Habsburg Spain

Spanish Monarchy Monarchy of Spain
Monarchia Hispanica Monarchia Hispaniae
1516–1700
Cross of Burgundy Flag Arms of Charles I
1570 map of the Iberian peninsula
Capital		Madrid (1561–1601; 1606–1700) Valladolid (1601–06)
Government		Composite monarchy
Historical era		Early Modern period
•	Accession of Philip I of Castile	26 November 1504
•	Ascension of Charles I	23 January 1516
•	Dutch Revolt	1568–1648
•	Iberian Union	1580–1640
•	Franco-Spanish War	1635–1659
•	Portuguese Restoration War	1640–1668
•	Death of Charles II	1 November 1700
Currency		Spanish real
Preceded by Succeeded by Crown of Castile Crown of Aragon Kingdom of Naples Habsburg Netherlands Bourbon Spain Habsburg Monarchy Minorca Gibraltar Dutch Republic Piedmont-Sardinia Brandenburg-Prussia Portugal Ottoman Empire Knights of Saint John
Today part of		Algeria  Belgium  France  Gibraltar  Italy  Luxembourg  Libya  Malta  Morocco  Netherlands  Portugal  Spain  Tunisia And others

Habsburg Spain refers to the history of Spain over the 16th and 17th centuries (1516–1700), when it was ruled by kings from the House of Habsburg (also associated with its role in the history of Central Europe). The Habsburg rulers (chiefly Charles I and Philip II) reached the zenith of their influence and power. They controlled territory that included the Americas, the East Indies, the Low Countries and territories now in France and Germany in Europe, the Portuguese Empire from 1580 to 1640, and various other territories such as small enclaves like Ceuta and Oran in North Africa. This period of Spanish history has also been referred to as the "Age of Expansion".

Under the Habsburgs, Spain dominated Europe politically and militarily for much of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries but experienced a gradual decline of influence in the second half of the seventeenth century under the later Habsburg kings.

The Habsburg years were also a Spanish Golden Age of cultural efflorescence. Among the most outstanding figures of this period were Teresa of Ávila, Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Miguel de Cervantes, El Greco, Domingo de Soto, Francisco Suárez, Diego Velázquez, and Francisco de Vitoria.