Comparisons between Roman and Spanish Empires’ Mechanisms of Expansion
By: Paul Moore
Dec. 7, 2005
Fagan and Restall
There can be many reasons for the expansion of an empire. In essence expansion defines an empire. An empire is an expanding nucleus that brings with it culture, religion, trade and rules of government. The key to where and how successfully the empire expands usually lies in eye of the leadership or ruler and what they/he believes is the best direction for the empire to travel. The political leaders also employ the mechanisms that cause an empire’s expansion. These mechanisms may vary greatly, and may also depend on several different factors including both natural barriers such as mountains and seas as well as human aspects, which can be military and political. And while empires usually grow in size to gain wealth, land and spread religion, initially they simply seek to conquer neighbors that may be perceived as a threat to an early empire’s existence.
In this paper I would like to examine the major similarities and differences between the Roman and Spanish Empire’s. They will include the political, military, cultural, religious and economic mechanisms used during each Empire. It will examine the empire’s leadership; its wars and treaties, battles and defeats. It will examine discovery and trade as well as how religion may have or may not have played a factor. It will also discuss how each Empire treated the people it conquered and in what ways the two may have differed.
The Roman and Spanish empires were formed in slightly different parts of the European continent but they were close enough to experience similar dealings with outsiders in their particular empire. They also experienced several key differences due to physical location on the continent and political conditions. During the existence of both empires Europe was a densely populated continent bordering other European cultures as well as the Asian and African continents. These foreign lands presented many obstacles and potential adversaries at every turn but it also presented many opportunities for wealth and success in spreading their culture, language, laws and religion. However, each Empire’s differences would be largely due to the fact that they were both at the pinnacle of their successes in much different time periods during human history. The Roman Republic between 277BC and 133BC and the Spanish Empire during the 15th & 16th century were both greatly successful political enterprises that would experience amazing successes as well as incredible setbacks, some surprisingly similar to each other and others quite different.
In simple terms, to the Romans and the Spanish, one more conquered people and controlled area is one less opponent to worry about. This is a common theme that seems, at first glance anyway, to correlate between the two empires. Territories and lands were conquered in order to preserve the best interests of the empire. It also set up a base to expand from and further the interests of the empire to include glory, wealth, resources or control of land. Both Rome and Spain used this base (the Italian & Spanish Peninsulas) to set up a better defensive position against invasion and as a base for future offensive campaigns.
In the very early Republic the Romans first had to capture all the lands surrounding the city of Rome for obvious reasons. These local threats included familiar Indo-European tribes like the Samnites and Sabines who also competed for land on the peninsula. Competition also included the powerful Etruscans who had nearby cities such as Veii and Tarquinia. Once defeated and the interior secured the Romans could concentrate on further defense of their borders which included direct conflict with the Gauls/Celts who were occupying Northern Italy and the Greeks in Southern Italy. These peoples were also competing with the Romans for land and resources that the Romans were not willing to share. These groups were not initially conquered and assimilated as the Etruscans and Samnites appear to have been but rather they were pushed from the peninsula. Once Italy was taken the Romans were established as the one and only power on the peninsula.
Similarly, the Spanish Empire began with the consolidation of a Peninsula, the Iberian. In 1400 this peninsula was a mixture of petty kingdoms all competing for control. Portugal, Castile, Aragon and Granada were all located on this Peninsula. There also was a mixture of cultures including Christian, Muslim and Jewish religions. That was all about to change with the marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. This confederation of reigns would shift the balance of power on the Peninsula and in Europe for over a century in favor of the Christians. Interestingly, according to historian Henry Kamen, “Spain was created by the Empire, rather than the Empire being created by Spain.” This was a much different beginning than Rome’s but it produced a similar effect in the very beginning: control of their peninsula and power to compete with potential neighboring enemies. The Reyes Catolilicos consolidated much wealth and Christian influence, making the Spanish Catholics powerful enough to push out or convert the Moors and the Jews.
Once this power was consolidated Spain then pressed its advantage almost immediately and removed both the Jewish and Moorish cultures from the land. By 1492 the last Moorish king at Granada was driven back to North Africa. It now allowed Spain and its newfound Empire to compete with the Portuguese and French in this age of discovery for new trade routes to Africa, Asia and, though quite accidentally, to America. In effect it would make Spain not only a European power but also a Global Power. It may be fair to say it was the world first true Global Power. This was something Rome could never have been simply due to technological and human advances made since the time of the Roman Republic. Although Roman explorers, traders and military expeditions did discover new lands like Britain and Ireland for themselves and eventually chartered these strange places, Spain would take exploration and discovery to new levels using their powerful navy and desire to spread Christianity around the world.
