1496
|
Philip
the Handsome marries Joan, daughter of Ferdinand
II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castille.
|
1500
|
Age
of Discovery begins with Portuguese explorations of the Atlantic and
Africa. Spanish conquistadors destroy the Inca and Aztec empires and colonize
Latin America. They explore Florida, the southwestern USA and the Amazon
River, and circumnavigate the world (Magellan's expedition).Pedro
Alvares Cabral, Portuguese explorer,
discovers Brazil. Portuguese colonize Brazil and construct trading posts
and naval bases in Africa, the Middle East, India, East Asia, and the
East Indies.
|
1504
|
Philip
becomes King of Castille.
|
1515
Emperor Charles V at Mühlberg
(Charles' favourite painting)
TIZIANO Vecellio (b. 1490, Pieve di Cadore, d. 1576, Venezia) 1548 Oil on
canvas, 332 x 279 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid
|
Philip's
eldest son, Charles, inherits the Netherlands and becomes King of Castille
and Aragon, head of the House of Austria and Holy Roman Emperor as Charles
V.
|
1533
|
Brazil
is divided into 15 hereditary captaincies or fiefs, distributed to favoured
persons or "donatários".
|
1537
|
Foundation
of Olinda, capital of the Portuguese captaincy in Pernambuco. Its economy
depends heavily on sugar
cane and slave labor.
|
1549
|
Tomé
de Souza becomes the first governor general and Salvador
in Bahia becomes the capital of Brazil for the next 214 years.
|
1555
|
Charles
V abdicates the sovereignty of the Netherlands in favour of his son,
who becomes likewise King of Spain as Philip II. Between 1555 and 1581
Spain dominates the United Provinces.
Philip
II reigns from 1556 to 1598. During this period the Spanish Empire attains
its greatest power and widest geographical extent but also suffers setbacks
in its relations with the Protestant nations of northern Europe.
|
1568
|
The
Netherlands provinces revolt against Philip II under the leadership of
Prince William of Orange but are defeated. Holland
begins trade with the East Indies, India, Guiana, and the West Indies.
|
1580
|
The
Castille dynasty promotes the Union of the Iberic Crowns. Philip II annexes
Portugal in 1580. This gives Philip a new Atlantic seaboard, a fleet to
help protect it, and a second empire that stretches from Africa to Brazil,
and from Calicut to the Moluccas. Portugal remains a province of the Spanish
Empire until 1640. Brazil becomes a Spanish dominium and remains so until
1640. Even after regaining its independence , Portugal's dominance over
the Eastern trade is lost to the English and Dutch in 1600.
|
1596
|
Dutch
independence is recognized by France and England.
|
