WEBVTT 1 00:00:20.320 --> 00:00:24.239 Hello and Welcome to Western Sieve episode three hundred and 2 00:00:24.280 --> 00:00:30.079 twenty two. The Spanish Juggernaut. Habsburg, Spain and Austria were 3 00:00:30.120 --> 00:00:35.039 distinct kingdoms with disparate royal houses. Certainly they shared a 4 00:00:35.079 --> 00:00:38.600 common ancestry, Charles the Fifth, but their goals and ambitions 5 00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:42.119 were never the same. Still, Spain is going to be 6 00:00:42.159 --> 00:00:45.119 a major player in the Thirty Years War. In fact, 7 00:00:45.399 --> 00:00:48.679 it might be the major player, or at the very 8 00:00:48.759 --> 00:00:53.200 least the most important player outside of Central Europe. The 9 00:00:53.240 --> 00:00:57.200 period between fifteen sixteen and sixteen fifty nine is seen 10 00:00:57.280 --> 00:01:01.920 as Spain's golden age. Thanks to its overseas empire, Spain 11 00:01:01.960 --> 00:01:06.599 could bankroll enormous ambitions on the continent, though as we 12 00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:10.239 saw in the Netherlands, those ambitions were not always wise. 13 00:01:11.120 --> 00:01:14.560 But Spain's involvement was critical because he kept the specter 14 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:18.640 of a World War afloat so long as it remained 15 00:01:18.799 --> 00:01:23.959 intimately involved. But in one important respect, the difficulties between 16 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:27.760 the Habsburgs of Austria and the Habsburgs of Spain were 17 00:01:27.840 --> 00:01:32.480 quite similar. Like their Austrian cousins, the Spanish Habsburgs ruled 18 00:01:32.480 --> 00:01:36.359 a large empire that proved difficult to sustain and manage. 19 00:01:36.439 --> 00:01:39.239 The Empire had recently grown bigger, with the Union of 20 00:01:39.280 --> 00:01:41.959 the Crowns forced on the Portuguese by Philip the Second 21 00:01:41.959 --> 00:01:46.400 in fifteen eighty The young Don Sebastiano had died and 22 00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:49.519 most of the Portuguese nobility had died with him in 23 00:01:49.599 --> 00:01:53.719 the disasters Battle of al Caasari el Kabir in Morocco 24 00:01:53.879 --> 00:01:58.920 in fifteen seventy eight, effectively extinguishing Portuguese ruling house that 25 00:01:58.959 --> 00:02:01.959 had ruled it since the teen eighty five. It was 26 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:05.200 a shotgun marriage forced by an invading Spanish army, but 27 00:02:05.280 --> 00:02:08.479 one which many Portuguese came to appreciate for the access 28 00:02:08.520 --> 00:02:12.639 it gave to Spanish wealth and trading opportunities. Portugal itself 29 00:02:12.840 --> 00:02:15.680 only brought another one point one new million subjects to 30 00:02:15.719 --> 00:02:19.159 the Union, but it had claims in Brazil, Africa and Asia. 31 00:02:19.879 --> 00:02:23.719 These positions, though, were thinly held, with perhaps no more 32 00:02:23.759 --> 00:02:27.479 than thirty thousand Europeans and fifteen thousand slaves in Brazil 33 00:02:27.560 --> 00:02:31.919 by sixteen hundred, facing around two point four million indigenous 34 00:02:31.960 --> 00:02:37.560 inhabitants scattered across the vast but largely unexplored Amazon. A 35 00:02:37.560 --> 00:02:42.039 few thousand Portuguese manned forts in Angola and Mozambique, while 36 00:02:42.080 --> 00:02:45.919 around ten thousand more were posted across India or the 37 00:02:45.960 --> 00:02:48.960 possessions east of the Cape that were governed from Genoa. 38 00:02:49.800 --> 00:02:53.639 Spain itself had around eight point seventy five million inhabitants 39 00:02:53.680 --> 00:02:58.159 in Castile and the associated lands of Catalonia, Aragon, Valencia 40 00:02:58.199 --> 00:03:02.240 and of course the Basque provinces. Contrary to the trend 41 00:03:02.319 --> 00:03:06.479 everywhere else in Europe, Castilian population growth had stopped around 42 00:03:06.479 --> 00:03:10.719 fifteen eighty, the onset of poor harvests, plague, emigration to 43 00:03:10.759 --> 00:03:13.199 the colonies, and above all the burden of war and 44 00:03:13.280 --> 00:03:17.360 taxation all taking their toll. By sixteen thirty one there 45 00:03:17.400 --> 00:03:22.439 were only four million Castilians, and around one million fewer 46 00:03:22.439 --> 00:03:27.680 than forty years earlier. Spain's overseas colonies were likewise affected 47 00:03:27.680 --> 00:03:30.439 by population decline, but in this case it was the 48 00:03:30.479 --> 00:03:34.400 direct consequence of the conquest itself, which brought disease and 49 00:03:34.520 --> 00:03:38.080 overwork for the indigenous population, reducing it from a number 50 00:03:38.120 --> 00:03:42.080 of thirty four million to around one point