#x98;The#x9C; count duke of Olivares the statesman in an age of decline

Don Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares (1587-1645), was the principal minister and favourite of Philip IV of Spain, and for two decades he guided the destinies of the country that was still the greatest power in the world. A dominant figure in the Europe of the Thirty Years' War, he struggled to maintain Spanish hegemony at a time when the traditional foundations of Spain's power were being eroded, and Spain itself was increasingly being perceived as a great power in decline. The story of his political career, and of his efforts to check the process of decline by an ambitious programme of domestic reform, becomes an epic of titanic and ultimately unsuccessful struggle, culminating in personal tragedy and national disaster. The Count-Duke met his match in his great French rival, Cardinal Richelieu, and France replaced Spain as the leading European power. For all the Count-Duke's enormous historical importance, no attempt has previously been made to study in detail his political aspirations and his career as a statesman. The sheer scale of the enterprise, along with major problems of documentation, has deterred historians from embarking on the study of a man whose policies touched the lives of millions in Europe and the Americas over a period of more than twenty years. This work therefore fills a gaping void in modern European and Spanish history. In this comprehensive political biography Olivares's domestic and foreign policies are skilfully woven together into a sustained narrative on the grand scale. Based overwhelmingly on primary and often unknown sources, this is a study of Spain and Europe in the 1620s and 1630s, but it is also the study of a man. Through it all, the author never loses sight of Olivares himself, a massive figure of fluctuating moods and emotions, once described by Braudel as a cortege of personalities requiring a cortege of explanations. This elegantly written book will be seen as a landmark in the study of a man and an age; indispensable to specialists and students, but of interest also to the general reading public. A masterful biography of Don Gaspar de Guzmán, Count Duke of Olivares--righthand advisor to Spain's Philip IV, archrival of Cardinal Richelieu, and a central figure in seventeenth-century Europe. Written by the eminent historian J. H. Elliott and based on many original sources, this elegant book is a landmark in the study of a man and an age."A monument of scholarship almost unique in our time. ... Professor Elliott has written what must rank as the finest biography ever written on a Spanish statesman."--Raymond Carr, New York Review of Books"A wonderful life of Olivares and his time. ... An exceptional biography."--Harold Stone, New York Times Book Review"One of the outstanding works of Spanish historical scholarship written this century."--Henry Kamen, Times Literary Supplement"A perfect blend of biography and history, which brilliantly evokes both the man his milieu. The research is prodigious, the exposition is on the grandest scale, and the book is as much a delight to handle as it is to read."--David Cannadine, New SocietyWinner of the 1986 Wolfson Prize in History "Don Gaspar de Guzmán y Pimentel Ribera y Velasco de Tovar, Count of Olivares and Duke of San Lúcar la Mayor (Spanish: Gaspar de Guzmán y Pimentel, conde-duque de Olivares, also known as Conde de Olivares y duque de Sanlúcar la Mayor) (January 6, 1587[1]? July 22, 1645), was a Spanish royal favourite of Philip IV and minister. As prime minister from 1621 to 1643, he over-exerted Spain in foreign affairs and unsuccessfully attempted domestic reform. His policies of committing Spain to recapture Holland led to his major involvement in the Thirty Years War (1618?1648) and his attempts to centralise power and increase wartime taxation led to revolts in Catalonia and in Portugal which brought about his fall."--Wikipedia CONTENTS PREFACE LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, TABLES AND MAPS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS PROLOGUE PART I: THE INHERITANCE (1587-1622) 1 THE GUZMÁN INHERITANCE II THE ZÚÑIGA INHERITANCE III THE REFORMIST INHERITANCE PART II: REFORM AND REPUTATION (1622-1627) IV POWER AND RESISTANCE V A PROGRAMME FOR RENEWAL VI ‘PHILIP THE GREAT’ VII THE UNION OF ARMS VIII THE FIRST MINISTER PART III: THE FAILURE OF REFORM (1627-1635) IX THE OPTIONS OPEN X THE OPTIONS CLOSED (1629-1631) XI A REGIME UNDER PRESSURE XII THE CONFRONTATION WITH FRANCE PART IV: THE LOSS OF REPUTATION (1635-1645) XIII MINISTER FOR WAR XIV 1640 XV FOUNDERING XVI SHIPWRECK EPILOGUE BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX