Economy
China's economy was the largest in the entire world during the 1500s. The Europeans knew well about the economic majesty of China which made them try out trading with the Chinese. European countries such as, Britain, Portugal, Spain and France loved items from the Chinese. For example, in 1522, a ship from China arrived at the Portuguese which left them surprised because of the variety and quality of products the Chinese were able to produce. Trade became lucrative growing at a high rate, which left the Chinese pottery and textile industries experience a boom in terms of revenue, employment, and production. This made China be a prominent world economic power until the first half of the 1600s. The Spanish economic and political strength was sapping due to the prolonged period they had been in the war. Economic supremacy is sometimes associated with military and political power since these models may play an essential role in an economy of a country. Therefore, due to the economic procession and advantage of the Chinese, they seemed to have taken over the world after the 1500s (Dincecco & Onorato, 2016).
Military
In the 16th century, Spain had a mighty military power since her troops fought in South and Central America, Oran, Italy, France, Ireland and their colonies. In the early 1530s, the Spanish started to form the first large permanent infantry units. Both units comprised of tactical and administrative roles with titles such as Naples, Lombardy, and Sicily. They had an organization of 12 companies with 258 men in each one of them. Giving a 50:50 ratio pikemen and arquebusiers which was more progressive at the time. From 1519, Spain had 3,000 excellent Burgundian in squadrons of 20 and Bandes d'Ordonnance of Low Countries. Spain had organized and distinguished troops in terms of their role in war such as Archers, Ginetes, Firearm Cavalry, Lancers, Stradiots, and Italians. While China and Britain were trying to establish themselves in trade, Spain was busy organizing their military groups. Although Britain had less powerful established force than Spain, the event of 1588 where the Spanish Armada troops got defeated in England changed the course of European history. Britain won the battle, but that was contributed to bad weather, tactics and bad luck at the sea which disadvantaged the Spanish. If their attempt succeeded, Britain would have reverted to the Catholic faith.
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Politics
By the 1700s, China had created a fully functional civil service and strong centralized aristocratic territorial base of power. Although the system of government in Britain was Monarchy, it had already a system of governance, which was headed by kings and Queens by 1500. In Britain, the Monarchs did not let the parliament participate in decision making, instead, they made the decisions alone. That took two centuries and a half to change it in order to form a centralized government. China was already ahead of Britain with the Chinese Physiocrats and political activist seeking to reform the system of government in Europe. The Spanish empire began in 1492 at the discovery of America. In the early 1500s to mid-1600s, Habsburg Spain was the first empire to have possessions on five continents. This made it be the most powerful state in the world.
As early as 1500, Spain, China, and Britain had a strong culture of their own which still runs today. Although Spain had a strong military organization and power than China and Britain, all the three countries had considerable armies which were able to defend the territories of the country (Hoffman, 2015). Spain and China political mileage goes back to the beginning of 16th century where they had strong rulers while that of Britain took time until 1700. It is true that the economic status of a country may affect its political, cultural or military power. China seem to have a powerful economic base in 1500s, unlike Spain and Britain. Nevertheless, due to the vast possessions of Spain in five continents and its military supremacy by 1500s, it seemed to be the most likely country to take the world.
References
Dincecco, M., & Onorato, M. G. (2016). Military conflict and the rise of urban Europe. Journal of Economic Growth , 21 (3), 259-282.
Hoffman, P. T. (2015). Why did Europe conquer the world? . Princeton University Press.
