The Golden Age: Politics and Social Order

The Golden age is a term used to refer to certain events that took place in Spain in different periods. This term is used to refer to a period between 1479 and 1516 when Spain was under the rule of the Catholic Church. This extends to periods later than this when the sovereignty of the Catholic Church reduced leading to the leadership of Charles v and his son Phillip ii. The second point of view of the Golden Age is the period that Art and Literature in Spain made a leap that was really positive.

This was manifested by the great works of people like Murillo, Velazquez and Lope Dega. There were therefore the Golden Age in politics and the Golden Age in Arts. The golden age in arts came at a time when there was great turmoil in Spain and served to divert attention from the political problems that Spain was going through since this was at a time that the Kings’ rule was failing. The Golden Age in Arts took longer than that of Politics. (John Armsstrong, 1985) Charles I of Spain was also known as Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire.

He became king in 1516 after pronouncing himself King. He was heir of a vast region of Europe and was very successful at conquering territories. He reigned in territories extending to Spanish America, Austria and Sicily. (David Hilliam,2005). Charles I, had the ambition of reforming the whole of Europe to Catholicism. He went through tough times in his leadership because he led amidst opposition from foreigners and also from the Spaniards themselves.

The foreigners that were a threat to him were the German Protestant Reformists, Ottoman Turks and King Francis I of France.The ottoman Turks were encroaching on his empire while the brawl between him and King Francis emanated from the leadership of Italy. King Charles conquered King Francis I and took over Italy. (Miguel de Unamuno).

The problems were largely caused by the fact that he was not born in Spain but in Netherlands. On his pronouncement as King, Charles I of Spain took a very long time to get to Spain, an incident that sparked negative reactions. Spaniards thought that he would not give attention to Spain due to the many other territories that were under him.According to Robert Wilde, he spent a lot of Spanish money outside the country and drained it of its resources. This was another reason for rebellions and revolts against King Charles since Spaniards contemplated the development of other territories at their expense. He was considered an absent King who was very quick to leave the country and very slow to return.

In the Spaniards eyes, he was a person who did not have their interests at heart. King Charles retired from leadership and divided his territories into portions allocating one to his son Phillip II.He took over leadership in 1556. King Phillip II however did not keep his father’s policy in Europe and outside in the sense that he did everything or wanted to be involved in everything that was going on. Every decision had to be made by him, and though he sought advice from other people, he never followed it. He was in Spain most of the time unlike his father who was constantly on the move traveling all over and being conspicuously absent.

Catholicism for Phillip II was very important in leadership and as David Hilliam puts it, he considered his position as divine in nature.He considered himself as sent by God and that therefore everything he said had to be followed. He used religion to justify his heinous acts of murder and other atrocities by even appointing officials who had a religious affiliation and specifically Catholics. King Phillip wanted to impose Catholicism on the whole of Europe despite the many rebellions and revolts against it. Aragon, Catalonia, Basque and Andalusian Provinces were made independent states. They were given the mandate to collect taxes and use it in their territories (Robert Wilde, 2001).

By the end of 1500 Spain was famished of its resources because rulers like Emperor Charles had used a lot of money from Spain when traveling and waging wars when trying to conquer other territories. Spaniards were heftily taxed so that he could finance his activities. Spain had declined economically because military expenditure was way above what could be produced. Foodstuff was imported as a result of not working in farms due to a directive by King Phillip on Sheep farming. (David Hilliam,2005). During the Golden age in the 1500’s Spaniards enjoyed works of Art, for instance painting, whereby they would paint portraits.

Artists like Velazquez had their skills utilized by the monarch in that he painted the court under the directive of King Phillip IV as well as made portraits of many prominent people of the time. Spaniards in that age are known to have appreciated music. They are said to have invented musical instruments especially stringed like the guitar. Additionally, Spaniards also enjoyed poetry and drama because it was at this age that literature flourished enriching Spain’s culture. Today, Spaniards still enjoy the works of arts, clearly portrayed in the crafts produced like carpets, wall hangings.

They also like entertainment which could be in form of theatre, movies and music shows. Spain is endowed with a rich culture and is usually making every effort to conserve it. King Phillip II had a strong religious character represented by his acknowledgement of God. He viewed it wrong to oppose God.

According to Hilliam, King Phillip considered himself as God sent and as a result did not expect any opposition so that what he decided was final. Leaders in his realm of power had to be Catholics prior to their appointments in the councils. However his use of religion was misconstrued and did not measure up to the expectations of Christianity.