How Successful Were the Spaniards in Responding to the Challenge of Running an Overseas Empire by 1600?

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How successful were the Spaniards in responding to the challenge of running an overseas empire by 1600? In the 16th century, the Spanish Crown, led by Habsburg Spain, ruled a vast Empire, which included the Americas; the East Indies in Asia; the Low Countries; territories now belonging to France and Germany and various other smaller territories. The union with the Portuguese Empire, under the rule of Phillip II, in 1580 saw Spain become a mighty power in terms of exploration and conquering. The 1492 voyage of Columbus to the ‘New World’ resulted in Conquistadores conquering and colonising the Aztec and Inca Empires of South America. This was made effortless with the aid of the introduction of Smallpox which caused devastation across the native population. In comparison to the other European Empires, Spain were able to establish a powerful government over their vast conquered territories with the creation of a powerful network of Viceroyalty, which controlled different regions. Spain was also vital in the development of trade between Europe and the America’s, earning them the title of the richest country in Europe by the end of the 16th century. When compared to other European Empires, Spain were notable the most successful in the colonisation of territories overseas, however, many factors halted their progress, which creates the argument that’s their efforts only had a certain extent of success. The early 1500’s saw the Laws of the Indies introduced in order to help Christianise the indigenous natives, a motivational tactic behind Spain’s fight for colonial expansion. Upon their failure, New Laws were implemented in the mid 1500’s, in order to provide protection to the existing native population, but were met with opposition from both natives and Spanish colonists. This setback was perhaps the most damaging to the Empire’s success, however, the most prominent was
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