The year 2000 was the fifth centenary of the birth of the Emperor Charles I of Spain and V of Austria, whose reign encompassed key events which shaped the ideologies and politics of modern Europe.
Testimonio publishers contributed to the cultural events which will mark this important occasion, by publishing a collection entitled The Empire of Charles V which will bring to the public, a number of facsimiles of original documents written by the Emperor and other personalities of the time which left their mark on the future of Spain and Europe in the 16th century and also of fine manuscripts which bear witness to the cultural and religious atmosphere around the Emperor.
Charles V was brought up in Flanders and arrived in Spain as a foreigner, with his heart set on obtaining the Imperial Crown. The painful war of the Communes and the loyal service of his Spanish subjects in imperial undertakings made him feel so Spanish that he went as far as to address the Pope in solemn audience in Spanish rather than the universally used Latin.
During his reign, Spain modernised and became the greatest military power in Europe. In the New World, the Aztec and Inca empires were conquered and precious metals began to come back , which would help in part to finance the foreign policies of the Emperor, which were directed towards two main objectives: the defense of Catholicism against Protestantism which was spreading rapidly, partly due to political factors, and the defense of Christendom against the Ottoman and North African Moslems, focusing on ensuring security in the western Mediterranean by means of occupying sites on the coast of North Africa.
This was a period of intense communication with other European nations, France, England, Italy and others, but special attention should be paid to the relations with Portugal, which in everything followed the fraternal relationship set up by the Catholic Monarchs. Charles V in fact married his cousin, the beautiful Elisabete of Portugal, and the fruit of their union was Philip II. A peace ful agreement salved the problem of the Spanish presence in the Moluccas which had arisen as a result of the famous circumnavigation of Magellan and Elcano, and which Portugal had protested about, feeling that these lands were hers by the terms of the Treaty of Tordesillas; after a high level scientific (debate) between astronomers and sailors at the council of Elvas-Badajoz, Molucca by the treaty of Saragossa remained the possesion of Spain's sister state.
The Emperor's will gives an interesting insight into his private thanghts on many important political issnes, as do the letters written to his wife during his fregment and prolonged absences to alfend personally to serious conflicts all over Europe.
The prayer books and other pions works which passed through the Emperor's hands, some of which are conserved as precious jewels in the Escorial Library, can also enable us better to understand the personality of a ruler who was without doubt the most important influence an the shaping of Spain and the whole of "old" Europe.