How did it devolve from a prosperous world power to a rotting carcass?
Didn't understand economy.
>be rich in gold
>WE NEED MORE GOLD!
>mine so much gold it causes inflation and becomes worthless, making you poor
>>447033
>14th largest economy in the world
>A rotting carcass
I think you may have fallen for the maymays.
>>447046
When was it #14, during Franco's time? That was the last time it wasn't a rotting carcass.
>>447061
Stop falling for the memes. Its 14th according to GDP right now.
If anything its more powerful now than under Franco, cause of all the touristbux. Its just not a truth which satisfies your snot nosed reactionary mindset.
>>447033
>civil war
bad land divisions that mean inefficient agriculture and low education
>more civil war
>even more civil war
they're not doing so bad now though, which is good
>>447033
And let's not forget completely fucking up an entire continent and a half destroying the whole culture for ages to come and resulting in various non-countries who suck America's dick.
Bravo Spain.
What was Spain's role in the development of Europe? It seems that they were irrelevent like Portugal until the age of discovery.
>>447037
> What is profit inflation
hint: its what made U.K rich in the long 17th century
>>447133
Nothing. They just kicked an already sick and worn-out old man and stole his golden teeth.
>>447132
A lot of those countries were fairly succesful and had nothing to envy from Europe when they achieved independence. Yet they're all shitholes now. You latin americans have no right to complain.
>>447133
To be fair, until the Age of Discovery they were busy taking all their land back from the U-mads and successors.
Their lack of contribution after that is mostly due to gold fever and then relative poverty.
>>447133
Aragon had Mediterranean ambitions while Castiel put her eyes in the Atlantic and Western Europe.
Spain inherited the rivalry against the French instead of the French friendly relations of Castile.
Extractive institutions financed by natural resources prevented the development of an inclusive civic society. Just like in almost every poor country ever in the history of mankind. Only after the extractive elite and institutions were toppled, could the vast human capital be fully tapped into.
Today Spain is a big success story despite its recent depression - which too largely was/is the result of extractive political/economical elite.
>>447176
Spain has modernised ridiculously well. There was actually once a stereotype of Spain having shanty towns and whatnot, similar to how we see Mexico today.
>>447061
>Franco
>Healthy economy
HAHAHHAH
By giving all the land to the clergy and supporting yourself only through colonial enterprises who eventually seceded
>>447061
>When was it #14, during Franco's time?
Try #140, Franco was a mememan like every other right-wing ruler
>>447132
>be prosperous when you get independent (that's why they wanted independence in the first place)
>two centuries of fucking your own shit up later
>"spain is at fault for this shit lol"
>>447308
The "Bravo Spain" part?
>>447312
Yeah I meant the USA part.
But I'm not lamenting the fact that South America's countryies are mostly shit. Hell, I'm pretty sure they'd still be had the Spanish not intervened at all.
What I'm lamenting is the destroying of culture and a young, flourishing history by the sole reason of greed. And then you look at Spain now...
Such a pity and a grand loss.
>>447321
You're just a butthurt romantic. Cultures get conquered and die, it would have died whoever appeared. The incans would have destroyed aymara culture (still alive) if it wasn't for the spaniards. Spanish america is arguably the one that retains more influence native culture, compared to portuguese, french and anglo ones. In fact, there's even a couple of countries with majority of natives, something that would be unimaginable in any other case.
>>447033
tell me about spain, why did it wear the mosque?
>>447346
Yes and?
By the way, all those people get looked down upon by the others. The Argentina is white meme exists for a reason.
>>447321
>And then you look at Spain now...
well, compared to their past greatness i guess the difference is big but right now they are just an average european country
>>447321
>And then you look at Spain now...
We are mostly fine, don't worry. Most of the unemployment is in the south, once you get a nice job I don't think you can live any better. It's like we collectively got that imperial shit out of our system and now we live the comfy lifestyle.
There is a reason people come to live here once they retire in the north
>>447033
Inflation and Madrid
t. Jordi Granollet
>>447350
>not basque
>>447033
Was it intentional that Madrid is in the exact center of the country, or did that just end up happening?
>>447176
Spain isn't a story of success. Where are our industries? Spain is the dog of Germany and the beach for the tourists.
t. Spaniard
>>447133
In the Middle Ages?
Being busy being culturally superior to the barbarians of the north and teaching them into ancient classic knowledge.
>>448947
t. """"""""""spaniard"""""""""""""""
>>448937
It was one of the reasons for which Philip II chose it as the capital yes. Other being that there was a royal alcazar (palace) and was void of other powerful figures unlike Toledo whose Archbishop was too powerful in his city to the liking of the king.
>>448996
What was wrong with Toledo?
Religious extremism, backwards economic policies, expelling the Jews, Napoleon, and an entrenched aristocracy that put their self interest ahead of the interests of the state. And that's not even getting into the ramifications of the Civil War and Franco's regime taking over.
