Charles II, “El Hechizado” or “the Bewitched” is a feeble-minded and pathetic figure, a shadow of his Hapsburg ancestors, and childless. That Spain will need defending, and soon, is self-evident to many. Indeed, Spain is blessed with courageous men on both land and sea. But a gentleman’s honour is worth defending and a nation’s glory is worth winning, so courage is not in short supply.
Economic growth is also not helped when it is beneath the dignity of any hidalgo gentleman to earn money or work. This may be so, but this lack of credit does not help the merchant classes. This partly explains why, for all its wealth, Spain is economically backward: the Church sees usury (money lending) as sinful. Spain is a staunchly Catholic country, and the Church and the fearsome Spanish Inquisition still have their hold over men’s hearts. They succeeded, to a great degree, in all three aims. The Spanish went conquering “for God, Spain and to get rich”. Indeed, the Spanish and Portuguese signed a treaty in 1494 that neatly divided the world between themselves. The Spanish have long been conquerors and colonisers in distant parts.
