Subjects:  1. Bibliographies & Indexes    2. Bibliography    3. Europe - Spain & Portugal    4. General    5. History    6. History - General History    7. History: World    8. Portugal    9. Bibliographies, catalogues, discographies   

Subjects:  1. Ancient - General    2. Archaeology    3. Cities and towns, Ancient    4. Economic And Social Archaeology    5. History - General History    6. Portugal    7. Science/Mathematics    8. Spain    9. Urban Archaeology    10. Urbanization    11. Archaeology | Ancient    12. European archaeology    13. European history: BCE to c 500 CE    14. Social Science / Archaeology    15. Urban communities   

Subjects:  1. Artificial Intelligence - General    2. Case-based reasoning    3. Computer Science    4. Computers - General Information    5. Congresses    6. Europe - Spain & Portugal    7. Expert systems (Computer scien    8. Expert systems (Computer science)    9. History    10. History: World    11. Logic    12. Computers / Artificial Intelligence    13. Knowledge-based systems / expert systems    14. Portugal    15. Spain   

Subjects:  1. Catholic Church    2. Chicago    3. Christianity - Education - General    4. Christianity - Evangelism    5. Education    6. Education (Higher)    7. Education / Teaching    8. Europe - Spain & Portugal    9. Higher    10. History    11. Illinois    12. Mundelein College    13. Religion    14. Women    15. Women's Studies - General    16. Christian mission & evangelism    17. Christian religious instruction    18. European history (ie other than Britain & Ireland)    19. Portugal    20. Religion & Beliefs    21. Spain   

Subjects:  1. Casa dos Vinte e Quatro (Lisbon, Portugal)    2. General    3. Guilds    4. History    5. History: American    6. Lisbon    7. Lisbon (Portugal)    8. Political History    9. Political activity    10. Politics / Current Events    11. Politics and government    12. Portugal    13. Spain And Portugal - History    14. European history (ie other than Britain & Ireland)    15. Non-Classifiable    16. Political structure & processes    17. Spain   

Subjects:  1. Economic conditions    2. History    3. History: World    4. Political History    5. Social conditions    6. Viana do Castelo (Portugal : D    7. Viana do Castelo (Portugal : District)    8. Political structure & processes   

Reviews (9)

A Distant Warning
Spain experienced a metamorphosis in the 16th century.It had been a divided country battling with an age-old enemy.Its separate parts worked more against each other than with each other; Castile concentrated on the fight to reconquer the land from the Muslims, while Aragon and Catalonia fixed their sights on a Mediterranean trading empire and control of southern Italy.Under Ferdinand and Isabella, well-known as the patrons of Columbus, the Moors were conquered, the Jews expelled, and all three main parts of Spain joined under one crown.Spain soon acquired a vast empire in the Americas and Asia.Through marriage, its fortunes were hitched to the Habsburg crown, thus despatching Spanish arms and treasure to the endless European wars in Italy, Germany, and the Low Countries.Spain rose to a certain proud zenith, both in war and in administration of its vast lands.The arts began to flourish.Portugal came under the Spanish crown for sixty years.The glory days did not last long as history goes.By 1640, Spain had crashed.It was bankrupt, taxed-to-the-limit, and losing everywhere.Its European empire fell away, even Portugal threw off Castilian rule.Government fell to mostly incapable favorites of the weak and indecisive kings.Bereft of a middle class, the only good income was to be had from the church or the court.In short, the imperial greatness, which had shot across the world like a brilliant comet, had winked out in financial collapse and administrative failure, though literature and painting continued to shine.Poor education and religious ultra-conservatism had denied Spain the leaders that might have saved it.
A justly celebrated historical classic
Over the years I have managed to read a fairly large number of historical works dedicated to surveying particular periods of history, but I have rarely found one that managed to combine learning with readability as well as this one.Although a historian, Elliott must of necessity tell a story, and that is how Spain went from being a relatively unimportant afterthought on the tip of Europe to being for a period of time perhaps the dominant power on the globe, only to fall into a state of decline and veritable collapse.It is an amazing, improbable story, yet Elliott manages it without ever losing the reader in historical minutiae. Concise but insightful
This book is accessible to a general reader although it assumes some basic familiarity with European history.Without being overly long, it does a great job of cutting to the heart of matters: what were the factors that made Spain a world power in the 16th century and why did this power ultimately fall apart?Elliott concisely helps the reader to understand Spanish politics, the Inquisition, tax policy, foreign affairs, as well as social and religious tensions. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. European history (ie other than Britain & Ireland)    2. Portugal    3. Spain   

