>>17775534
It was an empire dominated by Genoese capital, justified by the pope, expanded by Castilian power, unified by Aragonese realpolitik, and politically led by Austrians.
That´s why it sucked after Habsbourgs left. The Bourbons lacked papal approval, Genoese money, or Aragonese political culture.

Venetians and Florentines imitated the Gonese with France and England. The Medici empire in France failed in global power terms. And the Venetian one in England quite surprassed the Spanish.