Spain in the Seventeenth Century

At the beginning of the seventeenth century Spain was the foremost power in Europe. