The Grand Strategy of Philip II

Posted on 27 February 2018 by Geoffrey Parker

From 1556 until his death in 1598, Philip II of Spain ruled the first global empire in history, yet no one so far has analyzed precisely how he accomplished this feat The author investigates the strengths and weaknesses of Philip s strategic vision, the priorities that underlay his policies, the practices and prejudices that influenced his decision making, and the external factors that affected the achievement of his goals.Geoffrey Parker begins by defining the characteristics of Spain s strategic culture the king s distinctive system of government, the information overload that threatened to engulf it, and the various strategic priorities and assumptions used to overcome the disparity between aims and means He then explores the surviving documentation from the Habsburgs, their allies, and their adversaries on the formation of strategy in three crucial case studies Philip s unsuccessful efforts to maintain his authority in the Netherlands, his defective peacetime management of foreign relations with Scotland and England, and his failed Armada campaign against England Finally Parker examines the small but fatal flaws in the execution of Philip s Grand Strategy, assesses the response of the king and his ministers to their failures, and questions whether the outcome might have been different with other policy options, another ruler, or a different strategic culture Pointing to modern parallels between Philip s problems of governance and those facing Hitler and Churchill, or Kennedy and Johnson, this powerfully argued book provides a fascinating commentary on the nature of empires and the decision making process as practiced by great powers. Free Download The Grand Strategy of Philip II [ By ] Geoffrey Parker [ Kindle ePUB or eBook ] – kino-fada.fr Geoffrey Parker is the best biographer on Philip II I have read several of his other book that deal with this maligned and often misunderstood king What makes his books better than others is that he doesn t step into the extremes and paints the complete opposite of what his political enemies did of him at the time he is no de...Everyone in a position of senior management in any organization, public or private, should read this book.Perhaps not as compelling as hisbiographical work on Philip or narratives but still a good read.The final chapter of this book cites Don Martin de Padilla, commander of the Armadas that sailed in the war against England in 1596 and 1597, dismally observing that Spanish strategy held our eyes on the stone that harmed us and not the arm from which it came The sharpest criticism of Philip II as the head of a global empire, is that he had no long term strategy at all, but only reacted to events in a struggle to hold on to the scattered lands that he had inherited And, as if that would not The final chapter of this book cites Don Martin de Padilla, commander of the Armadas that sailed in the war against England in 1596 and 1597, dismally observing that Spanish strategy held our eyes on the stone that harmed us and not the arm from which it came The sharpest criticism of Philip II as the head of a global empire, is that he had no long term strategy at all, but only reacted to events in a struggle to hold on to the scattered lands that he had inherited And, as if that would not have been enough, that in doing so failed to be realistic in matching up ends and means, lit...Parker has undertaken an enormously in depth study of the grand strategy of Spain s Philip II, ruler of an empire on which the sun never set Yet despite the heaps of documents he obviously trawled through, this book remains interesting The author draws apt parallels to other portions of history Cold War, Vietnam, World War II and to modern business models, showing that the subject, though seemingly arcane, is actually relevant He does not spend much time on a broad outline of historical Parker has undertaken an enormously in depth study of the grand strategy of Spain s Philip II, ruler of an empire on which the sun never set Yet despite the heaps of documents he obviously trawled through, this book remains interesting The author draws apt parallels to other portions of history Cold War, Vietnam...It is amazing to actually read of how an absolute monarch governs and makes decisions, and then, in the 16th Century, communicates them This is an in depth analysis of the decisions in the Netherlands and for the ill fated invasion of Engl...Masterful.Great companion to Garrett Mattingly s The Armada.

English
27 February 2018

Geoffrey Parker