Why did Spain Decline? Documentary
video description
First, after the Bourbons got the Spanish Throne in 1700, they began to reform the administration of the Spanish overseas territories, and turned them into colonies, in line with what France and Britain were doing in their turfs. That made the spaniards in America angry and progressively detatched from Madrid, as they were being treated as second rate subjects.
Second, Spain supporting the Independence of the USA did promote in the spanish colonies the expectation to follow suit. It's hard to imagine that the overseas spanish territories would have tought it possible to secede and form their own nations had not there been an example in North America of some former colonies of an european power doing exactly that.
Third, after the Napoleonic Wars, Ferdinand VII was not clever enough to negotiate reforms with the colonies or even with his peninsular subjects, leading to civil war both at home and overseas. That was the last nail in the coffin. Even with peninsular Spain half-occupied by the French during the Napoleonic Wars, most spanish-descent population in the Americas had been willing to remain with Spain after the Spanish Constitution of 1812 gave them equal citzen rights with peninsular spaniards. But Napoleon, having lost the war in Spain, released Ferdinand in late 1813, and Ferdinand was not willing to give any rights to even peninsular spaniards, as he dreamt to rule as an absolutist monarch. Ferdinand abolished the 1812 Constitution in 1814, rebellions in both peninsular Spain and the colonies happened, and by the time he died in 1833 and his daughter had to accept a Constitutional Monarchy, the american territories had jumped ship long ago.
Had Spain not have been plagued by two retarded kings during the Napoleonic Wars (Charles IV and Ferdinand VII, she might have been able to keep a Commonwealth with her american territories and remain as an European Great Power, at least until all European Great Powers ceased to be after the World Wars.
Date: 2022-07-19
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Comments and reviews: 19
Not
Spain also had a colonial strategy of extracting as much wealth from the colonies as possible, where Britain had a policy of developing [most/some? ] of its colonies and not purely extracting from them, which better ensures long term wealth (or colonies that become self sufficient enough to rebel, fight a war of independence, then later ally with you.
Also, Spain's policy for the oceans was we own everything. which again with the video is expensive. After Britain (mother nature) defeated the Spanish Armada, Britain's policy for the oceans was free trade, just don't trade slaves, which is a superior economic strategy.
tl; dr: Spain spent a lot of money to be an empire, Britain made a lot of money being an empire.
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Spain also had a colonial strategy of extracting as much wealth from the colonies as possible, where Britain had a policy of developing [most/some? ] of its colonies and not purely extracting from them, which better ensures long term wealth (or colonies that become self sufficient enough to rebel, fight a war of independence, then later ally with you.
Also, Spain's policy for the oceans was we own everything. which again with the video is expensive. After Britain (mother nature) defeated the Spanish Armada, Britain's policy for the oceans was free trade, just don't trade slaves, which is a superior economic strategy.
tl; dr: Spain spent a lot of money to be an empire, Britain made a lot of money being an empire.
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Marcin
They lost their great power status, but todays Spain beats most countries when it comes to quality of life, and got almost entire continent to speak their language and be culturally similar. All that without former colonies being as butthurt as some ethnicities in USA with their victimhood and toxic racial narratives. This is a great achievement, because such historical ties can be useful in the future, and South America has great potential.
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They lost their great power status, but todays Spain beats most countries when it comes to quality of life, and got almost entire continent to speak their language and be culturally similar. All that without former colonies being as butthurt as some ethnicities in USA with their victimhood and toxic racial narratives. This is a great achievement, because such historical ties can be useful in the future, and South America has great potential.
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Astrolabio
Long history short. Spain decline due to France. First, the Bourbons were really harmful for the empire's roots and organisation, then Napoleonic wars destroy and weakened mortally Spain, and meanwhole Francmasonry from France and England funded and pushed the independence to take Spanish America as economic colonies empoverishing them. Just read how rich they were before 1800s and what happened to them once independent countries.
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Long history short. Spain decline due to France. First, the Bourbons were really harmful for the empire's roots and organisation, then Napoleonic wars destroy and weakened mortally Spain, and meanwhole Francmasonry from France and England funded and pushed the independence to take Spanish America as economic colonies empoverishing them. Just read how rich they were before 1800s and what happened to them once independent countries.
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Gabriel
Thank you for the video, though I think it misses the point: both the greatness and decline of Spain predates the Habsbourg dinasty and can both be dated to the Catholic monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabel. They achieved the nation's unity, the european Empire (in Italy) and the overseas expansion. But they also expelled worthy minorities and created a fearsom institution the Inquisition, that prevented any evolution of society.
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Thank you for the video, though I think it misses the point: both the greatness and decline of Spain predates the Habsbourg dinasty and can both be dated to the Catholic monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabel. They achieved the nation's unity, the european Empire (in Italy) and the overseas expansion. But they also expelled worthy minorities and created a fearsom institution the Inquisition, that prevented any evolution of society.
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Xavi
spain was a catolic tirany and catholic dictatorship. if you wanted to open a business or bank you had to be a good catholic if not burn at the stake. they fought 800 years against the muslims from 710 until expelling them from the peninsula and logically they continued fighting for the strength of their catholic faith witch his imperie
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spain was a catolic tirany and catholic dictatorship. if you wanted to open a business or bank you had to be a good catholic if not burn at the stake. they fought 800 years against the muslims from 710 until expelling them from the peninsula and logically they continued fighting for the strength of their catholic faith witch his imperie
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Metacosmos
Spain has never declined, it was just overrated, Spain has always been a poor country, with a lot of problems of droughts and poverty and tyrannies, most of the population made a living by robbery, and most of the Spaniards suffered a lot of diseases, this is the real Spain along the centuries, even at the Roman period.
