What were the comparative strengths of France and Spain in the early 1600s?
1 Answer
Spain was powerful and dominant at the time but her enemies were numerous. France was much less so but was recovering from the weakness of the Valois Kings. Holland was stubbornly resisting Spain.
Explanation:
New world silver financed Spain and the Hapsburg's dreams of European dominance. Catholic and Protestant bitterly fought one another in the areas controlled by all three. The Eighty Years War (1568 - 1648) and the Thirty Years War (1618 - 1648) were both running at the time and costing Spain greatly. Fortunately for Spain she had very deep pockets. Spain had discovered a mountain of silver in South America (Potosi).
Holland was solidly Protestant and had an excellent area of swamp to defend that was fairly remote from the Spanish strength. Spain found it slow and costly going and the bloody violence of their retribution earned them few friends and many enemies.
France was under the regency of Cardinal Richelieu. He slowly centralized the government of France and eliminated the Protestant resistance. France was growing in power and eventually dominant.
Mostly the early parts of these 2 Wars went reasonably well for the Spanish but by the end in 1648 the Spanish strength was spent, France was dominating Europe and Holland had successfully maintained its existence and independence.
France had eliminated its Protestant problem but had intervened on the Protestant side in Germany to stop the Spanish. The Thirty Years War ended in a bloody stalemate. The disunity of the German states lasted until 1870.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_Years%27_War
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eighty_Years%27_War
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potos%C3%AD
The 2nd Defenestration of Prague. The start of the Thirty year's War.
By Johann Philipp Abelinus, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=208387
