Habsburg Empire · 1519-1556

Charles V and the Habsburg world

Born in Ghent in 1500, Charles inherits Spain, the Low Countries, Austria, southern Italy and new lands in the Americas, and is then elected emperor. Students map the largest inheritance in European history and see why it was so hard to rule.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
11–14
On the map
3 steps, AD 1530
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

Born in Ghent in 1500, Charles inherits Spain, the Low Countries, Austria, southern Italy and new lands in the Americas, and is then elected emperor. Students map the largest inheritance in European history and see why it was so hard to rule.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Name four regions Charles V ruled and explain how he inherited them.
  • Explain three enemies Charles faced, often at the same time.
  • Explain why Charles divided his lands when he stepped down in 1555-1556.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1530

A scattered inheritance

Open the map in 1530 and zoom out over Europe. Find Spain, the Habsburg Netherlands, the Holy Roman Empire, Naples and Sicily. Are Charles's lands joined together or scattered?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1530

Across the ocean

Zoom out to the Caribbean and Mexico in 1530. Which lands across the Atlantic are now claimed from Spain? Who lived there before the Spanish came?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1530

France in the middle

Zoom back to Europe in 1530 and look at France. Count the borders France shares with Habsburg lands. Why were France and Charles so often at war?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Charles inherited his lands from four grandparents. Why was marriage such a powerful tool for the Habsburgs?
  2. He faced France, the Ottomans and the Lutheran princes, often at the same time. Which was the most dangerous, and why?
  3. His motto was "Plus Ultra", further beyond. What do you think it meant for his empire?
  4. In 1555 the Peace of Augsburg let each German prince choose Catholic or Lutheran for his land. Was that a defeat for Charles?
  5. Charles gave up his crowns and retired to a monastery. Why might a ruler choose to step down?
4

Game round

10 min

Play a round of Rule History as Suleiman the Magnificent, Charles V's great rival, who besieged Vienna in 1529. Discuss: who had the harder job, the sultan of one large connected empire or an emperor of scattered lands?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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