Henry Kamen

xiv, 240 pages ; 25 cm

"Ferdinand Alvarez de Toledo, the third duke of Alba (1507-82), is known in history as 'the butcher of Flanders'. The general who carried out Philip II's repressive policies in the Netherlands, he was responsible for the massacre of thousands of men, women and children, considering it better to lay waste an entire country than leave it in the hands of heretics. Alba came to represent for contemporaries as well as for future generations the unacceptable face of Spanish imperialism." "In this re-evaluation, Henry Kamen narrates the duke's personal history, looking beyond the conventional image to reveal motives and to explain rather than simply to condemn. Kamen examines the early years of Alba's life, his travels over the whole of Europe, and the complex military and political career that made him Spain's leading general of the imperial age. Drawing on the duke's rich and expressive surviving correspondence, Kamen explores Alba's beliefs and considers his infamous actions within the contexts of this time and of the monarchs - Emperor Charles V and King Philip II of Spain - whom he served."--BOOK JACKET.

"Philip V, who reluctantly assumed the Spanish throne in 1700, was the first of the Bourbon dynasty which continues to rule Spain today. His 46-year reign, briefly curtailed in 1724 when he abdicated in favour of his short-lived son, Louis I, was one of the most important in the country's history. This account is the first biography of Philip V in English.". "Drawing on contemporary opinion and fresh archival sources, Kamen discusses Philip's character, decisions and policies. He offers a new assessment of the king's illness (which led earlier historians to view Philip as mad) and re-evaluates the role of his two wives. Kamen's account of Philip as king also provides an essential introduction to the study of early eighteenth-century Spain and the Bourbon monarchy."--BOOK JACKET.

This book is the first complete biography of Philip II, King of Spain (1527-1598). Philip II is seen as a cruel king, tyrant, ambitious and identified with repression and religious intolerance. Henry Kamen contradicts this official view. Based on documents and unpublished sources, Kamen presents us a new and startling perspective and draws a psychological portrait of the monarch, placing him in the social, cultural and religious context of his time.

"For over a century Spain controlled the greatest empire the world had ever seen, and its collapse provoked, both then as it does now, a range of analyses over which there has been little agreement. In the second edition of this text, Henry Kamen asks: was the Golden Age of Spain in the sixteenth century actually an illusion? By examining some of the key issues involved, Kamen offers a balanced discussion of this fundamental question."--Jacket.

A general history of Europe with particular reference to the position of Spain.