True - but even with that, Spain had the pop. potential to make up for it while still keeping their stupid Peninsular-Christian values intact.
It's far more realistic to see a smart, Espana-centric high ranking bureaucrat instituting school reform for the peasantry and children of the bourgeoisie then butterflying the inquisition or the wide reaching effects from it
Can you please avoid the phrase "Stupid Peninsular-Christian values" that's a little offensive for us here given that like it or not its part of our culture...
"high ranking bureaucrat instituting school reform for the peasantry and children of the bourgeoisie" - Keep the Cortes strong as the Peninsular Kings usually used them to gain support from the Bourgeoisie and the common people to fight the power of the Nobility or/and the Church. Also "School Reform"? How? There was no curriculum to impose in all the monastic/cathedral schools also the Peninsula had a surprisingly high number of Universities from where most bureaucrats where draft from (7 in Spain pre-1500 and 1 in Portugal. In comparison France had 4, England 2, Scotland 3, Germany 9 and Italy 13).