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CHAPTER 2 | 1600s–1800s

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THE AGE OF

DISCOVERY

When Italian explorer Christopher Columbus

sailed across the Atlantic in 1492, he laid the

ground for European domination of the New

World. Spain and Portugal were the early leaders

in this colonial exploitation, soon to be joined by

other European countries, all locked in bitter

rivalry. Military and naval might went hand-in-

hand with the covert battle for good intelligence.

The daring Spanish conquests of the Aztec (Mexico) and

Inca (Peru) empires in the early sixteenth century relied

on the cunning exploitation of the grievances of these

empires’ subject peoples. They provided the military

support that allowed the conquistadors to overcome

what would otherwise have been an overwhelming

material superiority.

FIGHT FOR TERRITORY

The vast wealth in gold and silver taken from the Americas

made Spain the most powerful nation in Europe during the

sixteenth century. But the bullion fleets that regularly

crossed to Spain were tempting targets for the privateers

sailing out of England, France, and the Netherlands. These

new arrivals also wanted a direct share of the New World’s

riches, and they founded their own colonies in the Caribbean

and North America—lands already claimed by Spain.

Spain relied on its powerful army and navy and

consequently paid limited attention to intelligence matters.

Philip II of Spain held a typically aristocratic disdain for the

grubby world of spying, and considered code-breaking to

be a form of witchcraft. Spain’s rivals were less scrupulous,

and their superior handling of the arts of spying helped

compensate for their lesser military strength.

THE RISE OF FRANCE

While Venice had long been preeminent in the intelligence

world, this began to change in the late sixteenth century,

with France gaining a new ascendancy. The mathematician

François Viète, a pioneer in the development of modern

algebra, broke the Spanish diplomatic cipher in 1590. This

gave King Henri IV a vital edge in negotiations with Spain

that led to the settlement of the French Wars of Religion.

Above: French mathematician and

codebreaker François Viète