The Pax Hispanica (1598-1621) comprises the two peaceful decades of the Spanish Golden Age (1492-1661), a distinct and broader concept marked by wars of conquest in the Americas and the involvement in several European conflicts. The Spanish Golden Age began as Spain established its empire under Isabella I and Ferdinand II and continued with the Habsburg monarchs Charles I, Philip II, Philip III, and Philip IV. Under the Habsburgs, the use of force as part of Spanish colonial policies in the Americas was reviewed following the Valladolid Debate, but Spain became more and more involved in the European wars of religion.[2][3]
Under Philip II, Spain was the foremost great power and had become involved in conflicts with the Dutch, the English, and the French. In 1579, the Dutch founded the Utrecht Union after the reconquest by Spain of many territories in the Dutch provinces by Alexander Farnese.
The following year, the Spanish Monarchy achieved, for the first time since the Muslim conquest, the territorial unity of the Iberian Peninsula through a personal union with the Kingdom of Portugal, thus creating the Iberian Union (1580–1640). After capturing Ostend from Spinola, the Dutch continued their rebellion, finally achieving independence during the reign of Philip III of Spain.