So all I know about Spain from my public high school education is
>Spanish Armada literally running the world
>Huge conquests in South America
>At some point eclipsed by France and England
>*crickets*
>Get the SHIT slapped out of them in the Spanish American war
>*crickets*
>Something about fascists and communists
>*crickets*
What happened to their global power? How did they go from "ruling the world" to being the punching bag of the new upstart country on the world stage?
Riego.That's basically it.Some day a daddy's boy that got in the royal guard and became a military through sheer bribings decided to become a fedora tipper and when he was sent to defeat San Martin with an army bigger than that of San Martin and Bolivar combined he decided to make a coup,not send any troops,tell Mexico to fuck off,create a huge economic crisis and a foreign invasion in the spam of 3 years.Any other explanation is an overthought meme really.A retard chimp out too hard.That's basically it.I hope I helped you
The superior Turkish bull overtook them
One of the earliest cases of Dutch disease*. So much gold and silver entered the Spanish economy from their conquests in Bolivia and Peru, that their currency was ridiculously strong, preventing any sort of industry from developing.
Since they could live off their gold, importing everything from abroad, there was no need to reform, so they stagnated as the UK industrialized and turned into a Constitutional Monarchy, and France reformed itself (much more painfully) into a Republic.
Meanwhile Spain did nothing but live off its wealth.
When the gold ran out, they found themselves with little to show for it, with few industries, liberals and absolutists at each others' throats, and later communists and fascists as well fucking shit up.
* You can see this happening today in some resource-rich economies like Venezuela
Spain was in decline since its inception
Seemingly always in debt, unable to stop the French encroaching on their domains in the Low Countries, unable to defeat the Dutch Independence movement, dragged into continental wars which only further places them in debt, using their colonies as an ineffective piggy bank.
Crown a Bourbon not long before the French Revolution, get Napoleon’d hard, liberals fight Napoleon and establish a liberal constitution, which many in the colonies didn’t like, couple that with the French occupation and they declare independence. King restored and starts civil war against the liberals who fought for him and is unable to defeat the independence movements.
Spain suddenly found itself a great power but was constantly declining, as if they were trying to become irrelevant.
This nigga knows.
They stayed medieval while everyone else did enlightenment shit.
I told you.Overthought memes.Everyones has its own.In reality everything is as simple as Just ignore this clueless clowns
>which many in the colonies didn’t like
This is wrong. Most of the colonies were more liberal (in the 19th century sense) than the Junta of Cadiz.
Many factors triggered South American independence but the three main ones could be summed up as:
1. Dissatisfaction by Spanish-descended colonials with the policy of appointing only Peninsulares fresh off the boat from Spain to colonial positions. Often the Viceroys had no idea of the conditions in the places where they were appointed, and had poor relations with the local businessmen and political actors. In contrast the British even before self-rule were smart enough to trust locally-born Britons with government positions.
2. The Spanish monopoly, which greatly hampered trade across all of South America at the expense of making a few merchants with official licenses extremely rich. This policy was so terrible that in some cities like Buenos Aires the Viceroy had to overlook smuggling (up to 60% of the city's trade) because otherwise the city couldn't sustain itself.
3. Strong British support to South American revolutionaries which belonged to British Masonic lodges and even implemented a British military plan to free South America (Maitland Plan). Spain and Britain were mortal enemies and the British never squandered a chance to undermine them.
Spain was shit long before the independence movements
An ill-equipped, badly trained, hungry and diseased army wouldn’t have made a difference
At least in my country the colonial government fully supported the independence after the whole constitution thing
Which country is that?
Maybe what I said did not apply everywhere, at least in the Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata it was like this:
Mexico
Colonial government fully backed independence after that and the colonial army joined up with the insurgents
Pic related is both generals joining up
Interesting, I will read on it.
Any books you can recommend?
cute boy
>Spain was shit long before the independence movements
It had an army bigger than Prussia's,the biggest population of any country outside of China,the biggest landmass in the planet and the third biggest navy in the entire planet.If the monopoly was kept through the XIX and the inevitable waves of inmigrants for Europe settled Spanish North America we would be speaking Spanish right now.Really you are pretty dumb if you think otherwise
Yet they were unable to curtail French domination over the continent, failed in the Low Countries, were unable to mantain their control over Portugal, lost maritime dominance pretty early on, never industrialized.
