Product Description

Philip II of Spain, ruler of the most extensive empire the world had ever known, has been viewed in a harsh and negative light since his death in 1598. Identified with repression, bigotry and fanaticism by his enemies, he has been judged more by the political events of his reign than by his person. This book is published 400 years after Philip's death. Placing him within that social, cultural, religious and regional context of his times, it presents a 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 Drawing on Philip's unpublished correspondence and on many other archival sources, Henry Kamen reveals much about Philip the youth, the man, the husband, the father, the frequently troubled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 conservatives 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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1037002 in Books
• Published on: 1997-04-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 412 pages

Customer Reviews

Informative and Scholarly
Whilst this may not dwell to a macabre degree on incest, schizophrenia and murder, it is an impressive portrait of a king whose life bestrode the 16th Century. If you want a work of highly controversial speculation, look elsewhere. If you want to find out more about a troubled and private king, and his relationship with the rest of Europe, then read it. Although Kamen tends towards defending Philip on most occasions, this is not without careful thought on the part of the author, and he uses his impressive research to exonerate Philip from some of the more notorious charges levelled against him (murdering his wife and son, for example). A little over-positive in places, perhaps, but a thoroughly worthwhile and readable addition to the huge bibliography available about the most powerful and controversial man of his age.

The Philip Whitewash
All that work, and out comes an apologia. No word, really, how the Habsburgs got to take over Spain. About the incredible inbreeding, including Philip's marriage to his niece, Anna of Ausrria, that needed papal dispensation. No indication that Don Carlos was a true schizophrenic, an inheritance from the daughter of Fedinand and Isabella and passed on in the Habsburg family for a few more centuries. The inquisition was a necessity, and the destruction of the armada an act of God? No matter how hard the author tries, Philip still comes across as a hesitant, pencilpushing pedant who was none too bright. Mr. Kamen should have studied Ludwig Pfandl's 1938 book; it descibes Philip correctly and encompassing from all sides. Illustrations: After talking time and time again about Philip's portrait by Titian - why does he not include it? As a historical study, this book is not adequate.

Its a bit dull really
Kamen goes on too much about the mechanics of things that occur and too little about what this shows us about the type of person Phillip was. It serves well as a detailed account of Phillip's military actions but doesn't provide much of an original insight into his life and into how his reign shaped the future of Spain. IT was a bit dull and not very engaging.