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Spain has never declined, it was just overrated, Spain has always been a poor country, with a lot of problems of droughts and poverty and tyrannies, most of the population made a living by robbery, and most of the Spaniards suffered a lot of diseases, this is the real Spain along the centuries, even at the Roman period.
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Alejandro
History lessons are a torture for a spaniard. You have to memorize tons of wars, civil wars, religious wars, changes in leadership, absolutely idiotic decisions from said leadership etc all while watching your country slowly collapse. Our history has been a freefall for the last half millenia.
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History lessons are a torture for a spaniard. You have to memorize tons of wars, civil wars, religious wars, changes in leadership, absolutely idiotic decisions from said leadership etc all while watching your country slowly collapse. Our history has been a freefall for the last half millenia.
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John
It's still amazing to me that after all these losses, a devastating Civil War and a backwards traditionalist dictator in power for a large part of the XXth century, Spain still managed to pull ahead and become one of the most developed countries in the world, with a HDI higher than France's.
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It's still amazing to me that after all these losses, a devastating Civil War and a backwards traditionalist dictator in power for a large part of the XXth century, Spain still managed to pull ahead and become one of the most developed countries in the world, with a HDI higher than France's.
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education
The inquisition stiffled learning ideas from elsewhere as it wouldnt be deemed sufficiently Catholic etc. So for example when advances in ship building took place, the Dutch and British (Protestant) and other less religeuosly strict countries had an advantage when at war etc.
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The inquisition stiffled learning ideas from elsewhere as it wouldnt be deemed sufficiently Catholic etc. So for example when advances in ship building took place, the Dutch and British (Protestant) and other less religeuosly strict countries had an advantage when at war etc.
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Physiocrat
Bad economics ie Mercantilism. They wasted vast resources on shipping gold and silver across the Atlantic. They didn't realise that precious metals are not real wealth. All that happened was that prices increased ie inflation.
The same policy drives the EU.
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Bad economics ie Mercantilism. They wasted vast resources on shipping gold and silver across the Atlantic. They didn't realise that precious metals are not real wealth. All that happened was that prices increased ie inflation.
The same policy drives the EU.
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Imad
you didn't mention Morocco
first of all the rise of Spain were because Morocco beat Portugal and then Spain took most of the Portugal territory
also you didn'd mention when spain invaded the north and the south of Morocco
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you didn't mention Morocco
first of all the rise of Spain were because Morocco beat Portugal and then Spain took most of the Portugal territory
also you didn'd mention when spain invaded the north and the south of Morocco
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Philosoraptor
The defeat of the Spanish Armada caused the rapid decline of Spain both economically and militarily. They went from the premier naval power, to a defeated 3rd rate naval power, in one battle lasting less than 24 hours
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The defeat of the Spanish Armada caused the rapid decline of Spain both economically and militarily. They went from the premier naval power, to a defeated 3rd rate naval power, in one battle lasting less than 24 hours
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education
What about Silver?
Spanish empire used Silver as currency and this material lost its value very quickly vs Gold. This mean the currency they relied on so much became devalued quickly and caused ecomomic havoc.
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What about Silver?
Spanish empire used Silver as currency and this material lost its value very quickly vs Gold. This mean the currency they relied on so much became devalued quickly and caused ecomomic havoc.
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Hubert
2: 18 actually, the island of Sicily was given to Victor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy. He later exchanged it with Austria for Sardinia under treaty of The Hague which concluded the War of the Quadruple Alliance.
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2: 18 actually, the island of Sicily was given to Victor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy. He later exchanged it with Austria for Sardinia under treaty of The Hague which concluded the War of the Quadruple Alliance.
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Hermann
You could argue that they decline started with the rise after 1492 when the reconquista was done. After that the Spaniards eventually forced the Muslims and Jews out and thus caused a massive brain drain.
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You could argue that they decline started with the rise after 1492 when the reconquista was done. After that the Spaniards eventually forced the Muslims and Jews out and thus caused a massive brain drain.
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Ant
Watching this as a foreigner waiting to get his Spanish nationality, I still find the whole thing fantastic and poetic. What a beautiful country, Spain. My god, I will die here, no matter what.
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Watching this as a foreigner waiting to get his Spanish nationality, I still find the whole thing fantastic and poetic. What a beautiful country, Spain. My god, I will die here, no matter what.
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conham
Just a detail, Catalonia, that was a comte belonging to the kingdom of Aragon, was part of an unified Spain since the marriage of the catholic kings years before 1942.
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Just a detail, Catalonia, that was a comte belonging to the kingdom of Aragon, was part of an unified Spain since the marriage of the catholic kings years before 1942.
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Dani
Well you left aside the strong love of the king's of Spain for money and stealing it for their own purpose. That did made Spain weak. (Still does nowadays)
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Well you left aside the strong love of the king's of Spain for money and stealing it for their own purpose. That did made Spain weak. (Still does nowadays)
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Jose
Because the kings were more interested in the territories around Europe than in the peninsulate. The Spaniards have always been failed imperialists.
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Because the kings were more interested in the territories around Europe than in the peninsulate. The Spaniards have always been failed imperialists.
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