Spanish Empire:
1. The Spanish claim colonies in the Americas
2.The Spanish take gold and silver from the Americas
3.Gold and silver fund Spain's “golden century"
The earliest event which helped Spain's rise as a major world power was the proclamation of colonies in the Americas. After Columbus accidentally discovered the Americas, Spanish showed interest in the new world. And due to the Inter caetera papal bull of 1493 , the Spanish Empire could solidify its claimed over those lands. After that, the globe was divided into 2 hemispheres between Spain and Portugal.
Then came the moment, when the Spanish started taking gold and silver from the Americas. Exploiting the Americas' silver and gold mines became the Spanish's mainly fund source for a long series of European and North African wars.
And finally because of that fund source, Spanish enjoyed a cultural golden age in between XVI and XVII centuries, which is commonly known as the "golden century".
