Spain & the Iberian World
The empire on which the sun never set: silver, the Inquisition, the Armada, and the price of global power.
Articles on Spain & the Iberian World (6)
Silver, Sovereignty, and the Global Economy: The Role of Potosí in Shaping Spanish Imperial Finance, 1550–1700
Potosí’s silver underwrote Spanish imperial finance, fueled global trade, and reshaped early modern...
Governing Dissent: The Spanish Inquisition’s Administrative Structure under Philip II
How Philip II’s Spanish Inquisition became a centralized bureaucracy: the Suprema, its local tribunals and the...
Spain Went Bankrupt in 1557 — Here’s Why the Richest Empire Broke
Philip II’s silver-rich Spain suspended payments in 1557. Why war, timing and distant armies created a...
The 1609 Expulsion of the Moriscos from Valencia: A Turning Point in Spanish Political and Social History
How the 1609 expulsion of the Moriscos from Valencia reshaped Spain's politics, rural economy and regional...
What Was the Iberian Union? Spain and Portugal’s Shared Crown (1580–1640)
The Iberian Union explained: why Spain and Portugal united under one king in 1580, how the shared crown...
The Spanish Armada of 1588: A Turning Point in European Naval Power
About 130 ships sailed from Lisbon in 1588; fire ships off Calais and gunnery at Gravelines broke the...
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