five by 51 00:03:42.080 --> 00:03:46.240 sixteen twenty. At that point there were around one hundred 52 00:03:46.280 --> 00:03:49.479 and seventy five thousand colonists and a roughly similar number 53 00:03:49.520 --> 00:03:53.800 of African slaves and peoples of mixed descent scattered across Mexico, 54 00:03:54.199 --> 00:03:58.000 the Caribbean, the western and northern coasts of South America, 55 00:03:58.319 --> 00:04:02.039 and around Manila in the Philippines. The statistics helped put 56 00:04:02.080 --> 00:04:05.719 Spain's colonial empire into perspective when compared to its European 57 00:04:05.759 --> 00:04:08.919 dominions that at one point five million subjects in the 58 00:04:08.919 --> 00:04:12.520 southern Netherlands, over a million apiece in Milan, in Sicily 59 00:04:12.800 --> 00:04:16.839 at about three million more in Naples. The importance of 60 00:04:16.920 --> 00:04:21.240 Spain's overseas dominions and colonies were only magnified by the 61 00:04:21.279 --> 00:04:25.519 poor state of its own economy. Apart from the re 62 00:04:25.639 --> 00:04:30.600 export of American silver, Spain's main contributions to European trade 63 00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:35.120 were raw materials and some food stuffs. Growth was inhibited 64 00:04:35.279 --> 00:04:39.800 by the country's system of cartels with monopolies over particular products, 65 00:04:39.800 --> 00:04:42.839 a practice that extended to colonial trade, with the crown's 66 00:04:42.879 --> 00:04:47.319 collaboration with Seville making it the only port accessible to 67 00:04:47.360 --> 00:04:52.480 the Americas. Harvest failure and onerous fiscal burden resulted in 68 00:04:52.519 --> 00:04:56.519 people leaving the land as they migrated to towns or colonies, 69 00:04:56.959 --> 00:05:02.199 weakening the survivor's resistance to aristocratic and clerical encroachments on 70 00:05:02.279 --> 00:05:07.000 their remaining common lands. Private investors and merchants relied on 71 00:05:07.079 --> 00:05:11.160 silver receipts to fund consumption, since the country failed to 72 00:05:11.199 --> 00:05:14.720 feed its own population and had to import much of 73 00:05:14.759 --> 00:05:19.120 its food. The inability to produce useful goods and sufficient 74 00:05:19.199 --> 00:05:24.040 quantities prevented Spaniards from benefiting from growth and colonial trade 75 00:05:24.040 --> 00:05:27.040 that expanded in line with the rising white population in 76 00:05:27.079 --> 00:05:32.199 the Americas. Dutch and other foreign merchants crowded into the market, 77 00:05:32.480 --> 00:05:36.519 obtaining special concessions to use Spain's Atlantic ports around the 78 00:05:36.600 --> 00:05:40.920 year sixteen hundred. By sixteen fifty, as a result, there 79 00:05:40.959 --> 00:05:44.399 were over one hundred and twenty thousand foreigners in Spain, 80 00:05:44.680 --> 00:05:47.879 notably in Seville, where they formed a tenth of the 81 00:05:47.920 --> 00:05:53.600 city's population. Though the colonial economy did finally start to 82 00:05:53.639 --> 00:05:59.160 diversify later on, silver was Spain's predominant interest. The New 83 00:05:59.199 --> 00:06:04.120 World produced fifty thousand tons of silver between fifteen forty 84 00:06:04.160 --> 00:06:09.160 and seventeen hundred, literally doubling the existing stock in Europe. 85 00:06:09.279 --> 00:06:12.680 Exports only really got underway after the discovery of rich 86 00:06:12.759 --> 00:06:16.600 seams at Potassi in Bolivia in fifteen forty five and 87 00:06:16.720 --> 00:06:20.600 Zaktacas in Mexico in fifteen forty eight, and of course 88 00:06:20.639 --> 00:06:23.519 the introduction of German mining techniques which I talked about 89 00:06:23.519 --> 00:06:26.839 a little bit previously in fifteen fifty five, that used 90 00:06:26.879 --> 00:06:31.759 mercury to separate silver from waste. This system relied on 91 00:06:32.040 --> 00:06:35.560 disastrous forced labor. Laborer has died at the rate of 92 00:06:35.639 --> 00:06:39.720 forty a day working six day shifts at an altitude 93 00:06:39.759 --> 00:06:45.639 in Potassi of six thousand meters high. Increasingly, Indian villages 94 00:06:45.680 --> 00:06:49.800 bought exemptions by paying tribute to higher laborers, who constituted 95 00:06:49.839 --> 00:06:53.160 over half the workforce by sixteen hundred, but the system 96 00:06:53.199 --> 00:06:56.439 was still controlled by a corrupt local elite that was 97 00:06:56.480 --> 00:06:59.439 not above murdering a government inspecter with a cup of 98 00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:03.199 poison high chocolates. The silver was carried on the back 99 00:07:03.240 --> 00:07:06.959 of thousands of lamas and mules down the mountains all 100 00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:09.519 the way to the Pacific coast, where the mercury