Spain, 1469-1714: A Society of Conflict (Paperback)

From the sixteenth to the early eighteenth century Spain was the world’s most powerful nation, dominant in Europe and with authority over immense territories in America and the Pacific. This text outlines and explains the way in which this world power was achieved, by following the crucial processes through the reigns of each of the nation’s rulers, from Ferdinand and Isabella at the end of the fifteenth to Philip V at the beginning of the eighteenth century. 

The book underlines the essential fragility of Spain’s material resources as the main reason why it never succeeded in achieving success as an imperial power. It also examines the origins of the eternal obsession of Spaniards with their own failings and alleged ‘decline’, and argues that the perception of ‘decline’ distorts what really happened in their history.

This is essentially the authoritative and easy-to-read, outline of the central features of Spanish politics and civilisation in the Golden Age of its world empire.

Of the first edition:

...a highly professional book ...which gives a very useful and up-to-date account of the most interesting period in Spanish history.

The Times Literary Supplement

From the sixteenth to the early eighteenth century Spain was the world’s most powerful nation, dominant in Europe and with authority over immense territories in America and the Pacific. In his now classic text, Henry Kamen shows how Spain achieved this world power, examining the crucial political events and foreign policy through the reigns of each of the nation’s rulers, from Ferdinand and Isabella at the end of the fifteenth century to Philip V at the beginning of the eighteenth century.

Kamen also explores the essential factors that distinguished the Spanish experience, from the gold and silver of the New World to the role of the Inquisition and the fate of the Muslim and Jewish minorities. He identifies the essential fragility of Spain’s material resources as the main reason why it never succeeded in achieving success as an imperial power. He also examines the origins of the eternal obsession of Spaniards with their own failings and alleged ‘decline’, arguing that the perception of ‘decline’ distorts what really happened in their history.

This third edition of Henry Kamen’s authoritative survey of the Golden Age of Spanish politics and civilisation expands the coverage of themes, brings the author’s extensive research up to date and includes a full chronology of events.

Henry Kamen was until recently Professor of the Higher Council for Scientific Research, Spain, and is Visiting Professor in the University of Chicago’s programme in Barcelona. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. A leading authority on Spanish history, he has written over twenty studies in the field, including The Spanish Inquisition (1997), Philip of Spain (1998), and Spain’s Road to Empire (2002; US Edition: Empire: how Spain became a World Power, 2003).