After securing the Italian Peninsula, Rome could concentrate on their disputes with the Mediterranean power, Carthage, over control of Sicily. The Carthaginians had a powerful trading empire that stretched from North Africa to the Iberian Peninsula to Sicily and the Near East. They competed with the Romans for years the two powers were bound to encounter each other in battle sooner or later based on the close proximity of their kingdoms.
After the first Punic war the Romans signed a treaty with the Carthaginians giving Sicily to Rome. Soon after the treaty the Romans took control of Corsica. The Romans did this because they understood that Carthage was also an empire and they needed to create further buffer zones between the two for trade and military purposes. After the Carthaginians were defeated, they realized that Rome was such a prominent threat that they began recruiting an army in Celtic Spain that was to eventually be led by Hannibal. By 218 B.C. Hannibal crossed the Alps into Italy and began destroying every Roman city he could find. The Romans decided to play a waiting game because they knew they could not win in open battle, as Roman forces, with 80,000 men sent to oppose Hannibal, were easily defeated time and time again. Desperately in need of a new strategy the young Publius Cornelius Scipio was chosen as proconsul. He took the fight to Hannibal’s front door and brought an army to Spain where he defeated the leftover Carthaginian army whose purpose was to reinforce Hannibal. Next Scipio crossed the Mediterranean into Northern Africa, which caused Hannibal to throw up the white flag in Italy without ever losing a major battle. The final battle at Zama in 202 B.C. resulted in a complete Roman victory and resulted in many Carthaginian lands, including the Iberian peninsula to be handed over to the Roman Empire. In addition, the Carthaginians were forced to pay a heavy tribute to the victorious Roman Empire. This victory also marks the transformation of Rome from regional power to major Empire.
Possibly unknowingly the Romans waged a war that gained them control of land that doubled their physical size. This expansion was done to protect their interests and although they may not have initially fought a war to gain the Carthaginian territories, they ended up with an area that would bring many prosperous years to their empire. This shows that expansion in an empire is not always the first goal and can come as a secondary benefit of protection of their already established land. If the empire is victorious in battle they become the owners of the loser’s share of land. Not necessarily a new concept but one the Romans perfected.
The Spanish Empire was not necessarily looking to control the land and people of neighboring lands, especially after Columbus’s discoveries were being closely examined by all of Europe. They would look to expand their Empire in the newly discovered lands of America and in the Far East. Though the Spanish rulers of the 16th century did have strong political and economic influences in Italy, the Islands of the Mediterranean and eastern Greece, they did not look to govern these areas directly. Spain basically waged wars and made alliances to keep the French and Italian powers at bay to make their Empire in the New World rather than conquer and control these established European territories.
In contrast to the forceful approach by the Romans, the Spanish expanded their empire greatly through marriage as opposed to war. The marriage between Philipp the handsome, son of Maximilian I (Holy Roman Emperor) and Juana, heiress of Spain, brought the Habsburg descendants into relation with the Spanish. Eventually Charles V became King of Spain in 1516 and eventually Holy Roman Emperor in 1519. The title of Holy Roman Emperor came with much land in Central Europe including Germany, Belgium, and Austria etc. Although these lands would not continue to stay under Spanish rule quietly they did indeed fall under Spanish rule at a point in time. This rule brought in much tribute for different cities in Europe particularly Antwerp.
Military advancements between the two empires were very different, although both empires had much more advanced weaponry then their opponents. The time difference between the empires varied the weaponry of the empires. The Roman legions were dealing with Gallic Barbarians still using clubs and spears while they had bronze armor with strong shields as well as distinct formations similar to the phalanx installed by Phillip and the Macedonians. The men in the Roman army were rich men and had strong weapons. Although eventually the Roman army became full time, under Augustus, and had solid weapons and armor paid for by the empire. The quality of their weapons gave them a clear advantage over their adversaries.
The Spanish conquistadors were more of explorers then warriors. Although they were battle ready, they were heavily outnumbered by the Meso-Americans and Incas in the New World. The Spanish had strong swords and guns that were much better weapons then what the Native American people used to fight (i.e. slings). The Spanish became allies with the native tribes being suppressed by the Aztecs and the Mayas, known as Amerindians. Although the conquistadors were outnumbered and the bulk of the Spanish army was in Europe, they were experienced in battle with much better military equipment and used that to their advantage.
Francisco Pizarro brought together many indigenous Natives who were quick to go against the harsh rule Atahualpa. After assassinating Atahualpa, Inca King, Pizarro invaded Cuzco and conquered Peru. He then moved the capital to Lima which was closer to the coast and would be more beneficial to Spain. Hernan Cortes similarly conquered the Aztec empire, giving Spain more resources to expand their empire.