and 101 00:07:09.639 --> 00:07:14.120 food were collected for the return journey. Meanwhile, the presser's 102 00:07:14.199 --> 00:07:17.560 cargo was then shipped north to Panama and carried across 103 00:07:17.600 --> 00:07:21.879 the Isthmus for transport and shipment to Seville. Attempts by 104 00:07:21.879 --> 00:07:25.240 the local viceroy to improve the atrocious conditions in the 105 00:07:25.279 --> 00:07:29.600 mercury mines contributed to a fluctuing production in Potosi in 106 00:07:29.639 --> 00:07:33.360 fifteen ninety one and then a steady decline after fifteen 107 00:07:33.360 --> 00:07:36.240 oh five, from a peak of seven point seven million 108 00:07:36.279 --> 00:07:39.920 pesos in fifteen ninety two to two point ninety five 109 00:07:39.959 --> 00:07:44.160 million by sixteen fifty, but the shortfall was made good 110 00:07:44.240 --> 00:07:48.920 by Zakateacas were output increased from sixteen to fifteen thanks 111 00:07:48.959 --> 00:07:52.800 to much more plentiful labor, but Mexican production depended on 112 00:07:52.839 --> 00:07:56.800 Spanish mercury, leaving it vulnerable if the sea lanes were interrupted. 113 00:07:58.000 --> 00:08:01.399 The lifeline rested on a con voice system, which had 114 00:08:01.399 --> 00:08:05.959 been established in fifteen sixty four. Two fleets sailed back 115 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:10.079 and forth across the Atlantic most years. The galleons left 116 00:08:10.199 --> 00:08:14.759 Seville in August, headed southwest toward the African coast, then 117 00:08:14.839 --> 00:08:17.360 passed the Canaries to pick up the trade winds that 118 00:08:17.439 --> 00:08:21.000 took them due west to the Leeward Islands. From there 119 00:08:21.360 --> 00:08:24.480 they could steer southwest to Cartagenia in modern day Columbia, 120 00:08:25.120 --> 00:08:29.319 or in Panama to Porto Baillo, a journey of more 121 00:08:29.399 --> 00:08:34.480 than almost six thousand miles taking around eight weeks. The 122 00:08:34.559 --> 00:08:38.799 normal escort was a squadron of eight warships crewed by 123 00:08:38.840 --> 00:08:42.519 two thousand sailors and marines, though the large merton En 124 00:08:42.679 --> 00:08:48.159 vessels were also armed. Having collected the silver along with 125 00:08:48.279 --> 00:08:51.799 any other colonial products, the fleet would then winter in 126 00:08:51.919 --> 00:08:57.000 Havana before heading back to Seville. The other fleet, called 127 00:08:57.039 --> 00:09:00.759 the Flota, set out from Cadiz in April or May 128 00:09:00.879 --> 00:09:03.840 with two warships. It followed the same route as the 129 00:09:03.879 --> 00:09:08.679 Leeward Islands before turning northwest to Hispaniola, Cuba, and then 130 00:09:08.799 --> 00:09:12.519 Vera Cruz in Mexico. To deliver the mercury and collect 131 00:09:12.600 --> 00:09:17.799 the Zacateca silver. Both fleets had to return via Colombia 132 00:09:17.919 --> 00:09:21.200 through the Bahama Channel that possessed the most dangerous section 133 00:09:21.279 --> 00:09:24.960 of the entire voyage due to hurricane and reefs. The 134 00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:29.120 galleons sailed twenty nine times during the first half of 135 00:09:29.159 --> 00:09:33.639 the seventeenth century, but only two silver convoys were lost 136 00:09:33.679 --> 00:09:37.120 to enemy action, one in sixteen twenty eight and another 137 00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:41.360 in sixteen fifty six. Spanish trade with the Americas was 138 00:09:41.440 --> 00:09:44.799 worth about ten million ducats a year by sixteen hundred, 139 00:09:45.279 --> 00:09:49.000 roughly twice that of the Portuguese trade with the East Indies. 140 00:09:50.320 --> 00:09:53.600 The Portuguese also used a convoy system to protect their 141 00:09:53.679 --> 00:09:57.679 share of valuable spice trade across the Indian Ocean background Africa. 142 00:09:58.240 --> 00:10:02.000 In addition, they had developed presence at axim Elima on 143 00:10:02.080 --> 00:10:04.840 the Gold Coast, which is modern day Ghana, to secure 144 00:10:04.879 --> 00:10:08.840 gold and slave trades, establishing further forts around the mouth 145 00:10:08.879 --> 00:10:13.399 of the Congo River. By fifteen thirty five, the Portuguese 146 00:10:13.399 --> 00:10:16.559 were well and truly involved in the African slave trade. 147 00:10:16.720 --> 00:10:20.960 By then, already seven hundred thousand enslaved human beings were 148 00:10:21.000 --> 00:10:25.399 being shipped from Africa to Brazil. Slaves cost around eight 149 00:10:25.480 --> 00:10:29.039 hundred pesos about eight months wages for an indigenous worker. 