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The 16th century was a major turning point in the Atlantic World. The desire of the Spanish to have complete control over the “New World”, religion and the trade network/economy of the Atlantic lead to a series of events that eventually created the world we live in today. Their desire for control of all things created many ideas that would change the course of history.
The first part that jumped out to me was the way the Spanish wanted to control all of the “New World.” Their recent war experiences had lead them to understand the vast costs associated with war. They saw the “New World” as a way to fund their global aspirations. Egerton states “With this wealth, the Spanish were able to wage war on a scale not previously imagined” (116). With the funds to properly support their military endeavors, the Spanish felt as though they were able to hire a large enough military force to help them reach all their goals. In response to this rapid growth, the other countries began to come up with methods to slow the growth of the Spanish.
Hunter talks about this in his blog entry. He brings up the way that the sudden rise of the Spanish made other European countries hungry for a piece of the action, if you will. I think this is a great point and is definitely demonstrated through the text. We see efforts from mainly the French, Dutch, and English to establish a presence in North and South America as a way of competing for power with the Spanish. This competition will lead to the settlement of colonies that will create the map that we see today.