Editing Early modern Europe (section)

=== Spain ===
{{Further|History of Spain|Early Modern period|Crown of Castile|Crown of Aragon|Age of Discovery}}

In 1492 the [[Catholic Monarchs]] of [[Crown of Castile|Castile]] and [[Crown of Aragon|Aragon]] funded [[Christopher Columbus]]'s plan to sail west to reach the [[Indies]] by crossing the Atlantic. He landed on a continent uncharted by Europeans and seen as a [[new world]], the Americas. To prevent conflict between Portugal and Castile (the crown under which Columbus made the voyage), the [[Treaty of Tordesillas]] was signed dividing the world into two regions of exploration, where each had exclusive rights to claim newly discovered lands.<ref>Edward Gaylord Bourne, ''The History and Determination of the Line of Demarcation Established by Pope Alexander VI Between the Spanish and Portuguese Fields of Discovery and Colonization'' (1892) online in Gutenberg.org.</ref>

The structure of the Spanish Empire was established under the [[Habsburg Spain|Spanish Habsburgs]] (1516–1700) and under the [[House of Bourbon|Spanish Bourbon]] monarchs, the empire was brought under greater crown control and increased its revenues from the Indies.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=heEdZziizrUC&pg=PA35|title=The Rise of Merchant Empires: Long-Distance Trade in the Early Modern World, 1350–1750|last=Tracy|first=James D.|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1993|isbn=978-0-521-45735-4|page=35}}</ref><ref>Lynch, John. ''Bourbon Spain, 1700–1808''. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers 1989, p. 21.</ref> The crown's authority in The Indies was enlarged by the papal grant of [[Patronato Real|powers of patronage]], giving it power in the religious sphere.<ref>Schwaller, John F., "Patronato Real" in ''Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture'' vol. 4, pp. 323–24.</ref><ref>Mecham, J. Lloyd, ''Church and State in Latin America: A History of Politico-Ecclesiastical Relations'', revised edition. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press 1966, pp. 4–6.</ref><ref>[[Clarence Haring|Haring, Clarence]], ''The Spanish Empire in America''. New York: Oxford University Press 1947, pp. 181–82.</ref>

Under [[Philip II of Spain]], Spain, rather than the Habsburg empire, was identified as a more powerful nation than France and England globally. Furthermore, despite attacks from other European states, Spain retained its position of dominance with apparent ease. Spain controlled the Netherlands until the [[Dutch revolt]], and important states in southern Italy. The Spanish claims to Naples and Sicily dated back to the 15th century, but had been marred by rival claims until the mid-16th century and the rule of Philip II. There would be no Italian revolts against Spanish rule until 1647. The death of the Ottoman emperor [[Suleiman the Magnificent]] in 1566 and the naval victory over the [[Ottoman Empire]] at the [[Battle of Lepanto]] in 1571 cemented the status of Spain as a superpower in Europe and the world. The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies of the Spanish Monarch in the Americas, Asia ([[Spanish Philippines]]), Europe and some territories in Africa and Oceania.