Subjects:  1. Biography: general    2. Diaries    3. European history: c 1750 to c 1900    4. France    5. Portugal    6. Slessor family    7. Warfare & Defence    8. c 1700 to c 1800    9. c 1800 to c 1900   

Subjects:  1. Canada    2. Canada - Post-Confederation (1867-)    3. Emigration & Immigration    4. Emigration and immigration    5. Ethnic Studies - General    6. Ethnohistory    7. Family    8. History    9. Portuguese    10. Portuguese-Canadian families    11. Social Science    12. Sociology    13. Sociology - Marriage & Family    14. Anthropology    15. Civil rights & citizenship    16. Family & relationships    17. History of specific racial & ethnic groups    18. Immigration & emigration    19. Portugal   

Subjects:  1. Europe - Spain & Portugal    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History: World    5. European history (ie other than Britain & Ireland)    6. Portugal    7. Spain   

Subjects:  1. History: World   

Subjects:  1. 16th century    2. Christianity - General    3. Europe - Spain & Portugal    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History: World    7. King of Portugal,    8. Millennialism    9. Nationalism    10. Portugal    11. Renaissance    12. Sebastianism    13. Sebastiao,    14. Spanish dynasty, 1580-1640    15. European history: c 1500 to c 1750    16. Journeys    17. Religion / Christianity    18. Sebastião    19. Southern Europe    20. Spain    21. c 1500 to c 1600    22. c 1600 to c 1700   

Subjects:  1. 1910-1926    2. 1926-1933    3. Eastern Europe - General    4. Fascism    5. History & Theory - General    6. History & Theory - Radical Thought    7. Nacional-Sindicalismo (Portuga    8. Nacional-Sindicalismo (Portugal)    9. Political Science    10. Politics - Current Events    11. Politics / Current Events    12. Politics and government    13. Politics/International Relations    14. Portugal    15. Political Science / History & Theory   

Subjects:  1. 1975-    2. Democracy    3. Economic conditions    4. European Union    5. European Union Countries    6. History    7. History: World    8. International    9. International Relations - General    10. Legal Reference / Law Profession    11. Portugal    12. Spain    13. World - General    14. 21st century    15. EU (European Union)    16. European studies    17. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    18. Political Science / International Relations    19. c 1980 to c 1990    20. c 1990 to c 2000   

Subjects:  1. Europe - Spain & Portugal    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History: World    5. Political History    6. Political Ideologies - Democracy    7. Political Ideologies - Fascism & Totalitarianism    8. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    9. Portugal    10. Spain   

Subjects:  1. 1524?-1580    2. Camoes, Luis de,    3. Camäoes, Luâis de,    4. History    5. History: World    6. Period of discoveries, 1385-15    7. Period of discoveries, 1385-1580    8. Portugal    9. Portuguese philology    10. Spain And Portugal - History    11. Camões, Luís de    12. European history (ie other than Britain & Ireland)    13. Spain   

Subjects:  1. European history (ie other than Britain & Ireland)    2. Portugal   

Subjects:  1. Congresses    2. East Asia    3. History    4. History & Philosophy    5. Mathematical Physics    6. Mathematics    7. Portugal    8. Science    9. Science/Mathematics    10. ASIA    11. Asian / Middle Eastern history: c 1500 to c 1900