Spain: One Of The Most Powerful Societies During The Atlantic Age

Spain, one of the most intriguing and most powerful societies during the Atlantic age in the late 1400s to the 1500s had many strengths in order to become significant at the time. Spain had three strengths which caused the country to become an unstoppable force, leading to colonization and military expansion. This is a very important matter because Spain had an influence on the way societies should function because of their dominance and how successful they became, leading other civilizations to mimic the actions Spain brought upon the world. Being unified over one religion, Catholicism, was a massive advantage that Spain had over many of its surrounding countries. Outlawing all other religions allowed spain to set up common goals …show more content…
Because Christianity had a large influence among the citizens of spain, the citizens felt it was their duty to protect and grow their religion. Spain had a very successful military that helped conquer some of the Americas. Spain began to become known as the defender of roman catholicism. “They relied on a combination of military superiority, occasional diplomacy, luck — and their greatest ally, disease. “ Because Spain's military had these utilities within their power, they were able to establish a military that would be able to conquer. This strong military would not be stopped and could not be touched by neighboring militaries. For example, ” the Spanish, more convinced than ever of their superiority, forced most of the people of Mexico to convert to Christianity. Priests burned Aztec books and destroyed idols and temples. Indigenous people were enslaved to work in gold mines.” This means that the Spanish had enough assurance in their military to have the ability to wipe out an entire civilization and conquer their land. This helped the spanish realize that their military could be used to conquer and establish more trade. Spain’s strength was invincible. They began to become seen as the most dominant European country. A report from www.historyworld.net says,” It involves numerous incidents and adventures which demonstrate the courage, greed, cruelty and wanton destructiveness of the Spanish conquistadors ('conquerors').” From, “A Spanish soldier’s account of the battle at Cajamarca between the Spanish and Inca”, it can be told that the Spanish were very reckless and used the ir strong military to every advantage they had. “The Indians were so filled with fear that they climbed on top of one another, formed mounds, and suffocated each other.” This shows the hunger that Spain had in order to expand their military and colonize, and because of their strong military