Spain: History from Columbus

Spain emerged as a united, Christian country under a single crown in January 1492 following the final defeat of the Moors at Granada. Christopher Columbus discovered the West Indies in October of the same year, opening up a whole new world to Spanish trade.

The wine regions around Cádiz and málaga, both important Spanish ports, were the first to attract the attention of foreign traders, and sherry, often called sack, became a popular drink at the English court. Foreign traders in the sherry town of sanlúcar de barrameda were granted special privileges by the duke of Medina Sidonia in 1517 and an English church was built to encourage more merchants. But relations between England and Spain began to deteriorate in the 1520s and after Henry VIII’s divorce from Catherine of Aragón in 1533 brought English merchants into direct conflict with the Spanish. In the latter part of the century, war erupted between the two countries. English settlers fled fearing the Spanish Inquisition and trade between the two nations diminished.