and saw in the
extension of Spanish power the only hope for a restoration of European
unity and the preservation of Christian civilization. To set his house
in order by extirpating heresy and crushing political opposition was but
the prelude to the triumph of Church and State in Europe. Germany and
France were rent by dissension and civil war. England was scarcely to be
feared; without an effective army or navy, half Catholic still, governed
by a frivolous and bastard queen whose title to the throne was denied by
half her subjects, the little island kingdom could by skillful diplomacy
be restored to the true faith or by force of arms be added to the Empire
of Spain.

For an ambition so inclusive, the American revenue was essential indeed.
And in the second half of the century it reached a substantial figure.
The yearly output of the mines rose to about eleven million _pesos_ per
annum, and the amount which the king received for his share, between the
years 1560 and 1600, was probably on an average not far from one and
three quarters millions, while at the same time other sources of revenue
from America became of considerable importance. It was a goodly sum for
those days, but it was not enough for the king's needs. When Charles
abdicated, the imperial treasury was indebted in the sum of ten millions
sterling; and much of the bullion which was carried by the treasure
fleets that plied regularly between Porto Bello and Cadiz was pledged to
German or Genoese bankers before it arrived, while some of it found its
way into the pockets of corrupt officials. What remained for the king,
together with the last farthing that could be wrung from his Spanish and
Italian subjects, was still inadequate, to his far-reaching designs; and
Philip II, reputed the richest sovereign in Christendom, was often on
the verge of bankruptcy.

It was a disconcerting fact, indeed, that although Spain and Portugal
had divided the world between them, the thrifty Dutch seemed to reap the
major profits of their discoveries. Within half a century Antwerp had
risen to be the chief _entrepot_ and financial clearing-house of western
Europe. English wool was marketed there, and there English loans were
floated. There Portuguese spice cargoes, purchased while still at sea,
were brought to be exchanged at high prices for the gold and silver that
found its way into the hands of Spain's creditors in Germany, Italy, and
France. A wealthy people were these Dutch