>>447033
For a long time Spain used its riches to pay its increasingly expensive wars, funneling New World taxes and treasure into the hands of foreign merchants to move around France and into the Netherlands or Italy. The rest went into the pockets of local nobility whose idea of accumulating wealth was to acquire royal favors in the form of tax farms in its colonies abroad, leaving very little for internal development .
When inflation brought the whole house crashing down, there wasn't much there in the form of domestic wealth to match the other European powers.
What the hell is going on with Spain?
I pretty much never see it come up in political news or discussions. What's Spain currently involved in? Are they actually doing anything?
>>449646
>What's Spain currently involved in?
Elections
>>449646
>What's Spain currently involved in?
As of right now they have no government
>>447133
They had a really great run up until the late 17th century.
They held Europe's Western flank against the Moors, kickstarted the settlement of the New World, and established the first maritime trade route that extended around the globe.
>>449646
They're in NATO, believe it or not.
Other than that, they are completely irrelevant.
>>449722
Most of Europe is in Nato though
>>449733
>prominent geographic location
The UK owns Gibraltar for a reason.
Yes.
>>449646
>I pretty much never see it come up in political news or discussions
Maybe in the US.
Here, in Colombia, there is always news about Spain but I never see anything about the UK.
>>447033
Habsburgs fucked the economy and then Borbons fucked what was left.
We had a good run, made our mark on the world.
Now it's time to let go.
The eternal siesta is upon us.
>read whole thread
>not one mention of demographic obstacles
After the end of the Reconquista, Spain decided to expel the Moriscos (Moorish converts to Christianity) along with other groups like the Jews. They left, and with them went their middle class. At the same time, however, Spain had the Atlantic trade going at full strength, pulling silver out of the Americas to fund their ventures in Europe. Problem was that the extractive economy wasn't sustainable, and the demographic changes brought about by the expulsion of the Moriscos only further entrenched the feudal infrastructure. They were pretty much on a razor-thin margin for much of their supposed golden age, and they lacked the economic base to effectively react to any major failure.
The end of the 16th Century and first half of the 17th Century would see everything come crashing down. The rise of Protestantism in Germany and subsequent independence movements in the Netherlands sapped Spanish men, morale, and most critically, money, and the defeat of the Armada in 1588 would show that they really couldn't recover from a major defeat.
Over time, relevance in Europe became less about extracting resources from colonies and more about the demographics that Spain so desperately lacked.
>>449603
A very powerful Archbishop.
Philip II wanted a city where he would be the only "power".
Isabella I or Carlos I who was better
>>452375
Isabel.
>>452377
then would it be safe to say a woman was the best monarch Spain(Castile) ever had?
>>452384
Among the best for sure.
I fail to see why some pussies are scared of able women.
>>447046
>50% youth unemployment
>like 20% overal unemployment
>anything else than a rotting carcass
Be Spain
> Be ISIS tier catholic militarisric meme
> rekt the muslims
> Sack nearly the entire Americas
> Rape all native women
> Alpha as fuck
> Give the gold to foreign bankers to fund meme religious wars
> OP as fuck.
> Buy products manufactured by other european countries because Industrialization is for shit-tier countries
> Get kekked by Napoleon
> Latin American countries rebel because British and French influence
> Get kekked by the US
> Lose the Empire
> Slowly convert into a shit tier country
> Civil war erupts.
> Get outside of European progress
> 2000 come by
> You dont have a job
Mfw The Empire will never be back
MFW You where the quarterback fucking all the girls on the past but you now are the fat, lonely, sad janitor of the school, living on the glories of the past
MFW
>>447133
Western bulwark against islam m8
>>447236
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_miracle
>
>>453195
>>453325
>The Spanish miracle (Spanish: el milagro español) was the name given to a broadly based economic boom in Spain from 1959 to 1974. The international oil and stagflation crises of the 1970s ended the boom.
Can it really be called a miracle if the exact same thing happened to every other western country?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post%E2%80%93World_War_II_economic_expansion
>>453349
>>453365
All the Marshal Plan money did was compensate for the devastation of the Second World War.
>>453410
Yeah and Spain just had ended a civil war that devastated the country, and they didn't receive any economic help for it.
>>453421
Compared to Allied casualties, they were a drop in the bucket.
>>453459
Yeah, that's why one is called a world war and the other is not.
What do the casualties even have to do with the level of destruction in this conversation.
>>451668
You forgot to mention that Spain had like 6 milion people in the 1600s while France for example had 18 milion or so. In addition to this, in the first two centuries of the age of colonization, a lot of gold and other materials were lost because the naval technology was bad, maybe as high as 50%.
>>453561
Yup. It's partly the same reason Sweden failed to be a major power - they didn't have the population for it. They could "artificially" stay a power for some time through leeching off their colonies (or in Sweden's case, militarizing the entire state), but those are temporary measures that rely on rivals never changing. From what I understand, Spanish nobility also had far too much power, limiting the ability of an already crippled middle class to prosper