150 00:10:29.960 --> 00:10:32.919 As the local population died from a variety of causes, 151 00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:36.840 the number of slaves imported increased until the fifteen seventies, 152 00:10:37.360 --> 00:10:40.799 when the number rose dramatically in an effort to essentially 153 00:10:41.320 --> 00:10:46.799 replace the evaporating native population. Expansion into the Congo and 154 00:10:46.879 --> 00:10:51.559 Angola allowed Portugal access to more enslaved humans, and by 155 00:10:51.559 --> 00:10:55.279 the sixteen twenties they were sending over four thousand of 156 00:10:55.279 --> 00:11:00.399 them per year across the Atlantic. Then, enslaved African labor 157 00:11:00.639 --> 00:11:04.480 had effectively replaced native Indian workers on the vast sugar 158 00:11:04.519 --> 00:11:08.879 plantations of Brazil. By the time the slave trade was 159 00:11:08.879 --> 00:11:13.559 finally suspended in the eighteen fifties, over three point sixty 160 00:11:13.639 --> 00:11:19.159 five million humans had been forcibly shipped to Brazil. Slaves 161 00:11:19.159 --> 00:11:21.519 were but one cog in the system that was the 162 00:11:21.600 --> 00:11:26.360 international sugar business. By sixteen hundred, business was well and 163 00:11:26.480 --> 00:11:30.399 truly booming. By sixteen twenty eight, a fleet of three 164 00:11:30.480 --> 00:11:34.519 hundred ships was in constant motion transporting sugar from Brazil 165 00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:37.360 to Portugal. And that was just one part of the 166 00:11:37.360 --> 00:11:42.080 sugar trade. Spanish, French, and English colonies were also pumping 167 00:11:42.080 --> 00:11:45.679 out the white gold that a fever pitch. Annual exports 168 00:11:45.879 --> 00:11:49.039 tripled by sixteen to fifty when forty thousand tons of 169 00:11:49.039 --> 00:11:52.840 sugar made its way across the ocean. In Brazil, sugar 170 00:11:52.919 --> 00:11:58.039 accounted for nine tenths of all Brazilian export earnings. Impressive, 171 00:11:58.039 --> 00:12:01.440 though these colonial developments were space in its European dominions 172 00:12:01.720 --> 00:12:05.399 remained the real physical basis of the empire. Despite a 173 00:12:05.480 --> 00:12:10.440 stagnating economy and inefficient administration, Spain managed to send two 174 00:12:10.519 --> 00:12:13.840 hundred and eighteen million ducats to sustain the war in 175 00:12:13.919 --> 00:12:18.639 Flanders between fifteen sixty six and fifteen sixty four, whereas 176 00:12:18.879 --> 00:12:22.320 American silver receipts only totaled one hundred and twenty one 177 00:12:22.399 --> 00:12:27.279 million across the same period. Direct and indirect taxes agreed 178 00:12:27.360 --> 00:12:31.519 with the Castilian Cortes or Parliament produced six point two 179 00:12:31.559 --> 00:12:35.679 million ducats a year around sixteen hundred. The most important 180 00:12:35.720 --> 00:12:39.600 of these that was the Millonis tax, introduced in fifteen ninety, 181 00:12:39.879 --> 00:12:43.639 that raised ninety million ducats between sixteen twenty one and 182 00:12:43.720 --> 00:12:47.600 sixteen thirty nine, or three times the amount arriving from 183 00:12:47.600 --> 00:12:53.559 the Americas across the same period. By contrast, Catalonia, Valencia, 184 00:12:53.600 --> 00:12:57.559 and Aragon paid virtually nothing, since their local assemblies refused 185 00:12:57.559 --> 00:13:01.039 to grant regular taxes to the crown. The Church did 186 00:13:01.080 --> 00:13:04.519 pay three levies known as the Three Graces, worth about 187 00:13:04.519 --> 00:13:08.960 one point six million ducats annually. The Spanish Netherlands provided 188 00:13:08.960 --> 00:13:12.799 three point six million milan around two and Naples twice that, 189 00:13:13.480 --> 00:13:16.320 but most of these sums were consumed by local defense. 190 00:13:17.279 --> 00:13:20.960 By contrast, silver imports provided only two million ducats each 191 00:13:21.080 --> 00:13:22.840 year to the crown at the turn of the century, 192 00:13:23.279 --> 00:13:27.159 since the monarch only received the surplus from the colonial treasuries, 193 00:13:27.519 --> 00:13:30.240 as well as a percentage of the much larger private 194 00:13:30.279 --> 00:13:35.679 shipments that landed in Seville. America's silver's real value was 195 00:13:35.720 --> 00:13:39.679 a source of credit. Landers retained faith in the Crown's 196 00:13:39.720 --> 00:13:43.000 ability to pay its spiraling debts. With these future imports, 197 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:49.159 Creditors were given concaniations or claims on specific revenues or 198 00:13:49.240 --> 00:13:53.639 jurors where local government bonds paid fixed interest. The later 199 00:13:53.799 --> 00:13:56.759 developed into a form of funded debt as they became 200 00:13:56.840 --> 00:13:59.960 traded on the international market through Genoese bankers, who handled 201 00:14:00.440 --> 00:14:06.320 most of Spain's external credit until sixteen