Spain’s Bonkers Plan To Conquer China In 1588 (Empresa de China) – Brilliant Maps

The
Empresa
de
China
or
China
enterprise,
was
Spain’s
totally
bonkers
plan
to
conquer
China
in
1588.
Needless
to
say
it
didn’t
work
out,
but
here’s
what
the
plan
involved.

Phases
(labeled
on
the
map):

• 
  1st
  phase:
  Portuguese
  Castilian
  double
  invasion
  of
  Guangdong
  and
  Fujian
• 
  2nd
  phase:
  March
  upon
  Beijing
  and
  capture
  of
  emperor
• 
  3rd
  phase:
  Evangelization
  of
  Spanish
• 
  4th
  phase:
  Expansion
  into
  Asia
  and
  opening
  of
  fronts
  with
  Ottoman
  Empire

The
“Empresa
de
China”
(“Enterprise
of
China”)
was
a

late
16th‐century
Spanish
scheme
to
conquer
or
at
least
dominate
Ming
China.

It
was
formulated
around
the
time
that
Spain
had
consolidated
much
of
its
overseas
empire
in
the
Americas
(New
Spain
in
Mexico
and
Peru)
and
in
the
Philippines
(from
1565
onward),
and
after
Portugal
and
Spain
had
come
under
the
same
crown
(the

Iberian
Union,
1580–1640).

The
idea—floated
by
certain
Spanish
officials
in
Manila—was
that
a

combined
Iberian
(Spanish
+
Portuguese)
force
might
overrun
southern
China
and
then
move
north
to
capture
the
Ming
emperor,
effectively
bringing
China
under
Spanish
Habsburg
sway.

What
it
would
have
involved

1. 
   First
   Phase
   (Guangdong/Fujian
   invasion):
   

   Spanish
   forces
   in
   the
   Philippines
   would
   coordinate
   with
   Portuguese
   forces
   (operating
   out
   of
   Macau
   or
   allied
   bases)
   to
   launch
   a
   two‐pronged
   attack
   on
   China’s
   southeastern
   coast
   (the
   provinces
   of
   Guangdong
   and
   Fujian).

2. 
   Second
   Phase
   (Seizing
   Beijing):
   

   Having
   established
   a
   secure
   beachhead
   in
   South
   China,
   the
   plan
   called
   for
   a
   march
   inland
   and
   the
   capture
   of
   Beijing.
   The
   hope
   was
   that
   taking
   the
   emperor
   himself
   would
   force
   a
   general
   capitulation.

3. 
   Third
   Phase
   (Religious
   “restoration”):
   

   Once
   military
   control
   was
   assured,
   Spanish
   authorities
   planned
   to
   facilitate
   large‐scale
   Christian
   evangelization
   (entrusting
   it
   to
   Spanish
   clergy)
   and
   set
   up
   a
   new
   governing
   arrangement—often
   described
   at
   the
   time
   as
   a
   “restoration,”
   implying
   that
   the
   Spanish
   would
   legitimate
   a
   “true”
   or
   “reformed”
   regime.

4. 
   Fourth
   Phase
   (Broader
   Asian
   expansion
   &
   trade):
   

   Finally,
   Spain
   would
   open
   direct
   overland
   or
   maritime
   trade
   routes
   from
   China
   westward
   to
   the
   
   Ottoman
   Empire
   and
   beyond,
   expanding
   a
   global
   Habsburg
   trading
   network.
   The
   map
   shows
   dotted
   lines
   reaching
   across
   Asia,
   indicating
   the
   hoped‐for
   extension
   of
   Spanish
   and
   Portuguese
   routes.

Why
it
did
not
go
ahead

Despite
the
ambitious
vision,
the
“Empresa
de
China”
never
materialized.
Several
major
obstacles
prevented
it:

1. 
   Logistical
   and
   Financial
   Limitations:
   

   Spain
   was
   already
   stretched
   thin.
   Maintaining
   and
   defending
   colonial
   territories
   across
   the
   Pacific,
   the
   Americas,
   and
   Europe
   (especially
   during
   conflicts
   with
   England
   and
   the
   Dutch)
   absorbed
   the
   empire’s
   resources.
   Mounting
   a
   major
   land
   invasion
   of
   China
   would
   have
   been
   enormously
   expensive
   and
   required
   far
   more
   manpower
   than
   Spain
   had
   on
   hand
   in
   Asia.

2. 
   Scale
   of
   Chinese
   Power
   and
   Manpower:
   

   Ming
   China
   in
   the
   late
   16th
   century
   was
   a
   
   huge
   state
   with
   a
   large
   standing
   military
   and
   far
   greater
   population
   than
   the
   Spanish
   Philippines
   could
   muster.
   Even
   with
   Portuguese
   cooperation,
   the
   Iberians
   would
   have
   been
   confronting
   a
   formidable
   empire
   on
   its
   home
   ground.

3. 
   Portuguese
   Reluctance
   and
   Sino-Portuguese
   Ties:
   

   Portugal’s
   foothold
   in
   Macau
   depended
   on
   relatively
   stable
   (if
   often
   tense)
   relations
   with
   Chinese
   authorities.
   Launching
   a
   massive
   invasion
   from
   Macau
   risked
   destroying
   the
   Portuguese
   trading
   privileges
   that
   made
   Macau
   so
   profitable.
   Hence,
   many
   Portuguese
   officials
   were
   
   not
   enthusiastic
   about
   a
   direct
   attack
   on
   their
   host
   empire.

4. 
   Strategic
   Priorities
   Shift:
   

   The
   Spanish
   crown
   had
   more
   pressing
   concerns
   closer
   to
   home
   (wars
   in
   Europe,
   revolts
   in
   the
   Netherlands,
   Anglo-Spanish
   conflict)
   and
   in
   the
   Americas.
   The
   notion
   of
   conquering
   China—however
   tempting
   it
   looked
   on
   paper—took
   a
   back
   seat
   to
   these
   immediate
   threats.

5. 
   Political
   and
   Geopolitical
   Realities:
   

   Even
   if
   China
   had
   internal
   problems
   (piracy,
   peasant
   rebellions,
   financial
   strains),
   the
   Ming
   court
   remained
   powerful
   enough
   to
   repel
   outsiders.
   Spanish
   strategists
   in
   Manila
   ultimately
   recognized
   that
   the
   sheer
   distance,
   China’s
   resources,
   and
   the
   uncertain
   support
   of
   local
   allies
   made
   the
   project
   impractical.

How
do
you
think
things
would
be
different
in
the
world
today
if
they
had
successeded?

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Author: Brilliant Maps