Spain’s Golden Age and Twilight

Rise (1469–1521): The Catholic Monarchs unite Spain through marriage, reclaim lost territory, and Columbus launches the Age of Discovery. The protagonist’s grandparents take part in these events, and the family rises from fallen nobility to a new class of adventurers. Peak (1521–1588): Charles I builds an empire on which the sun never sets, and gold and silver pour in from the Americas. Literature and art flourish, with Cervantes and Velazquez among their luminaries. The protagonist reaches the height of his life, witnessing both the glory and the shadows. Turning Point (1588–1648): The Spanish Armada is defeated, the Dutch revolt for independence, and inflation gradually cripples the economy. The protagonist suffers a major setback in middle age and witnesses the cracks in the empire. Decline (1648–1700): Defeat in the Thirty Years’ War, a war of succession over the throne, and the empire’s breakup. In his later years, the protagonist looks back on his life with humor and equanimity, as his family’s fate rises and falls in step with the nation’s fortunes.