They were definately one of the best sailing to foreign lands and wiping out the primitive, indigenous inhabitants. Kudos must go to Hernando Cortez and co, they really set the benchmark. 

I would like to see that photo. While I was there you would hear about a car being blown up in Madrid or something quite regularly on the news. It's pretty terrible to have that going on in such a great country. My dad is actually on holiday over there at the moment.

		guidogodoy wrote:
		HAAA!! Hey, now. What about their Civil Wars? They fought them (and, as some would argue, are STILL fighting them) for decades if not centuries! One even ended with the beautiful (he says jokingly) union of the Catholic Monarchs that finally united Castilla-León with their arch enemies in Aragón. How about the Basque Separatists? The vasquense have been bombing the hell out of the federalist government for eons. I was almost blown up in one of their damn attacks (I have great photos of that one!). Kidding aside, the Spanish Armada was the dominant maritime force throughout the 15th and into the 16th centuries. Only true rival was Portugal at the time which, of course, was already part of Iberian Peninsula. In all my travels, I don't bump into many English-speakers in Central or South America. Carlos V (I) was both the King of Spain and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. As they say "during his reign, the sun never set on his empire." Clearly the first world Empire. Not too many Romans made it across the sea. Fickle finger of fate did hit them but it was also accompanied by hyperinflation and huge debt at home. Kinda sounds like the USA. Still, your comment makes me think of the greay Sargent Hartman (R. Lee Ermey - woo hoo!) from Full Metal Jacket and his tirade at Private "Gomer Pile." To paraphrase: "If God had wanted you up here (on this obstacle), he would have MIRACLED your ass up here by now!" lol  Same could apply to the famous Armada Invencible Española....except that Private Pile had a better commander!      jimmyjames wrote: And the fact that when it comes to war the Spanish are bloody hopeless. Of the 8 or 9 wars they've been involved in in Europe they've lost them all. So I would say regardless of the weather the English would have snotted the Spanish in that one, vastly superior armada or not. Maybe God just stepped in so the inevitable Spanish defeat wouldn't be quite so embarrassing for them.      guidogodoy wrote: I gotta poke my head in here on this one. You DO realize that most historians attribute the massive storms that hit the Spanish Armada to be their downfall, right? It was, by no means, a vastly superior English Naval force nor simply Sir Francis Drake and some amazing English naval strategy. Blame Poseidon or blame the fact that God was on the side of the Protestants and unleashed a massive storm on them. Fact is, Drake had very little to do with it.      heimda11 wrote: A tradition of colonialism can lead to interesting assimilation of diverse cultural influences.  The foundation of British rock and pop was greatly influenced by visceral and intellectual American black culture...blues and jazz.  I've also frequently thought Billy Idol represented British seapower without a war.  Any student of history knows the Limeys are nucking futs...Sir Francis Drake and the English Navy defeating the vastly superior Spanish Armada comes to mind.