theologians was produced. This may have
depreciated public appreciation for the New World, but the extent of Spanish
interest in Portugal?s great discovery becomes clear when looking at
England. In England, the discovery was
hailed with apathy before the Spanish connection of the 1550s stimulated a
limited degree of interest. Although it is
tempting to see the Atlantic as the binding factor governing interest, the
examples of England, France and Italy, where interest runs counter to this
trend would suggest that the Atlantic?s presence was simply the stimulus to
explore that led to involvement in the New World in the first place. On the issue of the role of the classical
world?s hold on Europe, the rise of Humanism, Platonism and Neoplatonism, meant
that the Old World had just risen to its climax of relevance as the New World
was discovered and was on the wane. The
increase in translations in Italy throughout the 1550s coincides with the end
of the Neoplatonic era, which would suggest a shift in focus at around this
time. The coincidence of the Spanish
connection in the 1550s and the end of Neoplatonism would explain the interest
in England for the New World from this time. The increase in importance of the
New World at the Spanish court grew massively at this time. The Spanish took
just 300 toneladas of silver in 1504, 10,000 toneladas by 1520, 20,000
toneladas by 1545 and 32,355 toneladas by 1554. The coincidence with the death
of Neoplatonism would foster a look westward by the Spanish at this time. This is easiest to spot in the appearance of
poetry, plays and so on, but also in the use of questionnaires in Castile; a
technique honed in the New World. Thus,
greater interest in the New World was reliant on disentrenchment of the
classical ideals that had been made fashionable by the successes in Italy of
humanist Florence. [1] p. 12 JHE [2] p. 14 [3] p. 15 [4] p. 16