 Economically, the plague destroyed the labor force as well as creating a psychological blow to an already problematic Spain.The Spanish Golden Age (in Spanish, "Siglo de Oro") was a period of flourishing arts and letters in the Spanish Empire (now Spain and the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America), coinciding with the political decline and fall of the Habsburgs (Philip III, Philip IV and Charles II).Arts during the Golden Age flourished despite the decline of the empire in the 17th century.