Spain’s rise to political supremacy in Europe surged in 1492. This was the year that the Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella drove out the Moors, who had ruled vast parts of Spain for centuries, and established a unified country. More importantly, the Spanish-backed expedition of Christopher Columbus brought Europeans into contact with the so-called New World: the Americas. By virtue of this discovery, Spain had a giant head start in the plunder that followed; for a century and a half, Spanish aspirations would be financed by South American gold.
The empire exercised authority in Europe, too, over more than just Spain. The intricate spider web of European royal lineages meant that Ferdinand and Isabella’s successor, Charles V, controlled the Low Countries (Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg), Austria, and large parts of Italy and pieces of France. Little could be done, politically or otherwise, without Spain’s approval— at least not without risking great danger. Martin Luther inaugurated the Protestant Rebellion in Germany in 1517, after which Spain became even more important. As the most powerful Catholic country, it was expected to defend the faith worldwide, and its pious emperors— both Charles and his son, Philip II—took this duty very seriously.
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