Imperial Spain, 1469-1716

"J. H. Elliott's work is a study of how a barren, impoverished and isolated country became the greatest power on earth in a few decades, and of its equally sudden decline." At its greatest Spain was master of Europe: its government was respected, its armies were feared and its conquistadores carved out a vast empire. Yet this splendid power was rapidly to lose its impetus and creative dynamism. How did this happen in such a short space of time? Taking in rebellions, religious conflict and financial disaster, Elliott's masterly social and economic analysis studies the various factors that precipitated the end of an empire.