The Spanish Empire in America was thoroughly different in development from the Spanish possessions in Europe. Naples, Sicily, and the Netherlands were European states with populations of cultural background at least equal to the Spanish, with the same religion, with systems of law recognized as of equal merit, and with governmental institutions the monarch was sworn to uphold. There could be no massive penetration of such states by Spanish population and customs. Indeed, during the reign of Charles V, his subjects could not be certain where the empire had its seat; so that the anger of the Spanish at Charles’ Flemish favorites arose more from their fear of colonial status than from annoyance at the painfully generous gifts made from their pockets. It was only in the reign of Philip II that the center of one Hapsburg empire was firmly set in Spain.