seventy. Spain's addiction 202 00:14:06.399 --> 00:14:10.159 to debt was a huge problem. Only a small portion 203 00:14:10.240 --> 00:14:13.519 of annual income could be used on everyday expenses. The 204 00:14:13.639 --> 00:14:16.799 vast majority of the silver imported from the New World 205 00:14:16.840 --> 00:14:19.840 and the proceeds from Spain's other domains all went to 206 00:14:19.879 --> 00:14:24.360 service the monarchy's massive debts, and as we know, Spain 207 00:14:24.559 --> 00:14:28.639 was not consistent in servicing that debt. In fifteen fifty nine, 208 00:14:28.919 --> 00:14:32.440 Philip the Second was forced to declare bankruptcy when debt 209 00:14:32.559 --> 00:14:39.000 debt total exceeded twenty five million ducats. Sounds like a lot, well, 210 00:14:39.039 --> 00:14:41.879 it was, but it was a far cry from the 211 00:14:41.919 --> 00:14:45.679 eighty five million ducats that caused another bankruptcy upon Philip's 212 00:14:45.679 --> 00:14:50.399 death in fifteen ninety eight. Eighty five million ducats was 213 00:14:50.480 --> 00:14:53.279 ten times the royal revenue of Spain at that time. 214 00:14:54.440 --> 00:14:57.759 Don't laugh too hearted, old Philip, though, the United States 215 00:14:57.840 --> 00:15:00.559 brought in four point four trillion in time, taxes and 216 00:15:00.639 --> 00:15:03.360 other income in twenty twenty three, but our debt stands 217 00:15:03.720 --> 00:15:06.919 at thirty five trillion. It's not ten times, but it's 218 00:15:06.919 --> 00:15:11.720 nearly eight. To meet its obligations, the Spanish monarchy started 219 00:15:11.759 --> 00:15:14.159 doing what everybody else was doing in the seventeenth century. 220 00:15:14.799 --> 00:15:18.279 Sold everything that wasn't nailed down. Titles were sold like 221 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:21.519 they were going out of style. One hundred and sixty 222 00:15:21.600 --> 00:15:25.120 nine new lordships were created and sold between sixteen twenty 223 00:15:25.159 --> 00:15:29.399 five and sixteen sixty eight. That doubled the size of 224 00:15:29.399 --> 00:15:35.000 the Spanish aristocracy. Unfortunately, since nobles were tax exempts, all 225 00:15:35.039 --> 00:15:39.159 this did was eliminate another source of ongoing revenue. By 226 00:15:39.200 --> 00:15:42.759 sixteen fifty over ten percent of the population of Castile 227 00:15:42.960 --> 00:15:46.840 did not pay taxes. You can probably see this is 228 00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:49.840 why Spain's Golden Age is going to end in sixteen 229 00:15:49.960 --> 00:15:54.080 fifty nine. All this economic activity was directed towards continuing 230 00:15:54.120 --> 00:15:59.799 Spanish imperialism. Military expenditure rose from seven million ducats in 231 00:15:59.799 --> 00:16:04.000 fifteen seventy four to nine million by the early fifteen nineties. 232 00:16:04.759 --> 00:16:09.039 Between fifteen ninety six and sixteen hundred appeared only four years. 233 00:16:09.279 --> 00:16:12.960 Spain sent three million ducats a year just to sustain 234 00:16:13.200 --> 00:16:16.240 the army in the Netherlands, while the Dutch War consumed 235 00:16:16.279 --> 00:16:20.360 a total of forty million ducats. Between Philip the Second's 236 00:16:20.360 --> 00:16:25.639 death and the sixteen to nine Truce, Spanish forces numbered 237 00:16:25.639 --> 00:16:29.360 around one hundred thousand men worldwide in sixteen hundred, with 238 00:16:29.399 --> 00:16:32.759 sixty thousand in the Army of Flanders, representing the largest 239 00:16:32.759 --> 00:16:36.879 operational army in Europe. Spain also became Europe's leading naval 240 00:16:36.919 --> 00:16:39.480 power during those last two decades of the sixteenth century. 241 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:42.919 They played a major part in the victory of Leponto 242 00:16:43.080 --> 00:16:46.120 over the Ottomans and the Mediterranean in fifteen seventy one, 243 00:16:46.679 --> 00:16:49.519 allowing it to scale down its galley fleet to around 244 00:16:49.559 --> 00:16:54.440 twenty vessels, supported by smaller squadrons operating from Sicily, Naples 245 00:16:54.519 --> 00:16:58.559 and Genoa. Other efforts to increase in Imperial armada in 246 00:16:58.600 --> 00:17:02.440 the Atlantic were less successful, as underlined by the failed 247 00:17:02.559 --> 00:17:07.160 attempted invasion of England in fifteen eighty eight. The new 248 00:17:07.279 --> 00:17:11.519 Millones tax funded fifty six thousand tons of new construction, 249 00:17:12.200 --> 00:17:15.400 most of it along the northern coast between fifteen eighty 250 00:17:15.440 --> 00:17:18.759 eight and sixteen oh nine, creating a fleet of sixty 251 00:17:18.839 --> 00:17:23.359 large warships. By sixteen hundred, this was divided into roughly 252 00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:27.799 three equal squadrons, with that at Lisbon patrolling the Atlantic 253 00:17:27.839 --> 00:17:31.599 to provide additional security for the two critical silver convoys. 