Finance

Question 1

What was Philip’s financial situation when he inherited the throne? (Lotherington)

Answer 1

25.5 million ducats national debt

Question 2

What are HK’s stats on the state juro debt?

Answer 2

36 million in 1557 rising to 85 million in 1598

Question 3

What did Philip’s yearly income look like?

Answer 3

3 million ducats p.a. in 1556 rose to 10.5 million p.a. in 1590s

Question 4

When was the Millones tax passed?

Answer 4

1591

Question 5

How much did taxation increase?

Answer 5

3x from 1559 to 1577

Question 6

How much money did the ‘three graces’ earn Philip in the 1590s?

Answer 6

1.4 million ducats per year

This was around 20% of his income

Question 7

How much money did the Aragonese military order Montesa earn per year?

Answer 7

130,000 ducats

Question 8

When was the convoy system introduced?

Answer 8

1560s

Question 9

How did Philip manage to take around 40% of New World silver?

Answer 9

The ‘Quinto’ - Royal Fifth and private investments

Question 10

How much did Philip earn from the New World during the course of his reign?

Answer 10

64.5 million ducats

12x that of the first half of the 16th century

Question 11

How much did Philip spend yearly on his court?

Answer 11

450,000 ducats p.a.

Question 12

What was Philip’s biggest personal/private expenditure?

Answer 12

El Escorial

Cost 5.5 million over 20 years

Question 13

How many times did Philip declare bankruptcy in his reign?

Answer 13

3/4 times

Question 14

How much did interest payments increase during his reign?

Answer 14

525%

Question 15

What event demonstrated Philip’s failure to grasp an understanding of finances?

Answer 15

His failure to heed of Ovando’s advice in 1573

Question 16

How much of the Spanish population payed no tax at all?

Answer 16

The top 12.5%

Question 17

How much did Naples and Milan contribute to Spanish finances?

Answer 17

400,000 ducats towards the battle of Lepanto (1571), but nothing else of any significance that wasn’t in their direct interests

Question 18

How did the Dutch revolt effect Philip’s finances from the Low Countries?

Answer 18

He made a net loss after 1572

Question 19

How many customs posts lay on the borders of Castile?

Answer 19

39

Question 20

How much did the war on France cost Philip?

Answer 20

30 million ducats (in the 1590s)

Question 21

How much did the first armada (1588) cost?

Answer 21

10 million

The largest single expenditure of Philip’s reign

Question 22

How many soldiers were employed in the Spanish armies in 1587?

Answer 22

100,000 men

Question 23

How large was the spending to maintain Spanish armies?

Answer 23

10 million per year

5x the cost in the 1560s

Question 24

What was a key event, due to unpayed soldiers, fuelling the flames of the Dutch revolt?

Answer 24

The sack of Antwerp in 1576

Question 25

When was the Treaty of Nonesuch?

Answer 25

1585

Question 26

How much did the Cadiz raid of 1596 cost Philip to repair the port?

Answer 26

20 million

Question 27

How did the cost of warfare increase?

Answer 27

The Lepanto fleet (1571) cost 1.1 million
The armada (1588) cost 10 million