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}} The Spanish Empire ((スペイン語:Imperio Español)) was one of the largest empires in world history and the first of global extent. It reached the peak of its military, political and economic power under the Spanish Habsburgs through the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, and its greatest territorial extent under the Bourbons in the 18th century when it was the largest empire in the world. The Spanish Empire became the foremost global power of its time, and was the first to be called ''the empire on which the sun never sets''. The empire, administered from Madrid by the Spanish Crown, comprised territories and colonies in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration after the voyages of Christopher Columbus and lasted until the late 19th century. Spain's territorial reach beyond Europe included the Greater Antilles, half of South America, most of Central America and much of North America (including present day Mexico, Florida and the Southwestern and Pacific Coastal regions of the United States), as well as a number of Pacific Ocean archipelagos including the Philippines. The bulk of Spain's Empire was held for over three centuries, starting in 1492 with the Spanish colonization of the Americas and lasting until the early 19th century Spanish American wars of independence that left only Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines as Spanish. Following the Spanish–American War of 1898, Spain ceded its last colonies in the Caribbean and the Pacific to the United States. Its last African colonies were granted independence in 1975. In conjunction with the territories of the Portuguese Empire, which Spain controlled from 1580 to 1640, the Spanish Empire started the European dominance in global affairs. The Spanish Empire has left a huge cultural, urban and architectural legacy in the Western Hemisphere. Hundreds of towns and cities in the Americas were founded during the Spanish period. The tangible heritage includes forts, churches, schools, hospitals, government buildings and colonial residences, many of which still stand today. Many present-day roads, canals, ports or bridges sit where Spanish engineers built them centuries ago. The oldest universities in the Americas were founded by Spanish scholars and Catholic missionaries. The Spanish Empire also left a vast cultural and linguistic legacy. With over 470 million native speakers today, Spanish is the second most spoken native language in the world, as result of the introduction of the language of Castile—Castilian, "''Castellano''" —from Iberia to Spanish America, later expanded by the governments of the independent republics. Other cultural legacies of the Spanish empire overseas was Roman Catholicism, which remains today the main religion in Spanish America. The cultural legacy is also present in the music, architecture, cuisine and fashion of much of Spanish America. The land of the Iberian peninsula was commonly called Hispania since Roman times and during the Visigothic Kingdom. The Reconquista resulted in the emergence of four Christian realms: Castile, Aragon, Navarre and Portugal. The dynastic union between the Crown of Castile (which included the kingdom of Navarre after 1515) and the Crown of Aragon, by the Catholic Monarchs ((スペイン語:Reyes Católicos)) initiated a political authoritarian system in force until the beginning of the 18th century, which has become known as the Spanish monarchy. During this period, the Spanish sovereign acted as monarch in a unitary manner over all his territories through a polisynodial system of Councils, although his power as king or lord varied from one territory to another, since each territory retained its own particular administration and juridical configuration. The unity did not mean uniformity. Since the Crown of Castile had funded the voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492, the empire in the Americas (what was often termed "The Indies"), was a newly established dependency of that kingdom alone, so crown power was not impeded by any existing cortes (i.e. parliament), administrative or ecclesiastical institution, or seigneurial group.〔J.H. Parry, ''The Sale of Public Office in the Spanish Indies Under the Hapsburgs''. University of California Press, Ibero-Americana 37, 1953 p. 4.〕 Under this political configuration, irrespective of the denominations 〔Denominations as (Iberian union ), (imperio hispano-portugués ), (Spanish-Portuguese empire ), (dual monarchy ), (Portugal as part of the Spanish Monarchy ), (Portugal incorporated into the Habsburg monarchy ), (Portugal incorporated in the Spanish Monarchy ), (Habsburg rule in Portugal ), or (union of Castile and Portugal )〕 given to the "dynastic union"〔John Huxtable Elliott (2002) ''España en Europa: Estudios de historia comparada: escritos seleccionados'', (page 80 )〕〔Jean-Frédéric Schaub (2001) ''Le Portugal au temps du Comte-Duc d'Olivares, 1621–1640'', (pag 59 )〕 existing from 1580 to 1640, the Portuguese realm kept its own administration and jurisdiction over its territory as did the other kingdoms and realms ruled by the Spanish Habsburgs.〔Ali Farazmand (1994) ''Handbook of Bureaucracy'', (page 13 )〕 Nevertheless, some historians assert that Portugal was a kingdom which formed part of the Spanish Monarchy at that time;〔Wolfgang Reinhard, European Science Foundation (1996), ''Power Elites and State Building'', (pag 92 )〕〔Daviken Studnicki-Gizbert (2007), ''A Nation Upon the Ocean Sea: Portugal's Atlantic Diaspora and the Crisis of the Spanish Empire, 1492–1640'', (page 36 )〕 while others draw a clear distinction between the Portuguese and the Spanish Empires.〔Donald F. Lach, Edwin J. Van Kley (1993), ''Asia in the Making of Europe: A Century of Advance'', (page 9 )〕 The Spanish Empire included the dominions of the Spanish monarch in the Americas, Asia, Oceania and Africa, but some disputes exist as to which European territories are to be counted. For instance, normally the Habsburg Netherlands are included, as they were part of the possessions of the King of Spain, were governed by Spanish officials, and were defended by Spanish troops. However, authors like the British historian Henry Kamen contend that these territories were not fully integrated into a Spanish state and instead formed part of the wider Habsburg possessions. Some historians use "Habsburg" and "Spanish" almost interchangeably when referring to the dynastic inheritance of Charles V or Philip II. == Origins == 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Spanish Empire」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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