While many empires grew through conquest, the Habsburgs famously expanded through strategic alliances and inheritance.
This brought the wealthy Low Countries (modern Belgium and the Netherlands) into the fold. History of the Habsburg Empire: Rise and Declin...
The sheer scale of the empire proved ungovernable for one person, leading to a permanent split in 1556 between the and the Austrian Habsburgs . The Rise and Fall of the Habsburg Empire While many empires grew through conquest, the Habsburgs
Under Charles V (r. 1519–1556), the empire reached its greatest territorial extent, functioning as the primary defender of Catholicism against the Ottoman Empire and the burgeoning Protestant Reformation. The Long Pivot: Division and Absolutism While many empires grew through conquest
Their son, Charles V , inherited a staggering dominion including Spain, the Americas, Austria, and the Netherlands.