Ottoman vs Spanish Empires Essay Example

Ottomans were Muslim, but allowed Christian and Jewish people small freedoms, treating them as second-class citizens. They would take Christian boys from lands they had conquered and placed them in the Janissary system that raised them Muslim and they went on to have a successful military career.

Both empires controlled their people through military. They had superior weaponry than their people. Both the Ottomans and the Spanish used gunpowder to control their lands. The difference is that the gap in between technologies was greater in the case of the Spanish. They were able to control vast numbers of Amerindians with few Spaniards with their swords and guns. The Ottomans, on the other hand, controlled people who had knowledge enough to be able to fend for themselves.

Both the Ottoman and the Spanish Empires had large territorial gain with increasing power, but the Ottomans fell due to decreased trade and political instability while the Spanish survived. The English and the French took hold of much of the east coast of North America while the Spanish, practically searching for El Dorado, colonized parts of Central and South America, taking large amounts of gold and spreading Christianity. The Ottomans and the Spanish both forged magnificent empires that spread trade and knowledge, creating a more interactive world.