The Imbecile King who put his foot on the gas pedal

Guest Post by Simon Black

Charles II was only three years old when he became the supreme ruler of the Spanish Empire in 1665. But anyone who took just one look at the child knew they were all doomed.

Charles had come from a long line of prominent European nobles known as the Habsburgs– a family so exclusive that they frequently married one another in order to keep their blood line ‘pure’.

Genetic defects abounded as a result.

Charles II inherited some of the worst of these genetic defects; his father and mother were uncle/niece. And his grandparents were first cousins.

So it comes as no surprise that Charles II was deformed, spindly, weak, constantly sick, and partially paralyzed. He was also referred to by his contemporaries as the ‘imbecile king’ for his slow-witted stupidity.

Spain had been the dominant European superpower only a century prior to Charles II. It had vast colonies all over the world, a terrifying army and navy, and unimaginable wealth.

But history proves that an Empire’s wealth and power never last forever.

And even well before Charles II took the throne, Spanish rulers were already running everything into the ground.

One clear lesson from history is that empires tend to be extremely expensive… especially when you’re the dominant superpower, and all of your rivals are constantly waging war against you.

Spain was no exception. Their empire was extremely expensive to administer, and they were routinely engaged in costly wars.

The emperors were forced to borrow a lot of money to pay for these wars. And Spain’s debt became so vast that the government defaulted at least SEVEN TIMES between the mid 1500s and mid 1600s.

Desperate to make ends meet, the government also hiked taxes to exorbitant levels, including imposing a 14% sales tax. (Somewhere the governor of California is taking notes…)

The government also predictably began rapidly expanding the money supply and debasing its own currency… resulting in one of the worst long-term episodes of inflation in all of human history up to that point.

Spain’s Emperors also began interfering heavily in trade and commerce; they passed rules granting special monopolies to favored businesses, essentially killing off competition, and they inserted extreme government bureaucracy into some of the most important industries like shipping and mining.

It wasn’t long before economic and trade activity began to shrink as a result of these policies.

Between 1600 and 1700, in fact, Spanish shipping volume from the New World had declined by an astonishing 75%.

Part of this decline was because of emerging social trends.

In the early 1400s and early 1500s, the seas were teeming with Spanish explorers– Cortes, Pizarro, de Soto, Ponce de Leon, etc. These men were regarded as national heroes in Spain, and international trade was considered a highly respected industry.

By the mid 1600s, however, trade, commerce, and production had all fallen out of favor. Traders and industrialists were viewed with suspicion instead of esteem.

The economies in cities like Valencia, which had once been famous for its factories and high quality products, quickly decayed. And suddenly Spain found itself importing most of its goods and services from its chief rivals– France, England, and the Netherlands.

Meanwhile the Spanish Inquisition was busy killing off thousands of intellectuals… and condemning tens of thousands more to life imprisonment.

Their crime? Expressing independent thought that differed from the official narrative.

Spain’s message to the world was clear: freedom of thought had no place in the Empire. So anyone capable of innovation stayed as far away as possible.

And as a final point, Spain had suffered a series of embarrassing military defeats from the late 1500s through the mid 1600s, including the Spanish Armada’s humiliating loss to the English in 1588.

Suddenly the rest of Europe realized that Spain was not invincible. The Empire was bankrupt, economically weak, socially decayed. And its military had been embarrassed.

Remember– this was already the situation BEFORE 1665.

And that’s when Charles II took the throne.

In other words, a weak, mentally incompetent fool was put in charge of an Empire that was already in serious decline… and whose chief rivals were rising rapidly.

You don’t need a PhD in European History to figure out how that movie ended: the situation became much worse under Charles II.

And within a few decades, Spain would go on to lose a major war against its rivals that struck the final blow to its dominance.

That’s when the torch was passed, and France became the dominant superpower. Eventually the UK surpassed France, then the United States surpassed the UK.

This cycle has been taking place for more than 5,000 years. Empires rise and fall. Economies rise and fall. And no nation holds the top spot forever.

It’s not hard to understand why.

When an economy is on the rise, people are hungry. They work hard. They save money. They’re focused on the future.

Governments run lean budgets and spend responsibly. They maintain a sound currency.

Once an economy has reached its peak, however, priorities change. Hard work and saving are no longer prized social values. People become more focused on consuming in the present, rather than investing in the future.

Debt levels skyrocket. Government spending balloons. Regulations soar. Prices rise.

Little by little, a nation chips away at the very values and institutions that made them powerful to begin with.

If fiscal responsibility has made the nation wealthy, they begin printing record sums of money, engineering inflation, and taking on mountains of debt.

