropes (''cuerdas'') between stakes, named ''cañadas'' (75 m wide), ''cordeles'' (38 m) and ''veredas'' (21 m), with periodic resting places (''descansaderos''). The ranchers paid the ''servicio y montazgo'' as they passed through the “royal ports” that marked the entire Sistema Central: a great fiscal source for the Crown. The fair of Medina del Campo was the financial centre, and export was organised from the Consulate of Burgos. The ''Mesta'', distributed territorially in four districts (''cuadrillas''), was grouped into route networks: Leonese, Segovian, Sorian and from Cuenca, with a meticulous judicial and economic regulation that still keeps a strong presence today.

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With Philip II, Spanish hegemony oscillated between war successes –San Quintín (1557) or [https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batalla_de_Lepanto#/media/Archivo:Plan_of_the_Battle_of_Lepanto.png Lepanto] battles (1571)– and failures, such as that of the Spanish Armada (''Armada Invencible'', 1588), or the resistance to accept his rule in the Netherlands (the “United Provinces” of the north). On the Peninsula, his unitary political conception pushed him to dictate intergrative provisions in clothing, customs and religion for the Moriscos (many lived in Granada and even in Aragon and Valencia). This caused a great uprising, the rebellion of the Alpujarras that, once defeated, led to the dispersion of the Moriscos of Granada. Ten years later, the mythical King Sebastian of Portugal died childless in the battle of Alcazarquivir. Philip II, supported by powerful Lusitanian nobles, was recognised King of Portugal as Philip I. He lived in Lisbon for two years, where he organised a court and planned to make the River Tagus navigable to Toledo. After another ten years (in a secret episode of betrayal, envy and love, with the involvement of the [http://aache.com/princesa-de-eboli/ princess of Éboli] and the king himself), Antonio Pérez, the royal secretary, orders the assassination of Juan de Escobedo, secretary of Don Juan de Austria. Antonio Pérez fled and took refuge under the protection of a foral institution: the Justicia Mayor de Aragón. It was in 1591, when [https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archivo:Justicia_Aragon_Monumento_1.JPG Don Pedro Lanuza], supported by the people of Saragossa, refused to hand him over to the King’s Justice. However, a royal army took Saragossa, Don Pedro was executed and strong cuts of the Aragonese ''fueros'' (privileges) were dictated, which increased the unitary policy.<br>

The brilliant Spanish hegemony was kept on credit. Philip II had to declare bankruptcy three times, despite the high tax pressure in Castile and the constant incomes of precious metals from America and from Spain itself, because the middle years of the 16^th century are known as ''the prodigious decade of Spanish mining''. The Crown owned all of the mines, and between 1550 and 1570, the silver production of the Guadalcanal mine (Seville) surpassed the one of Potosí. There was a formidable development of mining engineering, administration and techniques in Spain and America, and in 1624, the Board of Mines (''Junta de minas'') was created. No amount seemed to suffice; the Genoese (Centurione or Spínola) and German (Fugger or Welser) banks lent money guaranteed by the mines, then by the taxes on wool and, always, by the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIHAeMjmuLM gold] and silver of America. Their agents were controlling income in Seville and Cádiz (trade with America), at the Medina fairs (wool trade), in the Cantabrian export ports and at the consulates of Seville and Bilbao. They were contracted on behalf of the Spanish and were also in charge of the thousands of payments (soldiers, imports, maintenance of the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ode08z4Qjk Spanish road] from Milan to Flanders, etc.). The very high imports always kept a deficit balance of trade, but there were many Spanish industries as well, such as the cloth one in Segovia, the Basque ironworks, cutlery in Albacete, and the Toledo swords. Mining declined in the 17^th century, although in the 18^th century there was an evident recovery, due to copper from Riotinto and mercury from Almadén.<br>

During the 16^th and 17^th centuries, the Spanish Administration was of utmost efficiency, accounting precision, information speed, and support for specifically Spanish sciences, such as the nautical or botanical sciences. Justice had two supreme courts (the ''chancillerías''), royal territorial audiences, and ''corregimientos'' in each city (the ''corregidor'' was the highest municipal and judicial authority) with very important institutions such as the ''veedores'' (overseers for inspection visits) and the ''juicios de residencia'' (very important in the Indies), to which all authorities, including viceroys, had to submit after leaving office. However, some ancient figures survived, such as the ''adelantamientos'' (a military title for “a forward man”), used for a long time in the Indies, not to mention that various sectors had their own jurisdictions (universities, army, professional associations, etc.).