After the Punic Wars the Romans realized that they now had enemies, based on Phillip V aligning itself with Carthage. While the Romans were facing off against Carthage, Phillip V was expanding his own empire by conquering lands such as Palestine. After dealing with the Carthaginians it was obvious that empires could not coexist in such close proximity. The Romans battled Phillip V in the second Macedonian war and were victorious, but instead of claiming Greek territory they announced that all Greek city-states were free. This came back to haunt the Romans when Perseus succeeded Phillip V.
Antiochus III was also becoming land hungry and conquered Palestine. The Romans were now familiar with the result of allowing a King to conquer lands unopposed. The battle of Magnesia ended in Roman victory and caused Antiochus to sign a treaty ending his influence on the Mediterranean. He was also forced to pay a very large some of talents over a twelve year period of time. At this point it seems that the Romans are bringing together different kingdoms who could pose a threat and taking full advantage of the treasures that come along with military victory. Although Antiochus offered what seemed to be a fair treaty which offered Greece as a free territory in between the rival empires. The Romans still had the bitter taste in their mouths from the first two Punic Wars and declined the offer. They followed by making what any strong empire would do, create a totally one sided treaty only beneficial to the Romans.
Around the same time Perseus began stirring up the peace between the Romans by trying to implement a new treaty between the two nations. The Romans reacted quickly to the threat by invading Greece and looting many cities, while demanding tribute. Although the Romans had no original interest of conquering Greece they realized that they needed to show force and control in order to prevent more wars with Hellenistic people.
By the end of the third Macedonian war the Romans were becoming extremely wealthy based on the harsh penalties enforced upon the Hellenistic cities. The growth of the Roman treasury surely focused the empires attention on expanding in order to gain more territory equaling more penalties and eventually tax money. However this was not the only reason for their empires expansion.
Although Rome continued to grow after the end of the republic, Roman expansion was at its peak during the middle republic period between 246 B.C. and 133 B.C. This is apparent in the territory gained through the Punic wars, Hellenistic wars and the battles with Antiochus. The Romans expansion during this time was the cause of voracity or greed but rather an award for originally protecting their interests. Gaining the Mediterranean and Spain seemed to be an added bonus on top of ending conflict with the Carthaginian superpower. It can be argued after becoming victorious over the other empirical nations surrounding the Mediterranean the Romans confidence grew and this caused future expansion. However attaining full control of the Mediterranean was less of a plan and more of an accident.
Spanish expansion and Roman expansion differed in size and in geography. The Romans succeeded in conquering the surrounding empires in Europe where the Spanish had failed. However the Spanish brought expansion to a new level by crossing the Atlantic. Although the areas conquered were not densely populated with Spanish citizens, the area gave exactly what empires need to succeed, resources.
Under the Republic the Romans ran a strict military that fought in the name of Rome, rather than in the name of a monarch. The armies of Rome were lead by strong military leaders appointed by the consuls and senate, who sometimes needed to take full control in order to become victorious. The Roman Empire also expanded in the name of glory and defense. They were willing to destroy any neighbor who could possibly pose a threat in order to continue the success of their empire.
After the Spanish consolidated into a Catholic empire and gained the Holy Roman Empire, began expanding in the name of religion. They were constantly fighting in Europe against the Muslims of the Ottoman Empire, the Protestants starting out in Germany and the other Catholic for control of the Papal States. The wars in which they spread their rule eventually lead to their downfall. The Spanish were called the defenders of the Catholics by Pope Clement VIII.
After the expansions of the empires came to a halt there were similarities which brought their ideals together including wealth, territory and power. However there was an obvious difference in ideology. The Romans were expanding their empire in the name of Roman triumph. The Spanish conquests made during Spanish expansion were more linked to expansion of the Catholic Religion. In the culmination of the Spanish Empire, the spread of Catholicism, which gave the Habsburg a great deal of territory, ultimately gave the empire many religious enemies which they could no longer suppress.
The Roman Republic saw its end before the Roman expansion ever did. However the empires growth slowed much after the republic. Monarchs eventually took control and brought the empire to new heights. However the stability of the Roman Empire in the midst of expansion was never rivaled during the periods of time when the empires expansion began to dwindle out.
Bibliography
Kamen, Henry – “Empire: How Spain became a world power, 1492 – 1763”
Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest, Matthew Restall, Oxford University Press
Book VI, Polybius, History 197H Packett, Fagan and Restall
Empires in Their Global Context, c. 1500- c. 1800, Felipe Fernandz-Armesto
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/ROME/CONQHELL.HTM
http://www.theotherside.co.uk/tm-heritage/background/span-armada.htm
http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/romans.html
http://www.red2000.com/spain/primer/hist.html