Spanish

Overview:
The Spanish control most of the Caribbean. They have many cities, and almost all of the Southern edge of the map (Hence, the Spanish Main). There are Evil Spaniards as well, such as Colonel Mendoza (Who kidnaps Governor's Daughters) and Baron Raymondo (Who has information regarding your lost relatives). Ships which are only used by the Spanish include the Galleon Class (Both Military and Merchant). Spanish Sloops are also very common. Most players will end up being wanted by the Spanish, and if there is a high bounty, pirate hunters will be sent after the player. Spain is often at war with the English so promotions can be earned in this manner, but most of the shipping in the map is Spanish.

History:
The steep rise of Spain began in the year of 1492 with three important events.

In the south, the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand of Aragon and his wife, Isabella of Castille, conquered the last remaining muslim stronghold in Iberia, Granada, thus finishing the 'Reconquista'.

In Rome, the Spaniard Rodrigo Borja was elected pope. He would later divide the world between Portugal and Spain in the Treaty of Tordesillas.

And on 12th of October Christopher Columbus set foot on a caribbean island in the Bahamas, which he named 'San Salvador'.

A wave of rapid colonization and conquest ensued in America. In 1521 Cortez defeated the Aztecs in Mexico, in 1532 the huge Inca empire was invaded by Pizarro and his conquistadors. Fifty years later, Spain would be at the peak of its power. King Philipp II. ruled not only over Spain, but also over Portugal, the Low Countries, large parts of Italy, Burgundy and a vast colonial empire in America, Africa and Asia.

The downfall of Spain began 1588 with the defeat of the Spanish Armada that was supposed to invade protestant England and overthrow Queen Elizabeth I. In the 17th century, wars with France brought territorial losses in Flanders and Northern Catalonia, Portugal and the Dutch Republic became independent and the Catalans rebelled against the attempt to reduce autonomy and enforce more centralization in the provinces of Spain.

The Habsburg rule over Spain ended after almost two centuries with the death of the childless and mentally and physically ill King Charles II. in 1700 and the French Bourbons came into power, leading to the Spanish Succession War. At the end of the war, Spain had to give up her last possessions in Europe outside Spain, namely parts of Italy and modern day Belgium and Luxembourg.

In America however, Spain was able to keep most of her colonies until the early 19th century, when Spain was first invaded by Napoleonic France and then lost a large part of her fleet against the British in the Battle of Trafalgar. The weakness of Spain after the Napoleonic Wars and the reactionary course of King Ferdinand VII., which alienated local elites, led to the wars of independence in South America.