Imperial Spain: 1469-1716
by J. H. Elliott
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Book Summary Information
Author: J. H. ElliottEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2002-09-24
ISBN: 0141007036
Number of pages: 448
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Book Reviews of Imperial Spain: 1469-1716
Book Review: A Distant Warning
Summary: 5 Stars
Spain experienced a metamorphosis in the 16th century. It had been a divided country battling with an age-old enemy. Its separate parts worked more against each other than with each other; Castile concentrated on the fight to reconquer the land from the Muslims, while Aragon and Catalonia fixed their sights on a Mediterranean trading empire and control of southern Italy. Under Ferdinand and Isabella, well-known as the patrons of Columbus, the Moors were conquered, the Jews expelled, and all three main parts of Spain joined under one crown. Spain soon acquired a vast empire in the Americas and Asia. Through marriage, its fortunes were hitched to the Habsburg crown, thus despatching Spanish arms and treasure to the endless European wars in Italy, Germany, and the Low Countries. Spain rose to a certain proud zenith, both in war and in administration of its vast lands. The arts began to flourish. Portugal came under the Spanish crown for sixty years. The glory days did not last long as history goes. By 1640, Spain had crashed. It was bankrupt, taxed-to-the-limit, and losing everywhere. Its European empire fell away, even Portugal threw off Castilian rule. Government fell to mostly incapable favorites of the weak and indecisive kings. Bereft of a middle class, the only good income was to be had from the church or the court. In short, the imperial greatness, which had shot across the world like a brilliant comet, had winked out in financial collapse and administrative failure, though literature and painting continued to shine. Poor education and religious ultra-conservatism had denied Spain the leaders that might have saved it.
Elliott's history of Imperial Spain paints a clear picture of the reasons for this abrupt rise and decline. He concentrates not on battles, foreign adventures or any sort of "glory", but on administration, finance, the strong differences between Castile and Aragon/Catalonia, the Inquisition, trade, and domestic policy. I admit that such a mix may not be everybody's cup of tea, but if you are serious about learning the reasons for Spain's brief term at the top, you will certainly need to read this work, an amazingly complete study that stands with some of the best history books ever written. Though the title contains the years 1469-1716, the vast bulk of the book concerns only the sixteenth century.
It seemed to me, as I read IMPERIAL SPAIN, that the book should be required reading in Washington, but of course our "leaders" are not interested in history. They reflect in their actions an uncanny resemblance to that Spain of its glory days, thinking that glory can never end, that the mighty shall not fall. Since we seem unable to avoid foreign wars, our education system is inadequate, we are facing a rising tide of religious obscurantism, and worst of all, we operate at a huge deficit, there are some disturbing parallels. Could we learn from the history of Imperial Spain ? No doubt. Will we ? No way.
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