254 00:17:32.400 --> 00:17:35.960 A squadron patrolled the Straits securing access to the Mediterranean, 255 00:17:36.400 --> 00:17:38.720 and a third was based along the northern coast for 256 00:17:38.799 --> 00:17:43.279 operations against France and the Protestant Powers. A small Pacific 257 00:17:43.319 --> 00:17:46.960 squadron of six ships was formed in fifteen eighty to 258 00:17:47.039 --> 00:17:51.200 protect the silver shipments between Arica and Panama, but attempts 259 00:17:51.240 --> 00:17:54.559 to form an additional Caribbean squadron were frustrated by the 260 00:17:54.559 --> 00:17:58.720 continual detachment of its ships to assist the Atlantic convoys. 261 00:18:00.039 --> 00:18:04.720 Naval expansion pushed personnel requirements up to twenty seven thousand 262 00:18:05.119 --> 00:18:07.880 by fifteen ninety, at a time when the army also 263 00:18:08.079 --> 00:18:11.079 needed more recruits, and at a time when the Castilian 264 00:18:11.119 --> 00:18:15.920 population had effectively stopped growing. As the supply of volunteers dwindled, 265 00:18:16.160 --> 00:18:19.079 it became harder to rely on the established system of 266 00:18:19.160 --> 00:18:23.680 issuing commissions to officers to recruit units. The state steadily 267 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:27.920 diversified its approach, retaining direct management of the army and 268 00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:32.200 navy but contracting out key aspects of recruitment, logistics, and 269 00:18:32.279 --> 00:18:35.920 weapons phill Up. The second co opted local nobles and 270 00:18:35.960 --> 00:18:39.759 magistrates to recruit men, and tried to revive the defunct 271 00:18:39.799 --> 00:18:42.720 militia to provide a measure of security in the hinterlands 272 00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:47.039 of some of the outlying provinces. Meanwhile, the state monopoly 273 00:18:47.079 --> 00:18:50.839 over weapons production, created in fifteen sixty two, was progressively 274 00:18:50.880 --> 00:18:54.640 dismantled after fifteen ninety eight, placing effectively all works in 275 00:18:54.680 --> 00:18:59.480 private hands by sixteen thirty two. Privatization did not necessarily 276 00:18:59.519 --> 00:19:03.160 mean state weakness. For example, private shipyards could build a 277 00:19:03.240 --> 00:19:06.200 warship for thirty one ducits a ton in the sixteen thirties, 278 00:19:06.680 --> 00:19:10.079 four ducats a ton less than the state run yards, 279 00:19:10.119 --> 00:19:14.240 saving an average of about two thousand ducats per ship. However, 280 00:19:14.519 --> 00:19:18.039 such measures were clearly unplanned and unwanted, forced upon the 281 00:19:18.079 --> 00:19:21.920 monarchy by its inability to just manage the burgeoning debt. 282 00:19:23.079 --> 00:19:26.319 Only five point one million ducts of Spain's revenue in 283 00:19:26.359 --> 00:19:29.160 fifteen ninety eight was directly available for the crown to 284 00:19:29.200 --> 00:19:32.519 spend because the other four point one million was already 285 00:19:32.599 --> 00:19:38.440 mortgaged to creditors or needed to pay interest. Revenue anticipation increased, 286 00:19:38.880 --> 00:19:42.160 reducing the quote unquote free proportion to only one point 287 00:19:42.200 --> 00:19:47.519 six million by sixteen eighteen. Meanwhile, annual expenditure had climbed 288 00:19:47.559 --> 00:19:51.799 to a colossal twelve million ducats, set against a total 289 00:19:51.839 --> 00:19:54.759 revenue that fell from twelve point nine million and filled 290 00:19:54.759 --> 00:19:58.960 the Second's death to ten million by less maybe by 291 00:19:59.160 --> 00:20:03.200 sixteen twenty one. Philip the Third broke the long tradition 292 00:20:03.519 --> 00:20:07.039 of Spanish property by issuing a debased coin the year 293 00:20:07.079 --> 00:20:10.680 after his ascension in fifteen ninety eight. Though he agreed 294 00:20:10.920 --> 00:20:14.319 to stop issuing these copper coins in sixteen oh eight 295 00:20:14.400 --> 00:20:17.799 in return for increased taxes, he resorted to it again 296 00:20:18.119 --> 00:20:22.720 both in sixteen seventeen and sixteen twenty one, driving good 297 00:20:22.759 --> 00:20:28.680 coin from circulation and only driving inflation higher. The crown 298 00:20:29.400 --> 00:20:32.839 lost in the long run on this gamble because Spaniards 299 00:20:33.039 --> 00:20:36.240 paid their taxes in these copper coins, but the soldiers 300 00:20:36.359 --> 00:20:41.440 would only accept silver. By the fifteen nineties, even many 301 00:20:41.519 --> 00:20:45.839 within Spain believed that the kingdom was in decline. Many 