Which challenges to their power did the spanish face?

Answer 1

Not long after the Spanish monarchy had gained so much wealth from gold and silver mines from the New World it was a top power. They became ambitious however. They saw England, with their own non-Catholic church as a challenge. They believed it was their duty to dethrone Queen Elizabeth and restore Catholicism to England. Their grand navy was severely damaged by storms and the quite excellent English navy challenged their power in the New World and in Europe itself. Later in the New World, their colonies demanded their freedom as had the American colonies. So Spain was faced with the British and their own colonists as challenges. Spain had no short list of challenges and Napoleon in France became another challenge.