<span>Spain was really the first global superpower, although it might share that limelight with Portugal. Spain (and Portugal) were the first states to be able to truly project their power around the globe,and extend economic relations (i.e., trade) globally as well. After Ferdinand and Isabella united the Castille-Leon and Aragon crowns in 1492 to form the Spanish kingdom, the Habsburgs took over the Spanish imperial throne in the early 1500s, at a time when the Habsburgs ruled the Holy Roman Empire (i.e., most of Germany, Austria, eastern France, Netherlands, Switzerland, northern Italy, Bohemia, "Royal" Hungary, as well as southern Italy (Sicily and Naples). The Habsburg-Spanish imperial empire was at its height under Charles V and his son, Philip II in the 1500s, when Spanish troops were on the Rhine River, in South America, in the Philippines (named after Philip II), in Albania, and elsewhere. Under Philip II the Habsburg empire was split in two, with a Central European (Austria-based) half, and a Western European (Spanish) half. Unfortunately the Spanish wasted much of the vast amounts of money (in the form of silver) pouring into the Spanish treasury from Peru, mostly in fruitless wars trying to suppress Protestantism in Central and northern Europe, and by 1600 Dutch, French and English ships were intruding on Spanish imperial interests and establishing their own colonies. But for most of the 1500s, Spain was easily the world's premier military power.</span>
Some of the earliest Mesoamerican cultures included the Olmecs, the Mayas, and the Aztecs. The Olmecs lived near the Gulf of Mexico, in “swampy, lowland river valleys.” Water drains made out of stone, hieroglyphic writings, and a calendar, were a few of their achievements. The Mayas lived in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico today. Their priests were extremely good mathematicians and astronomers. They developed a system of mathematics with 20 as the base, accurate calendars, and were the first Native Americans that developed a writing system. The Aztecs lived in Central Mexico. They were a very advance civilization with a network of canals, bridges, and causeways. Some of their achievements included chinampas, artificial floating islands used for farming, and a calendar.
