Canning House and Instituto Cervantes are pleased to announce a joint history series on 'The Rise and Fall of the Spanish Empire' to take please this autumn. There will be four talks in total, two in the 'rise' and two on the 'fall'.
The first talk is entitled 'The Rise of the Spanish Empire' and will be delivered by Dr Harald Braun from the University of Liverpool. Below are details of the talk:
When Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon agreed terms with the Genoese navigator Cristobal Colón in April 1492, neither party had any clear idea of what the Italian sailor would find the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. Colón – better known to English speakers as Christopher Columbus – had persuaded the monarchs and himself that he would open up a sea passage to the unknown lands and fabled riches of Asia. He and his employers hoped for lucrative trade, with conquest a possibility. Neither expected the kind of empire that would result from Colón’s voyage and the subsequent Iberian colonisation of the Americas. The experience of the Americas challenged and stretched Spanish minds and resources like perhaps nothing ever before. How the Spanish dealt with the reality of the Americas and the experience of global maritime empire left indelible marks on world history, politics and consciousness. This lecture will discuss some of the key aspects of the rise of the Spanish empire.
The price of each ticket is £5 for members and £10 for non-members. There will be a wine reception to follow.