Why did Spain lose its power in the eighteenth century?

Answer 1

The Spanish Empire in the Americas had nothing to do with Spain's loss of power; the loss of power came from mismanagement of the Wealth of the Americas in wars.

The Americas were generating a surplus of wealth, over and above what was required for maintenance and what was lost in defending the American territories from foreign enemies and pirates, attacks from Indigenous People, and Cimaronaje (escaped African slaves who made their own villages in the Americas and stole other slaves into freedom). It was specifically this surplus of money (especially gold and silver) which came into Spain and made it the most powerful country in the world, whereas, before 1492, Spain was among the world's most powerful countries, but not first most powerful country.

Rather than using this money to invest in trade, science, and technology, the Spanish government used a significant percentage of this money to fund its involvement in the Wars of Religion in Europe. Spain's loss of power in the 16th and 17th centuries was primarily due to the expenses involved in these wars, especially the Thirty Years War. Also, since Spain was an ally of the Austrian Empire, as both countries being ruled by the Habsburg Dynasty, a portion of Spain's wealth also went to the defense of the Austrian Empire from Ottoman advances. The point when the Americas became impossible to maintain (due to widespread Criollo-led rebellions, e.g. Bolivar and San Martin among others) was in the early 19th century when Spain had already fallen from the apex of power and was far weaker than both France and the United Kingdom.

Answer 2

Spain lost a large part of its power through exhaustion of resources on endless military campaigns and a massive brain drain that inevitably resulted from its religious fanaticism.

Particularly, in the mid-1500s, most of Spanish wealth was derived from gold and silver coming from the Americas. This in turn was used to finance Spain's numerous military campaigns in Europe, such as the suppression (failed) of the United Provinces of the Netherlands in their independence war, the wars with France and Sweden, and Northern Germany in the Thirty Years War (which was a stalemate), and the failed attempt to launch an amphibious invasion of England (which is known in the UK as the defeat of the Spanish Armada).

In terms of the brain-drain, a number of Jewish and Muslim polymaths in Iberia were forced out of the country due to the Spanish Inquisition, leading to the enriching of Spain's Mediterranean rivals, Morocco and the Ottoman Empire. In the Netherlands, many intelligent Protestant Dutch merchants fled from Spanish-Occupied Belgium to the independent Netherlands to freely practice their faith, leading to the Dutch golden age and the end of Flanders' (north Belgium's) economic successes.

Answer 3

Well it iz easy basically when it tried to invade England it suffered a very harsh blow so then the other European countries saw Spain not as a threat nice ?

Answer 4

Many ships carrying gold, silver, and precious stones to Spain were lost.

Answer 5

Because of the loss of the Spanish Armada; defeated by England

Answer 6

After the disastrous defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588.

Answer 7

Spain spent an extraordinary amount of treasure fighting wars it couldn't win. When it was done it had lost both prestige and wealth.

Answer 8

Your a big nerd if you are looking at this get a job get a girl or boy don't be a lazy know it all sack