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I would like to state that my rather virulent views on this subject do not reflect on the current Spanish government of which I rather approve or the modern Catholic Church, which last I checked wasn't out to torture and kill several large European populations. Early Modern Spain was a nasty, vicious place; Modern Spain has gay marriage and modern health care, just saying.

To be honest, I am more interested in the reconquista, as this is the really ugly part of Spain's history, so I am not an expert, but here goes.

As most of you likely remember, Ferdinand I and Isabella I united the kingdoms of Aragon and Castille, and conquered Grenada, the last Muslim holdout in Spain. They also financed Columbus and viciously persecuted Jews and Muslims. They were also rounding up all adult gypsy men they could get their hands on and sentencing them to the galleys. They were busy, busy people what with all the auto de fes and such. A result of their joint rule was a huge expansion of Spanish wealth and power as gold stolen from the new world paid for European adventures. It is because of the convert or die policy for Jews and Muslims, that you get odd pockets of them in South and central America. Some fled to the new world in the hopes of surviving.

Their daughter Juana married into the Bohemian royal house, thus setting the stage for the Spanish claim to the HRE. Their only son married a Hapsburg, which is also crucial for later developments. Two other daughters married Portuguese royalty, and the final daughter was Catherine of Aragon. Yes, that Catherine, wife of Prince Arthur, then Henry VIII, mother of Queen Mary of England. It was through this dynastic maneuvering that the Hapsburg, Charles I of Spain also became Charles V of the HRE. It was his son Phillip II, who was married to Charles cousin, Queen Mary of England, to whom Charles, himself was also engaged at one point. No really. It was Charles who published the Edict of Worms, by the way, carrying on the family tradition of burning at the stake middle class folk who happened not to be Catholic.

This all makes sense in the context of 16th century European power struggles. The Hapsburgs were the most powerful dynasty in Europe at the time and England shifted back and forth between allying with Spain/HRE or France and (even occasionally the Netherlands), depending on who looked more likely to prevent the other from invading at the time. Alot of the actual fighting was done in the Netherlands, as both France and Spain had claims on it, and the people in the Netherlands wanted to be independent and protestant KTHANX. It was in England's best interest to keep France, Spain, and the HRE busy fighting amongst themselves and Tudors were quite happy to spend a century using marriage or promise of marriage to maintain a balance of power.

Spain blew a lot of the money they stole from folks like the Incas on fighting the eighty Years War in the Netherlands and trying to invade England. (Spanish Armada anyone?) This was part of a general plan to conquer as much as Europe as possible, though it likely also was a sincere attempt to murder all English and Dutch protestants in the name of defending Catholicism. The Spanish Inquisition was hand in glove with the Spanish crown, after all, and unlike Medieval Inquisitions, was extremely violent and radical in it's pursuit of heretics. Then there was the Thirty Years War, which mostly took place in Germany and ate up much of the first half of the 17th century. This was more Catholic vs Protestant slaughter, but there was plenty of France vs Spain in there too. It was originally an HRE internal affair, but eventually sucked in most of Europe.

Meanwhile, France was essentially bankrupted by periodic war with Spain and Spain had run through much of it's wealth through war with France, Turkey, Barbary Pirates, England, the Calvinist Dutch, and Calvinist Germans.

Did I mention that 16th-17th century was the great age of pirates? The north Coast of Africa was bristling with Pirate friendly ports happy to raid Mediterranean shipping as were parts of the Carribean. Spain and England were also running privateers against each other and France and anyone else who they happened to be miffed at. Those others privateered right back.

This is a short summary of two hundredish years of spanish history. Do y'all need more?