(including holdings in the Italian Peninsula, the Low Countries and the Franche-Comté). The first circumnavigation of the world was carried out in 1519–1521. The so-called Age of Discovery featured explorations by sea and by land, the opening-up of new trade routes across oceans, conquests and the beginnings of European colonialism. Precious metals, spices, luxuries, and previously unknown plants brought to the metropole played a leading part in transforming the European understanding of the globe. The cultural efflorescence witnessed during this period is now referred to as the Spanish Golden Age. The expansion of the empire caused immense upheaval in the Americas as the collapse of societies and empires and new diseases from Europe devastated American indigenous populations. The rise of humanism, the Counter-Reformation and new geographical discoveries and conquests raised issues that were addressed by the intellectual movement now known as the School of Salamanca, which developed the first modern theories of what are now known as international law and human rights. Juan Luis Vives was another prominent humanist during this period. Spain's 16th-century maritime supremacy was demonstrated by the victory over the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 and over Portugal at the Battle of Ponta Delgada in 1582, and then after the setback of the Spanish Armada in 1588, in a series of victories against England in the Anglo-Spanish War of 1585–1604. However, during the middle decades of the 17th century Spain's maritime power went into a long decline with mounting defeats against the Dutch Republic (Battle of the Downs) and then England in the Anglo-Spanish War of 1654–1660; that by the 1660s it was struggling grimly to defend its overseas possessions from pirates and privateers. 17th century The 17th century in Spain was a period of major political, economic, and cultural upheaval and decline, despite a flourishing cultural Golden Age. Decline began with the death of King Philip III in 1621. This period of decline was marked by increased taxation, a weakened economy, and the loss of its status as a major European power. The 17th century also saw empire embroiled in a series of exhausting wars, including the Thirty Years War and the War of the Spanish Succession. These wars left Spain depleted and impoverished. The overseas colonies began to rebel against Spanish rule. At the same time, Spain experienced a period of cultural and intellectual flourishing, as the Spanish Golden Age produced