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Philip III, a lover of art, literature and, particularly, hunting left the government in the hands of Royal favourites (''validos''): the Duque de Lerma and then his son, the Duque de Uceda, as Louis XIII would do in France with Cardinal Richelieu. Shortly before his death, his father, Philip II, had sealed the peace of Vervins with France, which he would consolidate by marrying his daughter Anne of Austria to the French king. He signed the peace with England in 1604 and suspended the war in the Netherlands (Twelve Years’ Truce) in 1609. Thus, the ''Pax Hispanica'' reigned throughout Europe. The fight only continued against the Turks, who harassed the Habsburg territories on the Danube and the Spanish coasts through the North African pirates. This was the excuse for the expulsion of the Moriscos in 1609. About three hundred thousand would leave, especially from the ancient kingdoms of Murcia and Valencia, with great damage to the production of orchards and rice fields, which would not be overcome even with the introduction of new crops.<br>

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With Philip IV, el ''Rey Sol'' Spanish power was expected to increase. In the Thirty Years’ War, which began in Germany (1618) between Catholic and Protestant princes, Spanish-Austrian victories followed one another. Denmark, Norway and Sweden were unable to offset the balance until, in 1635, faced with the enormous power of the Habsburgs, France entered the war, supported by the United Provinces (Holland), England and Scotland. The triumphs gave way to defeats (the resounding disaster at [https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocroi,_el_último_tercio#/media/Archivo:Rocroi,_el_último_tercio,_por_Augusto_Ferrer-Dalmau.jpg Rocroi] in 1643 was one of them). Spain is forced to sign the Peace of Westphalia (1648) and the Peace of the Pyrenees (1659) which meant its loss of territories, the recognition of the independence of Holland and the replacement of Spain in the European hegemony by a new great power: France.<br>

From 1621, the Conde-Duque de Olivares was the Royal favourite, who failed in his attempt to involve all the kingdoms of the Crown in fiscal and military policies ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA9QFRQtRBM ''Unión de Armas''], a military and administrative unification project), because the public finances of the kingdom of Castile had more expenses than incomes and it was impossible to obtain more money from it. American mines were exhausted. Military defeats were profuse. Portugal saw its possessions attacked because of the Spanish wars. Moreover, international credit was fleeing, as Spain could not repay the loans. This terrible situation gave rise to ''The 1640 Crisis'', with plots and rebellions in most of the kingdoms. In Catalonia, the abuses of the quartered troops was the excuse for some reapers (''segadors''), in the ''Corpus'' procession (''the Corpus of Blood'') to assassinate the viceroy. The Canon Pau Claris proclaimed the Catalan republic and offered the throne to Louis XIII, whose troops occupied Catalonia committing even more excesses. Barcelona was conquered by the king in 1652 but France stayed in the Catalan north Pyrenees. In Portugal, on December 1 (still a national holiday), the Duque de Bragança João IV, was proclaimed king after assassinating the Secretary of State Vasconcelos and arresting the vicereine. Portugal won resounding victories against all the Spanish armies and finally saw its independence recognised in 1668.<br>

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The [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqB14NYaE0s European reformist spirit] of the 18^th century arrived with Philip V. As a result, for example, the Habsburgs’ hunting palaces were converted into Royal Sites and beautiful Versailles-like palaces with attractive gardens and fountains, were periodically visited by the court with all their paraphernalia.<br>

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The Bourbons introduced a unitary and centralist State, which sought efficiency against the administrative dispersion of the Habsburgs. The Peninsula was divided into 32 provinces, following the French influence, especially in Castile (24 provinces); those of the crown of Aragon, Navarra and the Basque territories were kept as single provinces. In the Central Administration, they took the model of ministries, which they called ''secretarías de despacho''. The ''Decretos de Nueva Planta'' eliminated the regional privileged status (''foralidad'') in the crown of Aragon, although not in Navarra or the Basque provinces, nor for the feudal rights of the bishop of Urgel over Andorra.<br>

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Each one presented its own profile but in all of them, there were noblemen, ecclesiastics, civil servants, soldiers, landowners, intellectuals, liberal professionals such as doctors and journalists, as well as some merchants and artisans. In any case, people with reformist tendencies. The main interest of the societies were education, the economy, charitable work (''montes de piedad'') and the teaching of trades. They also pursued a fair knowledge of their own territory.<br>

In the university field, several reform projects failed such as those of Melchor de Macanaz, Mayans (''Idea of the new teaching methods for Spanish Universities, 1767'') or that of Pablo de Olavide. During the 18^th century, historical universities coexisted with others of less relevance and newly created ones. Among the latter, it is worth mentioning the University of Cervera, founded in 1717 by Philip V to replace the rest of the universities in Catalonia, all of which were suppressed due to their support for the Habsburg pretender to the Spanish throne, against the Bourbons.<br>

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[[Category:History]]

[[es:Edad_Moderna]]