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Spain and the ‘New World’, c1490–c1555

Impact of the 'New World' on Spain

  • 3 things to know
  • Paper 2 booklet P

Overview

The royal fifth, treasure convoys, Charles V's wars, bankers' claims, rising prices, licences for the slave trade, new foods, tobacco and cochineal, the House of Trade, the Council of the Indies and distance.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Key term

What did the 'New World' bring to Spain in prices, new foods and trade goods?

Who and when

What did the flood of American bullion do to prices in Spain?

Key term

How could Spain take part in the trade in enslaved Africans when she held no bases in Africa?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What did the crown take from every cargo of American bullion?

    Model answer

    The royal fifth: one part in five of all the gold and silver, claimed for the king before any of it was shared out.

  2. 2

    How was American treasure carried safely to Spain?

    Model answer

    It was gathered at Caribbean ports and sailed home in guarded convoys, because single ships were easy prey for pirates and enemy warships.

  3. 3

    What did Charles V spend American silver on?

    Model answer

    His wars: against France for control of Italy, against the Ottoman Turks in the Mediterranean, and against the Protestant princes of Germany.

  4. 4

    Why did so much of the treasure not stay in Spain?

    Model answer

    Much of it was pledged in advance to the German and Genoese bankers who lent the crown money, so it left the country almost as soon as it was landed.

  5. 5

    What did the flood of bullion do to prices in Spain?

    Model answer

    Far more coin chased much the same quantity of goods, so prices climbed steeply and ordinary Spaniards found food and rent dearer.

  6. 6

    How could Spain take part in the trade in enslaved Africans when she held no bases in Africa?

    Model answer

    The crown sold licences allowing merchants, mostly Portuguese, to ship a set number of enslaved people to the colonies, and charged a fee on every one.

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