Spain becomes an empire?

Hello, this is my first post here, so I don't know whether this would be a regular thread, an ahc or an "is this plausible?" thread.

As far I'm concerned, Spain never was an "official" empire, as the Spanish colonial empire was never ruled by an independent Spanish emperor they merely had the title of king.

With a pod of 718 (foundation of the Kingdom of Asturias), how do we create a unified Spanish Empire, ruled by an Emperor (or Empress). I'm interested in this question because I found out there actually was a title called Emperor of All Spain (Imperator totius Hispaniae), even though none of these claimants ever controlled all of Spain.

This would be my conditions:
-Spain becomes an Empire with an Emperor/Empress as its ruler
-It must be Christian (not Islamic)
-It must be established by a Spanish or Portuguese ruler
-It must last at least 150 years without interruption
-It has to effectively control all of OTL mainland Spain (by conquest, inheritance or marriage)
-It must be recognized by at least several foreign nations
-It must be called Spain (or Hispania, Lusitania, España or something like that)
-The ruling dynasty must remain Spanish or Portuguese, no foreign rulers are allowed to ever rule the empire, no foreign dynasty can inherit the empire. The ruling dynasty may change, but the dynasty must be a Spanish or Portuguese noble house
-Spain must exist as a nation no later than 1500 (it must be founded before that date)
-Its capital must remain in Spain

Bonus points if (one or more):
-The empire lasts to the present day (constitutional monarchy is allowed)
-The empire is recognized by the Pope
-It includes Portugal in the present
-It includes Morocco in the present
-It controls Rome (or the Papacy moves to a Spanish city)
-The empire is founded by a woman
-It remains a great power till now
-Its ruling dynasty claims one or more foreign kingdoms (doesn't mean they have to be ruled by the same person)
-Portugal unites Iberia and becomes "Lusitania" (or just regular Spain)
-The Renaissance starts in Spain

Would this be possible?
 
By your metrics, wouldn't the British Empire not have been an empire, as the monarch only had the primary title of King or Queen (excluding India)?
 
Hello, this is my first post here, so I don't know whether this would be a regular thread, an ahc or an "is this plausible?" thread.

As far I'm concerned, Spain never was an "official" empire, as the Spanish colonial empire was never ruled by an independent Spanish emperor they merely had the title of king.

With a pod of 718 (foundation of the Kingdom of Asturias), how do we create a unified Spanish Empire, ruled by an Emperor (or Empress). I'm interested in this question because I found out there actually was a title called Emperor of All Spain (Imperator totius Hispaniae), even though none of these claimants ever controlled all of Spain.

This would be my conditions:
-Spain becomes an Empire with an Emperor/Empress as its ruler
-It must be Christian (not Islamic)
-It must be established by a Spanish or Portuguese ruler
-It must last at least 150 years without interruption
-It has to effectively control all of OTL mainland Spain (by conquest, inheritance or marriage)
-It must be recognized by at least several foreign nations
-It must be called Spain (or Hispania, Lusitania, España or something like that)
-The ruling dynasty must remain Spanish or Portuguese, no foreign rulers are allowed to ever rule the empire, no foreign dynasty can inherit the empire. The ruling dynasty may change, but the dynasty must be a Spanish or Portuguese noble house
-Spain must exist as a nation no later than 1500 (it must be founded before that date)
-Its capital must remain in Spain

Bonus points if (one or more):
-The empire lasts to the present day (constitutional monarchy is allowed)
-The empire is recognized by the Pope
-It includes Portugal in the present
-It includes Morocco in the present
-It controls Rome (or the Papacy moves to a Spanish city)
-The empire is founded by a woman
-It remains a great power till now
-Its ruling dynasty claims one or more foreign kingdoms (doesn't mean they have to be ruled by the same person)
-Portugal unites Iberia and becomes "Lusitania" (or just regular Spain)
-The Renaissance starts in Spain

Would this be possible?

I'm on my phone so I will just do a brief post, when I have my laptop I will explain better.

The Emperor of all the Spains, Imperador de todas as Espanhas, indicates that someone controls ALL the Spains, all the Spanish Realms.

You became the Emperor the same way in England you became the Bretwalda, you force the other realms to admit your superiority.

The title became meaningless because of the rise of Portugal.

Afonso VII, ruled three kingdoms, Castille, Leon and Galicia, and manages to force Navarre and Aragon to admit his supremacy but Alfonso Henriques of Portugal never bend the knee to him. The Emperor was force to admite the independence of the county and was unable to force his cousin to admite his superiority because they were both grandsons of Afonso VI, the former Emperor, and as far as Henriques was concerned they had the same right to the Imperial title so he refused to bend to whom he saw as an equal. That was the end of the Imperial tital, Portugals refuse created a precedent.

So for your scenario Portugal can't be ruled by Henriques.

If Nuno II Mendes the count of Portugal gains his war and becomes the first king of Portugal it's possible a future King would recognize, or be recognized, as Emperor.

For now if finish with this part, later I will go to the other points.
 
The Imperial concept is tied to the idea of Christendom and the heritage of the Roman Empire.

If you want a Spanish empire whose imperial claim is recognized by other western European powers you have to avoid Charlemagne ever becoming emperor.

Maybe have him fall from a horse.
 
The Imperial concept is tied to the idea of Christendom and the heritage of the Roman Empire.

If you want a Spanish empire whose imperial claim is recognized by other western European powers you have to avoid Charlemagne ever becoming emperor.

Maybe have him fall from a horse.

Well, precisely because of Rome you could have a spanish empire accepted as empire.

If, from the 13th century on, Spain is united under a single king and that this king gains control of Languedoc, Provence and most of Italy, It could satellize the papacy and be acknowledged as a heir of the roman empire.
 
By your metrics, wouldn't the British Empire not have been an empire, as the monarch only had the primary title of King or Queen (excluding India)?

The term "British Empire" was in use early in the 1800s. In 1835, the Irish leader O'Connell attacked the young Disraeli, remarking that "the British Empire was degraded by tolerating a miscreant of his description".

One sees also references to the "French Empire", meaning the colonial possessions of the Third Republic.
 
The Imperial concept is tied to the idea of Christendom and the heritage of the Roman Empire.

If you want a Spanish empire whose imperial claim is recognized by other western European powers you have to avoid Charlemagne ever becoming emperor.

Maybe have him fall from a horse.

Well...if not for the foreign ruling dynasty requirement of the OP, that's not necessarily true. Maybe have a different division of the Empire with Aquitaine/Spanish March becoming its own realm (with the Imperial title coming into it once or twice) and then subsequently somehow inheriting or otherwise acquiring Asturias. A wank from there could have all of Iberia under it maybe by 1100, and perhaps by that time they already have the Imperial title on a permanent basis.

OP didn't really specify if they need an Imperial title in general or specifically a title relating to the "Empire of Hispania/Spain/etc". I don't really know how the latter is possible.
 
Top