CARLOS I (1516 - 1556)
Carlos I was the grandson of the Catholic Monarchs. He became king of Spain in 1516. He was from the Habsburgh Dinasty. His empire include Spain and some territories from the Americas. He was also the ruler of Germany, the Netherlands and a large part of the Italian Peninsula (regions inherited from his father). This is why he had the titles of Carlos I of Spain and Carlos V of Germany.

During his reign, citizens had to pay high taxes, there were many fights in the Americas and the rise of protestantism caused religious conflicts in areas of Europe.

Before Carlos I died, he divided his kingdom in two. He gave his Germanic empire to his brother, Fernando. His son, Felipe II inherited his Spanish empire which included Spain, the Netherlands, Italy and parts of the Americas.

FELIPE II (1556 - 1598)
He became king of Spain and its empire in 1556. The Spanish empire expanded under his reign, especially in the Americas and Asia. During this time the Spanish empire was very strong. There were also wars and conflicts during his reign, but his army won important battles. He won the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 to stop the Ottoman empire from controlling the Mediterranean Sea.

In 1580, Spain conquered Portugal and controlled the Iberian Peninsula. With this victory, Felipe II also inherited the porguese territories. He used gold and silver to pay for all these expensive wars. But this caused important financial and political problems. It started an important economic crisis and the Spanish Empire decay.

Expensive wars and maintaining a large empire cauased financial and political problems. During the 17th century Spain had to lead with many wars, including the Thirty Years War. By the end of the 17th century Spain was weak and has lost some of its European territories such as Portugal.

It also caused important social problems. Many people died because of wars and living conditions became worse. Poor harvest and plagues caused famine and people didn't have enough food to eat.