302 00:20:46.039 --> 00:20:50.240 argued that states go through natural cycles of rise and decline, 303 00:20:50.440 --> 00:20:55.440 citing examples like Greece and the Roman Empire. In Spain, 304 00:20:55.720 --> 00:20:59.599 they called this sevato the alfundo. The ship is going down. 305 00:21:00.599 --> 00:21:04.119 Where people could not agree though, is what a man 306 00:21:04.240 --> 00:21:08.359 might do about it. Certainly God could reverse the state's 307 00:21:08.400 --> 00:21:11.880 downward trajectory, but man, it was widely believed, could maybe 308 00:21:11.920 --> 00:21:16.000 slow it. Most thinkers at the time focused on the 309 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:20.759 crown and the monarchy's credibility, ignoring larger trends of de 310 00:21:20.880 --> 00:21:25.759 industrialization and agricultural malaise. But while the ship might be 311 00:21:25.799 --> 00:21:31.240 going down, it had not capsized. Many remained optimistic about 312 00:21:31.240 --> 00:21:34.799 Spain's position going into the Thirty Years War, which probably 313 00:21:34.839 --> 00:21:38.839 explains why Spain will get involved so early. There was 314 00:21:38.920 --> 00:21:42.880 reason for optimism, by the way. Compared to France, Spain's 315 00:21:43.000 --> 00:21:48.359 chief European rival, Spain looked unified and relatively strong, and 316 00:21:48.440 --> 00:21:51.920 Spain had built up so much momentum, though the Spanish 317 00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:57.480 juggernauts would ultimately run out of fuel. Not surprisingly, imperial 318 00:21:57.559 --> 00:22:01.599 defense assumed first place in Spanish stratgy. The very extent 319 00:22:01.640 --> 00:22:04.720 of the empire had increased the potential enemies, while the 320 00:22:04.720 --> 00:22:08.559 spread of heresy raised the specter of internal unrest that 321 00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:11.920 manifested itself most clearly in the Dutch revolt after fifteen 322 00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:15.839 sixty six. Defense of the trade monopoly with the Indies 323 00:22:16.200 --> 00:22:19.680 also expanded with the acquisition of Portugal, whose colonies were 324 00:22:19.759 --> 00:22:25.359 lucrative but now also required protection. However, what gave Spain 325 00:22:25.440 --> 00:22:28.720 its mission of defense was a defense of Catholicism that 326 00:22:28.799 --> 00:22:33.200 became essentially fused with national identity. The completion of the 327 00:22:33.240 --> 00:22:36.599 Reconquista in fourteen ninety two saw the defeat of the 328 00:22:36.680 --> 00:22:40.200 last Moorish kingdom in Iberia and earned the monarch the 329 00:22:40.200 --> 00:22:45.079 title of his Most Catholic Majesty from the papacy overseas. 330 00:22:45.079 --> 00:22:49.200 Conquest added a new missionary role, as Spaniards saw themselves 331 00:22:49.359 --> 00:22:53.440 as civilizing this new world. Defense of the Mediterranean against 332 00:22:53.440 --> 00:22:58.000 the Ottomans maintained the ideal of crusade that broadened with 333 00:22:58.079 --> 00:23:02.799 the fight against heresy throughout Europe. The Catholic mission extended 334 00:23:02.799 --> 00:23:06.400 to the incorporation of Rome itself into Spain's i'd say, 335 00:23:06.559 --> 00:23:10.720 informal empire or I guess sphere of influence, extending beyond 336 00:23:10.759 --> 00:23:14.279 its formal possessions. This began, of course, with the ascension 337 00:23:14.279 --> 00:23:16.759 of the boorge of Pope Alexander the sixth and fourteen 338 00:23:16.839 --> 00:23:20.400 ninety two, who divided the New World between Spain and 339 00:23:20.440 --> 00:23:24.519 Portugal by the Treaty of Tortosius, the line being slanted 340 00:23:24.559 --> 00:23:29.240 decidedly in Spain's favor. It evolved into a symbiotic relationship, 341 00:23:29.559 --> 00:23:33.319 whereby the monarchy and the papacy each drew benefit from 342 00:23:33.359 --> 00:23:36.960 each other, but Spain remained the dominant partner. In an 343 00:23:36.960 --> 00:23:41.920 age where monarchs were renouncing Rome, Spain remained respectful. Papal 344 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:45.440 feudal jurisdiction over Naples was formally acknowledged by the payment 345 00:23:45.480 --> 00:23:49.039 of an annual tribute of seven thousand ducats, but as 346 00:23:49.079 --> 00:23:51.920 I mentioned, this was symbiotic. While money flowed from Spain 347 00:23:51.960 --> 00:23:55.359 to Rome, even more went directly into Spanish treasury thanks 348 00:23:55.519 --> 00:23:59.920 to papal sanction. The three Graces and other ecclesiastical levies 349 00:24:00.200 --> 00:24:03.319 were worth a combined three point six million ducats a 350 00:24:03.400 --> 00:24:06.640 year to the Spanish monarchy by sixteen twenty one, accounting 351 00:24:06.880 --> 00:24:11.400 for a third of total ordinary revenue. The close ties 352 00:24:11.440 --> 00:24:15.839 to the Universal Church reinforced Spain's imperial mission. Though Charles 353 00:24:15.839 --> 00:24:19.200 the Fifth's imperial title passed his brother, not his son, Philip. 