We will discuss the statement and proof of an Equivariant Main Conjecture (EMC) in the Iwasawa theory of arbitrary global fields. This will be followed by applications of the EMC (via Iwasawa co-descent) to proofs of various conjectures on special values of global $L$-functions (e.g. the Brumer-Stark, Coates-Sinnott, and Gross-Rubin-Stark conjectures, as well as the Equivariant Tamagawa Number Conjecture of Bloch-Kato.) In the process, we will touch upon a construction of $\ell$--adic canonical models of Tate sequences. This is joint work with Cornelius Greither (Munich).