The surprising fact about the 17th century Spain is not so much its Essay

The surprising fact about the 17th century Spain is not so much its decline as a great power but its survival for so long.' Do y - Essay Example Spain was able to survive. The Spanish government’s decline as a great power is not as important as the how long Spain continues to survive until the end of the 17th century. Henry Arthur (1980) emphasized the English general Oliver Cromwell’s death in 1658 had inflicted a huge loss on the English Army as well as the strength of the French army. Cromwell had joined forces with the French to prevent the Stuarts from regaining the throne in England. The French were interested in the alliance because they did not want the Stuarts to return the English throne. History shows that the Stuarts did return to the English Throne in 1658 after the political turmoil that erupted in England in the same year. When King Charles II ascended the English throne, England stopped its attacks on Spain. Initially, the English commander, Cromwell, sought Catholic France’s alliance in order to defeat Catholic Spain because Cromwell believes God prefers that the Protestant religion shoul d flourish in Europe. Cromwell initially attacked the Spanish trade and treasure routes. Cromwell tried to attack the Spanish forced on Hispaniola. However, the Cromwell attacked failed because the Spanish defensive forces in Hispaniola were too strong compared to the incoming English army. Defeated, Cromwell’s forces fled and reached the shores of Jamaica in May 1655. Overall, the English Admiral Robert Blake attacks did not completely win the war against Spain. The English – French alliance was entitled the Treaty of Paris was signed in March 1657. The treaty emphasised France will join England in attacking Spain in the battle of Flanders. The treaty specified that English will send an estimated 4,900 soldiers and France will send 19,900 soldiers to fight the Spanish soldiers. The war reached the Gravelines, Mardyck and Dunkirk localities where Spain had more gains compared to the English side. Further, during Spain’s war against England, England suffered huge losses. The Spanish counter attack had eradicated the English shipping trade. In the same light, Spain also suffered huge losses when Admiral Blake blockaded Cadiz. The blockade caused a stoppage of the Spanish economy which generated most of its cash inflows from imported silver and gold coming from the Americas. Spain’s King Philip IV was extremely worried with the English Attacks in Italy, Flanders, and Portugal. Furthermore, William Guthrie (2003) reiterated the 30 years French – Spanish war precipitated from the Habsburg rivalry. France attacked Spain at Les Avins in 1635. In response, the Spanish forces used its Southern Netherlands forces to implement speedy counter attacks on French defensive positions. The counterattacks had literally maimed the French economy. In 1643, the French army crushed the previously invincible Spanish army in Rocroi, Northern France. During this time, the Catalonia revolts and the Portuguese revolts had undermined the strength of the Spanish army. During this war, the Spanish forces were trapped between the French forces on one side and the Dutch forces on the other side. As expected, the Spanish forces were trounced by the advancing French forces at the battle of Lens. However, could not overrun the losing Spanish forces strategically entrenched in Flanders. The In the Peace of Westphalia, France was given the Alsace territory. Likewise, Spain

The property rights of China and America economics Research Paper

The property rights of China and America economics - Research Paper Example In the current highly competitive business environment, business entities are going to great lengths to establish and protect particular niches in the market. The main aim for this is to enhance optimal performance and maintain a desirable and economically rewarding competitive edge. On a larger scale, countries are taking initiatives to ensure that their economic development and growth maintains an upward growth. Relative measures towards the attainment of this goal are all encompassing and reflective of the social and economic trends across the globe. They range from formulation of policies and regulations that enhance economic growth to establishment of trade relations with countries whose economic performance is stable. Besides optimizing profits, the main aim of such relations includes safeguarding the overall wellbeing of the populations. From an ethical view point, the efforts of such countries are morally acceptable. This is especially because of their need to enhance the standards of living of the majority of their populations. Nonetheless, it is worth appreciating that certain initiatives have adverse impacts on the wellbeing of the global economy. This is because the negative implications undermine the economic performance of other countries. In this regard, it is worth appreciating that countries do not exist in a vacuum. Globalization trends have triggered the establishment and maintenance of relations between countries. All these are geared towards enhancing the flow of goods, people, products and information. The fact that the USA and China have had close economic ties over time cannot be overstated. The two nations have varying potentials with respect to economic production. They venture in different fields and aim at producing ideal products that would enable them to perform competitively in the global market. For this reason, America and China established viable trade as well as diplomatic relations (The United States International Trade Commission, 32). Examples of these include total US-China Trade that was signed in 1979 and Mutual-most-favored-nation treatment of 1980. Undoubtedly, these institutions enhanced economic and specifically trade operations between the two countries. With the relative viable environment, they were able to import and export products with ease. Historical evidence indicates that China has always focused on reducing the production costs and thus enhancing the purchasing power of its citizens. The US importers benefited significantly from this because they w ere able to get Chinese products at a lower price. Likewise, this enabled America to improve the living standards of its population as well as general wellbeing. This is because it was able to cut the costs that were associated with production. As a result, it provided its population with consumer products at cheaper prices. However, this had adverse impacts on the performance of local industries. In essence, it compromised local production and instead boosted the economic performance of Chinese industries form which the relative products were sourced. In addition, this practice greatly undermined the quality of products offered in the market for American consumption. This is because the raw materials employed in their production were relatively low. China has also invested significantly in the US economy. In particular, it has explored foreign direct investment and a host of other non bond investments. Thus the economic relationship between the two countries is considered to be mut ually benefiting. An evaluation of the economic wellbeing of China however indicates that it has benefited the most from the relations that it has