When the historical process of Europe came to15th century, most European countries were involved in a voyage called "geographical discovery". Spain, Portugal, Britain, the Netherlands and other countries hope to open up new maritime trade channels and rebuild trade relations with the East.

Spice was recognized as a "luxury" at that time.

In this "sailing competition", Spain won more bonuses because it started early. It has not only made amazing achievements in the field of navigation, but also established many colonies around the world. These colonies continuously conveyed benefits to Spain and helped Spain win European hegemony in one fell swoop.

However, shortly after the Spanish hegemony, the national strength began to decline at an alarming rate. So what will make this country, which has just won European hegemony, decline in a short time?

Schematic diagram of geographical discovery

Strong national strength gave Spain the confidence to participate in the war in Europe, but weakened it. Spain was not a strong country in the early days, and it was in a state of serious division. It was not until AD 1492 that Spain was unified and had a solid foundation to participate in European politics. At the same time, the geographical discovery movement is also going on simultaneously, which is undoubtedly an important opportunity given by history to Spain to change its destiny.

Early Spain was still divided.

Fortunately, the Spanish seized the opportunity. By vigorously developing the navy and navigation industry, Spain's maritime power has doubled. With the help of a powerful navy and familiarity with various sea areas, Spain has established colonies in many parts of the world. With the passage of time, these colonies, which were used by Spain as raw material suppliers and commodity dumping places, brought countless wealth to Spain, and Spain's national strength also improved simultaneously.

Endless wealth not only changed the life of Spaniards, but also inspired their ambitions. In the days that followed, Spain often intervened in European affairs, and Spain was also involved in many wars. In this regard, Zheng Yi, a lecturer at the School of History and Culture of Jiangxi Normal University of Science and Technology, mentioned in detail in the article "Study on the Reasons for the Decline of Portugal and Spain":

"... (Spain) rulers were ambitious and militaristic, and war occupied a considerable part of Spanish history in the Middle Ages. In 100 in the 6th century, Spain was peaceful for only 25 years, and in 100 in the 7th century, only 2 1 year was peaceful, and the rest of the time was plagued by war. Although Spain has also won some victories in the war, even victory is a great consumption of its national strength ... "

King Philip II ruled Spain effectively from 1556 to 1598.

In my opinion, there is not much problem with the logic of Spain's foreign expansion movement after its national strength has improved. However, the Spanish rulers at this time had a militaristic mentality and rashly participated in various wars regardless of the consequences of the war. Although the victorious country can gain more benefits after the war, Spain also faces the risk of defeat and loss of all benefits.

As the saying goes, when the guns rang, the gold was 12 thousand, and the army's salary, food, weapons and equipment were all built. These expenses can quickly deplete Spain's fiscal reserves. After several wars, the Spanish treasury has also bottomed out. But at this time, the Spaniards did not get the benefits compared with the cost of war, so their national strength would decline rapidly, which also laid the groundwork for the decline of Spain later.

/kloc-Spanish knights in the first half of the 0/5th century.

Britain and Holland challenged Spain and seized many territories of the latter. Shortly after the rise of Spain, Britain and the Netherlands also embarked on the road of rise. At first, Holland was ruled by Spain. However, in 1566, the Dutch revolution broke out, which made the whole northern region out of the control of the Spanish royal family. Then the Dutch actively developed the navigation industry and shipbuilding industry, and constantly narrowed the gap with Spain's maritime strength.

Schematic diagram of Dutch revolution

With the independence of the Netherlands, Spain lost a large area of rich territory. Before that, it had been one of the main sources of imperial finance. When Spain has not recovered from this heavy blow, Britain has also challenged Spain. In this regard, Zhang Zeng, a professor at the School of History of Hebei University, mentioned in the article "On the Relationship between the Decline of the Spanish Empire and the Rise of the British Empire":

"The wanton plunder of the Caribbean coast by British pirates completely angered King Philip II of Spain. 1in July, 588, he sent big noble Medina Szidonia to lead an armada composed of 130 warships and more than 20,000 sailors to Britain. In the English Channel, the Spanish Armada met two most terrible opponents-john howe Jenkins and Francis Drake, and the Armada was completely defeated. Since then, the Spanish empire has been devastated, and Spain's maritime hegemony has gradually been replaced by Britain. "

The Spanish Armada was challenged by the British Royal Navy.

In my opinion, with the shrinking of Spain's global territory, its economy has also changed from high-speed growth to low-speed growth. When planning fiscal expenditure, the rulers have to take into account various problems brought about by fiscal austerity, so many policies and constructions cannot be effectively implemented. In addition, the Armada has always been at a disadvantage in the hegemony with the British navy, and it has been difficult to protect colonies located in other parts of the world. This has formed a vicious circle and had a very serious negative impact on Spain's hegemonic position.

Moreover, because Spanish rulers usually adopt a high-handed policy towards the colonial people, when Britain and Holland seize Spanish colonies overseas, the colonial people usually don't fight for the Spaniards, so it often happens that colonies change hands without resistance, which undoubtedly accelerates the loss of Spanish colonies.

Schematic diagram of Spanish Empire's colonies in the world

Spain neglected the construction of domestic economy and military industry, and its military strength stopped. After Spain established a huge colony all over the world, only through trade and exploitation of colonial people can the Spanish live a rich life. When the people are rich, the national treasury will naturally be enriched. However, the old saying goes: Born in sorrow, died in happiness. When the process of acquiring wealth becomes very simple, it will make Spaniards forget the days of hard struggle.

Spanish port today

After the wealth poured into Spain, the Spanish rulers did not use this wealth for the construction of domestic economy and military industry, but used it in some less important places. It is precisely because of this that the development of capitalism in Spain will be forced to slow down and the economy will naturally stop. In this regard, Zheng Yi, a lecturer at the School of History and Culture of Jiangxi Normal University of Science and Technology, mentioned in detail in the article "Study on the Reasons for the Decline of Portugal and Spain":

"Although Portugal and Spain, the first countries to form a modern nation and centralization, are ahead of other countries in Western Europe, this does not mean that these two countries are advanced economically and institutionally. The feudal kingship of both countries was quite strong, which seriously undermined the further development of capitalism. The king relied on his power to implement a heavy tax policy and lived in luxury and corruption. In order to meet the requirements of himself and the nobles, he encouraged the import of luxury goods and handicrafts, which led to a large outflow of gold and silver and suppressed his industry and commerce.

The Portuguese navy also ruled for a while.

As can be seen from the above materials, not only did Spain have such disadvantages, but Portugal, a maritime power at that time, also encountered the same problem, which was also the reason for Portugal's previous decline. Unfortunately, the Spanish have not learned the lessons of history, which will repeat the mistakes of Portugal.

In my opinion, Spain's finance has been unhealthy or abnormal since it entered the era of navigation. At that time, many European countries saw the achievements made by Portugal and Spain, and they were wholeheartedly reviving their national strength and actively developing. At the same time, the Spanish rulers stopped and even regressed for a time. How can this maintain their hegemony?

In a sense, there is no essential difference between Spain's means of acquiring wealth and economic growth at this time and Rome's means of supplying the state machine by launching wars of foreign conquest and seizing spoils. Therefore, once the expansion is forced to slow down or stop by some factors, the economy will inevitably have serious problems and then spread to other corners of society.