History of Spain
In short, there was always a latent internal weakness that was to become acute at every great national crisis. But at the inception of the Catholic Monarchy Castilla had such vitality that, even without the support of Aragón, it was able to extend its supremacy over a large part of Europe. It had two natural directions of expansion: toward the Western Mediterranean and toward the lands of the New World. In both it was to hold a strong position, reinforced by an awareness of its mission - to contain the Turks in the Mediterranean and to spread Christianity across the Atlantic.
Under Charles V, in the early 16th century, Spanish foreign policy underwent a marked shift. Other than Spanish interests came into play. There was talk of an empire with reference to Germanic lands - the Holy Roman Empire - at a time when Castilla was building its own infinitely larger empire across the Atlantic Ocean. As a result of the new policies of the Habsburgs, the powerful old tericos, or infantry regiments, were going to be used far away from their bases. The gold from the Indies was to be squandered in a labyrinth of European religious wars. The conquest of Algiers would take second place to the defense of Vienna; the continued union with the Low Countries would take preference over a greater control of Aragón.
Spain not only exhausted its soldiers but also its economy. After the disaster of the Armada and the debacle of Rocroi, the treasury was ruined, the land depopulated, the cities devastated.
It is not surprising that, having failed in its attempt to hispanize Europe, Spain would be the object of a campaign by Europe to make it more European. This historical task fell to the Bourbons. To reform, to renovate, to reorganize - these became the new slogans. What started as the work of a foreign king and of foreign ministers soon became the enthusiastic labor of Spanish kings such as Fernando VI and Carlos III, supported by Spanish ministers. The country"s primary need was the reconstruction of its social edifice. It was time to re-examine the old structures with a critical spirit. Spain faced the arduous task of reconciling modernism with tradition. This was the period of the enlightened despots, when the destinies of the nation were placed in diligent and intelligent hands, with remarkable results.
Yet everything could be upset if an inept king occupied the Spanish throne. That was exactly what happened with the crowning of Carlos IV, who, in addition to internal problems, had to face the international consequences of the French Revolution and of Napoleon's ambitions. A series of mistakes was to bring on the French invasion of Spain, and the subsequent war of independence. This soon depleted the resources slowly accumulated by good administrators in the 18th century. As a tragic follow-up, incompetent leadership was to bring about the disintegration of the overseas empire.
As the 19th century advanced, Spain was reduced to almost its old territory. The Treaty of Westphalia, in the middle of the 17th century, had ended Spanish supremacy over Europe; early in the 18th century, the Treaty of Utrecht deprived Spain of its possessions in Flanders and Italy; our War of Independence brought the pruning down to the very trunk of the tree. Deep ideological differences between liberal and conservative viewpoints came to the surface under Fernando VII. There was no agreement of hoe to cure the country's ills. Many Spaniards looked back to the old political formulas that had existed during the country's finest hours. Others felt that the most urgent task was to bring Spain up to date in accordance with the liberal systems - both political and economic - adopted by Western European countries.
A grave dilemma arose. The traditionalists seemed to remove themselves from modern reality; the liberals appeared to want to cut Spains roots in the past. These opposing views launched the country in a series of pronunciamientos and civil wars, at a time when the rest of the Western world was prospering under the industrial revolution.
In 1898, the Spanish monarchy, shocked by the loss of Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines, began to stir. Spaniards looked eagerly through every window of knowledge and explored every avenue of literary and artistic creation in a serious effort to join the scientific progress all along the line. The monarchy gave way to a dictatorship and later to a republic. Neither proved to be a durable solution. Spains dilemma of reconciling the past with the present, as a prerequisite for facing the future with confidence, was to remain largely unsolved. Yet, for all these weeds of dissension, the Spaniard knew he carried within himself, ready to flower in the most difficult circumstances, the seed of greatness.