The Decline of the Iberian World The decline of Spain had already begun in the mid 16th century Philip lost land and his title to his uncle Ferdinand, but then he acquired a claim to the

kingdom of Portugal “Catholic Monarchy” spanned the entire globe and overseas Portuguese empire Spanish had fantastical plots to invade China, however it was evident that no European

monarch could succeed at such an endeavour Philip put all his wealth into sustaining what he had inherited, but the monarchy was

beginning to unravel Spain was financially and morally bankrupt after war with The Netherlands Without any knowledge of economics, the Spanish operated with a grab-and-run mentality,

as well as an obsession with wealth in precious metals Spanish economy slid into stagnation and lost what had remained of its overseas empire

Empires of Liberty, Empires of Trade Ideological Warfare: In 1521, free cities chose to use the protests of a Augustinian monk named Martin Luther to mount a

resistance to Charles V’s attempt to transform Rome from a federation of independent states into an empire Europe was thrown into a bloody and ferocious civil and ideological battle Treaty of Westphalia: created the Europe of Nations, an “international community” No longer allowed for nations to fight amongst themselves, and by the time the treaty was complete the map of Europe

had been changed Protestant North was split from Catholic South, also divided culturally, politically, and economically New discoveries of exploration made it obvious that domination of the world was out of reach for even the most powerful

nation Many believed that commerce was the only means to end an international conflict, and the association of commerce with

peace and liberty thrived Trade was a way of perceiving was an empire was to another culture and what it could become, a way of construing

relationships, and building new colonial settlements Seven Years War: first prolonged conflict between two European imperial powers that was fought overseas, and as a

result Britain was indisputable the most powerful of the European maritime powers

Slavery All empires in history were slave-owning societies up until the beginning of the nineteenth century Modern slavery was a new beginning and was unlike its midlevel predecessors. Slave markets were formed in

which people were grouped by age, sex, and health and sold to various owners. Hundreds of thousands of slaves were shipped to America to provide the manpower to build new colonies

overseas – a new form of empire building. Population distribution – European demand for slaves transformed a local commercial practice into the greatest

forced migration in human history Slavery was a “punishment” for fighting on the losing side of a war; the price of their salvation was enslavement.

Those purchasing the slaves needed nothing more than the assurance from the traders that all the humans they were buying had been legitimately acquired through war

Increasing protests against slavery made it difficult to find a reason for its existence, but the Christian point of view was so skewed to the point that they believed they were saving the slaves from eternal damnation

Europeans believed it was better for them to be enslaved among civilized beings than free with their own savage people

Finally, by 1870, trade was effectively at an end world wide