From 1450 to 1750, European mastery of ocean travel increased expansion. New sailing and navigational developments were the astrolabe, the caravel ship, and the magnetic compass.
In 1551, the French declared war on Charles V with the intent of recapturing Italy and ensuring French domination of European affairs. It was a costly war that ended with the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis.
In 1516, this agreement recognized the supremacy of the papacy in France in return for the right to appoint French bishops. This settlement established Catholicism as the state religion in France and led to corruption within the French church.
On August 24, 1572, confrontations between the French Catholics and Protestants led to many violent deaths and the War of the Three Henrys, a damaging conflict for secular power.
The Protestant Bohemian revolt over religious freedom led to a war in Germany. That was the Bohemian Phase. Then, there was the Danish phase, the Swedish phase, and the French phase that ended it.
Spanish possessions in the Americas were divided in to four units called viceroyalties. The viceroy acted as the imperial government, the audiencia was the board of judges, and the intendents were royal officials helping the monarch.