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The Spanish decline was a historical process simultaneous to the purpoted [2] general crisis of the 17th century that swept most of Eurasia, but which was especially serious for Spain. It was so debilitating that Spain went from being the hegemonic power in Europe , with the largest economy on the continent in the mid-1500s, to becoming a ...
Spanish society in the 17th century Habsburg Spain was extremely inegalitarian. The nobility, being wealthier than ordinary people, also had the privilege of being exempt from taxes. Spanish society associated social status with leisure and thus work was undignified for nobles. Even wealthy merchants invested in land, titles, and juros.
The Thirty Years' War, which devastated much of Europe 1618–1648, is one of the events some historians have associated with the alleged General Crisis.. The General Crisis is a term used by some historians to describe an alleged period of widespread regional conflict and instability that occurred from the early 17th century to the early 18th century in Europe, and in more recent ...
The overall effect of mass deportation, plague and emigration reduced peninsular Spain's population from over 8 million in the last years of the 16th century to under 7 million by the mid-17th century, with Castile the most severely affected region (85% of the Kingdom's population were in Castile), as an example, in 1500, the population of ...
The Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España) entered a new era with the death of Charles II, the last Spanish Habsburg monarch, who died childless in 1700. The War of the Spanish Succession was fought between proponents of a Bourbon prince, Philip of Anjou, and the Austrian Habsburg claimant, Archduke Charles.
In 1497, that fineness was reduced to 7 grains (2.43% fine); in 1552, to 5.5 grains (1.909% fine); in 1566, to 4 grains (1.39% fine). By the start of the 17th century, inflation took hold of Spain as the gap between nominal and silver-based prices dramatically shifted. The purely copper coinage had done its damage to Spain.
As the 16th century had worn on, inflation in Spain triggered hardship for the peasantry. it was a result of state debt and, more importantly, the importation of silver and gold from the New World. The average cost of goods quintupled in the 16th century in Spain, led by wool and grain.
Throughout the 17th century, Savoy sought to replace Spain as the dominant power in Northern Italy. Savoy consisted of two main geographic segments; Piedmont, which contained the capital Turin, and the Duchy of Aosta on the Italian side of the Alps, with the Duchy of Savoy and County of Nice in Transalpine France. The latter were almost ...