Philip of Spain
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This book, published four hundred years after Philip's death, is the first full-scale biography of the king. Placing him within the social, cultural, religious and regional context of his times, it presents a startling new picture of his character and reign. Drawing on Philip's unpublished correspondence and on many other archival sources, Henry Kamen reveals much about Philip the youth, the man, the husband, the father, the frequently troubled Christian and the king. Kamen finds that Philip was a cosmopolitan prince whose extensive experience of northern Europe broadened his cultural imagination and tastes, whose staunchly conservative ideas were far from being illiberal and fanatical, whose religious attitudes led him to accept a practical coexistence with Protestants and Jews, and whose support for Las Casas and other defenders of the Indians in America helped determine government policy. Shedding completely new light on most aspects of Philip's private life and, in consequence, on his public actions, this book is the definitive portrayal of Philip II. Choice This fascinating biography provides. . .a new appreciation. . .and a convenient and readable introduction to early-18th-century Spain.
List of Illustrations and Mapsix Prefacexi The House of Hapsburg in the Sixteenth Centuryxvi 1 The Formative Years 1527-15441 2 The Renaissance Prince 1545-155121 3 Soldier and King 1551-155950 4 The Cross and the Crescent 1559-156579 5 Towards Total War 1566-1572108 6 Dropping the Pilot 1572-1580143 7 The World of Philip II178 8 The Statesman211 9 War in the West 1580-1586242 10 The Time of Thunder 1587-1593269 11 Last Years 1593-1598301 12 Epilogue317 List of Abbreviations322 Notes324 A Note on Sources363 Index369
