Christian Tuccinardi Per. 6 Comparative Essay In the time period of 1450 to 1800, the political, social, and economical processes of empire building in the Spanish Empire and the Ottoman Empire were politically similar in that they both were up and coming world powers, also socially similar in that they were both very religious, and economically both have different administrative processes.
Both these empires were politically similar because with the discovery, and success of the conquest of South America, Spain made its reputation as a great power. Spanish conquistadors and missionaries brought large native empires to their knees while on the other side of the world the Ottoman armies were expanding over the regions surrounding the Ottoman circumstances. It was this conquest that made the ottomans a very real power on the world stages.
Both empires were socially similar because both empires were devotedly religious. The Spanish royals were faithful Catholics while the ottoman sultan was a strict Muslim. Because of their religious natures, an official policy of conversion was adopted by both nations. Christian missionaries in the Americas spread the word of god among the savage natives to bring them into the church while Islamic officials would take Christian boys from conversion and entrance into the best Janissary ranks.
But converted natives cold look forward to life as second-class citizens in their own land while Janissary converts force out on to wealth and power in the Ottoman Empire. The administrative processes of the two empires were economically different from one another in theory but not often so in practice. The Spanish En campienda system but wealthy Spanish nobles and merchants in relatively independent control of Spanish held land, reporting only to the viceroy, who in turn reported to the king.
The ottomans in an effort to weed out nepotism drew their administrative class. But later in the Empires life corruption ran out of control and the careful system was all but left behind. These two empires’ empire building processes, from the 1450 to 1800, were politically similar in that they were both up and coming powers, socially similar in that they were both strongly religious, and economically different from each other in their administrative processes