354 00:24:19.559 --> 00:24:23.519 His legacy enhanced Spain's own sense of empire, and Spanish 355 00:24:23.599 --> 00:24:27.359 warships and troops continued to carry flags with the Imperial 356 00:24:27.400 --> 00:24:32.000 black double eagle well into the seventeenth century. So while 357 00:24:32.039 --> 00:24:35.160 there were issues, it's unclear as to whether or not 358 00:24:35.559 --> 00:24:39.200 the Spanish really understood them. And crucially, if the Spanish 359 00:24:39.200 --> 00:24:44.519 didn't understand the kingdom's long term economic problems, neither did 360 00:24:44.759 --> 00:24:49.960 the French or the English. Other Europeans believed that Spain's 361 00:24:50.119 --> 00:24:55.720 vast American colonies would give it unlimited resources to fight indefinitely. 362 00:24:56.839 --> 00:24:59.599 They might have been right had only the Spanish correctly 363 00:24:59.720 --> 00:25:04.759 used those resources, but Spain was more realistic. Spain had 364 00:25:04.799 --> 00:25:08.920 no desire to intervene anywhere and everywhere. We saw how 365 00:25:08.960 --> 00:25:11.720 Philip the second went back and forth for a significant 366 00:25:11.759 --> 00:25:15.400 period of time before attempting twice to intervene in England's affairs. 367 00:25:16.200 --> 00:25:19.200 Philip had spent several years in Germany in the late 368 00:25:19.240 --> 00:25:24.160 fifteen forties. He knew Many German princes sure Catholicism gave 369 00:25:24.400 --> 00:25:28.359 the Spanish Habsburgs some kind of unifying impetus, but they 370 00:25:28.440 --> 00:25:31.359 were more than willing to work with the Lutheran princes 371 00:25:31.640 --> 00:25:35.799 Spanish influence declined when the Imperial court moved from Prague 372 00:25:35.799 --> 00:25:40.119 to Vienna in sixteen twelve, though to be fair, in 373 00:25:40.200 --> 00:25:43.400 part the decline of Spanish influence was due to Philip 374 00:25:43.440 --> 00:25:48.039 the Second's faith in the emperor to protect the Catholic faith. Similarly, 375 00:25:48.400 --> 00:25:52.680 Austrian influence was declining in Spain, and the situation grew 376 00:25:52.880 --> 00:25:56.240 only more poignant under Philip the Third. Unlike his father, 377 00:25:56.480 --> 00:25:59.400 Philip the Third had no personal experience of the empire, 378 00:25:59.599 --> 00:26:03.240 and it is assumed even less significance in his political calculations. 379 00:26:03.480 --> 00:26:07.000 The new monarch had been described as quote the laziest 380 00:26:07.079 --> 00:26:10.799 ruler Spain has had end quote, echoing Philip the Second's 381 00:26:10.839 --> 00:26:14.000 own assessment that quote, God, who has given me so 382 00:26:14.079 --> 00:26:17.200 many kingdoms, has denied me a son capable of ruling 383 00:26:17.200 --> 00:26:21.200 them end quote. After an initial brief interest, he is 384 00:26:21.200 --> 00:26:23.319 widely supposed to have left government in the hands of 385 00:26:23.359 --> 00:26:26.599 his favorite, the Count and later Duke of Lerma, and 386 00:26:26.680 --> 00:26:31.119 retired to a private world of self gratification. As a result, 387 00:26:31.119 --> 00:26:34.799 according to one historian, quote nobody ruled in Madrid. A 388 00:26:34.799 --> 00:26:39.799 world empire was run on automatic pilot. Quote. Such criticism 389 00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:43.720 is a little unjust as It creates this false division 390 00:26:43.960 --> 00:26:48.319 between a supposedly dynamic Spain under Philip the Second and 391 00:26:48.359 --> 00:26:52.680 a declined Spain under his son. Philip the Third, attended 392 00:26:52.920 --> 00:26:56.000 Council of State daily from the age fifteen and was 393 00:26:56.039 --> 00:26:59.440 already signing documents for his increasingly frail father by fifteen 394 00:26:59.519 --> 00:27:04.000 ninety seven. He inherited his father's exalted sense of majesty 395 00:27:04.319 --> 00:27:08.079 and retained the final decision on all important matters. The 396 00:27:08.119 --> 00:27:11.160 real difference lay in the more realistic attempt to put 397 00:27:11.200 --> 00:27:14.960 this form of absolutism into practice. The king concentrated on 398 00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:20.440 his symbolic representation of power through intensifying his father's already remote, inaccessible, 399 00:27:20.880 --> 00:27:26.039 lofty majesty by physically removing the monarch from government. Practical 400 00:27:26.119 --> 00:27:29.680 business was devolved to the Duke of Lerma, who now 401 00:27:29.759 --> 00:27:46.440