If capitalism has made the economy prosperous, they cheer socialism.

If personal freedom and self-reliance have created a strong society, they embrace totalitarianism, intolerance, and censorship.

Not to mention, there always seems to be some rival, rising power lurking, ready to take advantage of the situation… and some weak leadership like Charles II who hits the gas pedal on the way towards the precipice.

This story is as old as human civilization. And while the exact circumstances today are different, the themes are very similar.

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Iska Waran
Iska Waran

It’s easy to lament the Spanish Inquisition from the vantage point of Northern Europe where they hadn’t endured seven centuries of Muslim rule and didn’t have a remaining contingent of Moriscos mounting successive rebellions. It’s lamentable, but it’s also understandable.

We’ll see if the Chinese can avoid the temptation to found an empire over the next 100 years.

anonymous
anonymous

Understandable? Perhaps. Still stupid and self destructive.
Just read the history of the Knights of Malta. Such stupendous achievement! All undone by suebsequent easy living, bad leadership, and yes, having an Inquisitor inserted to sow division and intrigue.

ASIG
ASIG

“a weak, mentally incompetent fool was put in charge of an Empire that was already in serious decline”

That rings a bell for some reason – let me think, it’ll come to me…..

CCRider
CCRider

I can help: LET’S GO BRANDAN!!!

AK John

It’s a good thing we have a superstar backup in Kamala Chameleon.

oldtimer505
oldtimer505

All this suggests the human race lacks a great deal of common sense. They keep doing the same thing over and over thinking they will have a different outcome.

Crawfisher
Crawfisher

People always think, this time will ne different

Colorado Artist
Colorado Artist

We have never changed. We are what we have always been.
Flawed and sinful beings. There is a book all about it.
It tells the story over and over and over.

“All things are wearisome,

more than one can describe;

the eye is not satisfied with seeing,

nor the ear content with hearing.

9What has been will be again,

and what has been done will be done again;

there is nothing new under the sun.

10Is there a case where one can say,

“Look, this is new”?

It has already existed

in the ages before us.

11There is no remembrance

of those who came before,

and those yet to come will not be remembered

by those who follow after”

-Ecclesiastes

another Doug
another Doug

And here we are….

Anonymous
Anonymous

I’m sure greta is absolutely fuming…”Charles II was only three years old when he became the supreme ruler of the Spanish Empire in 1665″….

Pure BS since before Babylon. We know what ultimately transpires.

Hansen
Hansen

My guess is that when old Charlie was screwing up Spain , his subjects just bitched and moaned instead of doing anything to stop him… kinda like now.

flash
flash

This is the useful idiots version of history . It’s fit for nothing other than public education distribution. Spain was no empire. Austria , from whence the Hapsburgs ruled was the Empire and all the Monarchs were inbred, not just the Hapsburgs.
Money changers broke Spain, through financing wars , they themselves fomented . It’s the oldest game in the Happy Merchants bag of tricks Intrigue and destruction for profit and vengeance is what they do best.
If you want and accurate, albeit lengthy history lesson on Catholic Spain and the battles fought against the demon spawn who tried to destroy their faith in God and the unity of the Christian Church , read these three books and you’ll know more than 99.999% of the rest of the world on how Christendom came to ruin.

Characters of The Inquisition

https://libgen.is/book/index.php?md5=EA38F2EF47476809CB09789AFB19428B

Isabella of Spain

https://libgen.is/book/index.php?md5=D981C1329EC86A7E9BAE05E65AE3028B

And, the most important history book you will ever read.

Phillip II

https://libgen.is/book/index.php?md5=1889B28539B7506D637C3D5605BFD2A0

Steve D.
Steve D.

Well said! It’s why they were eventually kicked out of Spain, and they should be kicked out of America. The American Empire has become a criminal operation.

Anonymous
Anonymous

“his father and mother were uncle/niece. And his grandparents were first cousins.” So Charles II was from Arkansas?

PSBindy
PSBindy

That’s safe of you anon.

When the grid goes down from an EMP attack, those country folk you denigrate and slander from your current comfortable situation at your keyboard will have kin and generations old friendships in their immediate vicinity.

They can hunt, trap, fish, garden, can, preserve, dehydrate, and raise barnyard animals. They can grow fibers, spin and weave. Some of them will be able to get engines running on charcoal gas. They’ll cope as well as anyone possibly could.

Stay safe anon, and keep slandering White people. After all, you’re probably sophisticated.

very old white guy
very old white guy

Welcome to America, and the world, for all the difference it might make.

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