Lucas Alamán wrote a long history of Mexico “Historia de Mexico”, he was alive back then and was super conservative and reactionary, but one of the most important politicians of Independent Mexico until his death.
There’s also Fray Servando Teresa de Mier “Historia de la revolución de Nueva España”, he was a liberal priest
On more recent books, I don’t have any recommendations
The French peaked when the plague,the catalan revolt,the portuguese revolt and the Andalusian revolt.Spain was coming back in the XVIII and a big chunck of Brittish foreign policy consisted on sabotaging Spain.You are so dumb that you are mistaken the XVI,XVII and XVIII century.Lmao another fedora tipper from this shithole of a board
Thank you, I will look for those books.
Yes he is
British foreign policy has always been to sabotage anyone.
They might have had some Bourbon reforms but they were nowhere near France’s level during the XVIII
They tried to take over a Portugal still suffering the effects of the earthquake and were unable to.
Our criollos and elite were different, they wanted out with the Cadiz constitution and an absolute monarchy headed by a Spanish infante
>They might have had some Bourbon reforms but they were nowhere near France’s level during the XVIII
No one was but Spain had a promising future.Fast industrialization due manufacturing monopoly with arguably the biggest western market in the planet,growing fleet,population boom and a really high financial surplux.You remove Riego and Spain could have surprassed Britain in less than 30 years when all the catholic inmigrants left for America and the manufacture policy finally paid off.
>Spain
>Industrialization
[Citation needed] you massive Spainboo
>>Spain
>>Industrialization
The Bourbons spent a whole chunck of the XVIII century opening factories all over Spain.The monopoly was forced for a reason.Bourbons were trying to increase the weight of manufacturing.In fact as Cuba was the only colony that Spain didn't lose the royal Catalan cottom company led to the industrialization of these region.
Some of these factories are still open btw.
The king sent soldiers to retake Mexico, all of their attempts failed against an arguably divided Mexico.
Mexican politicians even considered taking over Cuba or starting uprisings there to protect the coast but the USA wanted Cuba and were having none of that
I still see no citation.
Spain was losing the industrialization race against free trader UK.
By a HUGE margin.
>The king sent soldiers to retake Mexico, all of their attempts failed against an arguably divided Mexico.
Yeah Ferdinand sent a crappy division after the Spanish army was divided and decimated after Riego's chimp out.The loyalist were actually winning in Mexico until Riego told them to fuck off and then they joined forces.Again Riego's force was bigger than San Martin's and Bolivar's armies combined.If he landed in Buenos Aires as it was planned it was game over
>Spain was losing the industrialization race against free trader UK.
The UK had more manufacturing than Spain in the XVII century due inflation mostly.Just search for reales fabricas.It was an expanding project that relied on the trade with america for the most part
All what you say was complety incorrect.
And even with that, all empires fall, the roman, the british and the german. And the American dominion is already in its decline.
Typical idiot of Veeky Forums
How is it incorrect, provide evidence and proper arguments
The french never dominate the continent. The Spaniards did not "fail in the Netherlands". England and France helped Portugal during their war, and yet Spain lost control for mere wear and tear because they kept their footing in Portugal for 28 years. The country could not be industrialized because it was very busy in civil wars for decades. And his naval power was not short.
Spain losing to France and the Netherlands is the same stupidity as Spain losing to Portugal. Spain managed to quell the revolt at first, but ended up losing by attrition. That's why the country became indebted to infinity.
And even with all that, Spain is morally better than the rest of the countries, like France, who even being Catholic attacked Spain for political expediency. Resulting in the victory of the Reformation and the heatens.
>The french never dominate the continent
they did during Louis XIV. You're right on all accounts and Spain basically fought the shit out of everyone during the Thirty Years War and won until manpower and the wear of war weathered them down
Spain basically played the role of Germany before it existed.
>running the world
Lol sudaca education