Philip of Spain

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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 by the political events of his reign than by his person This book, published four hundred years after Philip s death, is the first full scale biography of the king Placing him within the social, cultural, religious, and regional context of his times, it presents a startling new picture of his character and reign.Drawing on Philip s unpublished correspondence and on many other archival sources, Henry Kamen reveals much about Philip the youth, the man, the husband, the father, the frequently troubled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 conservative 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 Shedding completely new light on most aspects of Philip s private life and, in consequence, on his public actions, the book is the definitive portrayal of Philip II. Free Read Books Philip of Spain author Henry Kamen – kino-fada.fr Kamen attempts a revisionist make over of King Philip II, often regarded as one of the great villains of early modern European history c.f Don Carlos, the play by Schiller and the opera by Verdi With great attention to the primary sources of the 16th century, Kamen depicts Philip as a well educated Renaissance Prince who was a warm and loving family man who cultivated learning and even enjoyed dancing He was nointolerant than the normal ruler of his time, and not particularly avid Kamen attempts a revisionist make over of King Philip II, often regarded as one of the great villains of early modern European history c.f Don Carlos, the play by Schiller and the opera by Verdi With great attention to the primary sources of the 16th century, Kamen depicts Philip as a well educated Renaissance Prince who was a warm and loving family man who cultivated learning and even enjoyed dancing He was nointolerant than the normal ruler of his time, and not particularly avid in serving the Papacy and aggressive Roman Catholicism Philip has often been presented as the Knight errant of militant Catholicism in these years, but his priority was always peace He never ceased to express his concern for religion, yet in practice his policy decisions wererealistic No imperialist fever reigned ...Though he ruled over Spain at the peak of its Golden Age of power and influence, Philip II has long suffered from a negative historical image Henry Kamen s book seeks to address this by providing a rounded portrait of a conscientious and diligent monarch, one who was surprisingly modern in many respects Kamen succeeds in describing both the grandeur of Philip s reign and the many challenges he faced as a monarch, from perennially impoverished treasury to the unrest and rebellion in the Nethe Though he ruled over Spain at the peak of its Golden Age of power and influence, Philip II has long suffered from a negative historical image Henry Kamen s book seeks to address this by providing a rounded portrait of a conscientious and diligent monarch, one who was surprisingly modern in many respects...Excellent with details, greatly researched and one of the best biographies I read I highly recommend this and Geoffrey Parker s Philip II.Just a word of caution though on Kamen His style is very different from Parker, whereas Parker in his last edition The definitive work of Philip II is laden with muchdetails than all his previous editions and eventhan Kam...Not Kamen s best and I ve read parts of his other books His book lacks important analysis and insight and instead focuses too much on family issues and drama He portrays phillip as under his father s wing, but never says why or how that s important More of a summary than a scholarly work in my opi...Good informative biography with lack of analysis.I liked this book and author obvious has done enormous research, but if honestly there were some issues, which made this book less enjoyable than I expected it to be.Main pros I highly appreciate the factual side of it I learned a lot about Philip, spanish politics, religion and conflicts in 16th century Europe And since I knew very little about spanish history, this biography really helped me to understand spanish point of view of certain h Good informative biography with lack of analysis.I liked this book and author obvious has don...After my first trip to Spain in December of 2007, I became fascinated with King Philip II of Spain While in Spain, we visted El Escorial, an unbelievable structure designed by Philip and built during his reign He is also a character in my favorite Verdi opera, Don Carlo.I was hoping this biography would give meinformation about Philip s personal life, particularly his relationship to his son, Don Carlo and his second wife, Elizabeth of Valois Regrettably, there was very little informati After my first trip to Spain in December of 2007, I became fascinated with King Philip II of Spain While in Spain, we visted El Escorial, an unbelievable structure designed by Philip and built during his reign He is also a character in my favorite Verdi opera, Don Carlo.I was hoping this biography would give meinformation about Philip s personal life, particularly his relationship to his son, Don Carlo and his second wife, Elizabeth of Valois Regrettably, there was very little information I found it to ...An incredibly readable book Philip II s travels through Europe as prince regent yo el rey principe, he signed himself after his elevation as King of Naples on the eve of his marriage to Mary I of England Philip the ladies man Philip the king, of course Also interesting on Mary Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I of England It has been claimed by another biographer that this book is a hagiography this is definitely not true It does show though that Philip was human, and a rather average pers An incredibly readable book Philip II s travels through Europe as prince regent yo el rey principe, he signed himself after his elevation as King of Naples on the eve of his marr...It is an extensive work, before Parker gave us his definitive biography of Philip which unlike the fourth edition is massive, hugely massive I am talking over 1600 pages this was one of the biggest works.However the reason why I give it...My high school Spanish teacher told us that Philip had el Escorial built so he could attend Mass while reclining in his bed but the author didn t confirm that Still the book is loaded with details of Philip s life that seem at times the reader is overwhelmed Kamen finds muchto like about Philip th...Fascinating period and fascinating leader The king of Spain, The Netherlands, parts of Italy, Germany,France and later Portugal King Phillip led these countries during the Protestant Reformation, the revolt of The Netherlands, the era of Mary I and Elizabeth I of England and manysignificant e...

Philip of Spain
  • English
  • 02 January 2017
  • Paperback
  • 384 pages
  • 0300078005
  • Henry Kamen
  • Philip of Spain