How The Spanish Empire Became The World's First Superpower

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The territory of Spain today comprises of 195,365 square miles, being principally made up of land on the Iberian Peninsula, sharing borders with Portugal to the West, France to the North, as well as the small principality of Andorra. Spain also controls the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands in the Atlantic, as well as the two small enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, on the northern shore of Morrocco’s coastline.

However, at the beginning of the 19th century, the total amount of territory to which Spain laid claim to exceeded a staggering 5 million square miles; stretching throughout almost the entirety of the Americas, from California all the way to Argentina and even further afield to the far side of the Pacific Ocean, with the Philippines in Eastern Asia.

Although this marked the peak of Spain’s territorial possessions, many of these lands were brought under Spanish rule in the prior three centuries, in what was one of the most remarkable and rapid rises to power of any nation in history.

This is how Spain became the world’s first superpower.

The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its predecessor states between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it was the first empire to usher the European Age of Discovery and achieve a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa, various islands in Asia and Oceania, as well as territory in other parts of Europe. It was one of the most powerful empires of the early modern period, becoming known as "the empire on which the sun never sets". At its peak in 1810, the Spanish Empire covered over 13 million square kilometres (5 million square miles), making it one of the largest empires in history.