Compare And Contrast The Spanish And Ottoman Empires

The Spanish and Ottoman Empires

The Ottomans and Spanish built flourishing empires based on different philosophies from 1450 to 1800. The Ottoman and Spanish were two powerful empires during that time. During the building of the two empires, the Spanish and the Ottoman both developed similarities in their social, political, and economic structures. The Ottoman took control of Europe, while the Spanish saw it as easy to monitor new lands. The different tactics employed made the both empires flourish. For instance, the Spanish were not tolerant of religion. They conquered other areas with the aim of converting Christians to Islam, if they refused, they would be killed. On the other hand, the Ottoman leaders incorporated leaders of diverse culture

The land could be used by the peasant to grow crops. The farmers were required to pay the rulers for this. The Ottoman succeeded in capturing both land and sea. They had improved their technology and war skills by capturing Italian cities. For instance, the capture of Constantinople in 1453 gave the Ottoman the advantage as they could use the captured towns to increase the taxes and trade routes (Burbank & Cooper, 132). After they had captured Constantinople, they traveled west and occupied more land. Their improved technology and seafaring skills gave them a competitive advantage in war. On the other hand, the Spanish colonized Americans and forced them to work on their lands to produce goods for export. Through capture of Latin America, the Spanish were able to take part in Columbian exchange that brought merchandise to Europe, Africa, and America. Both The Ottomans and Spanish participated the in slave trade by capturing slaves who become part of their workforce. The Spanish captured slaves from African and took them to Latin America to work on their farms. The law prohibited enslaving of Islamic people. Thus the Ottoman had to capture slaves from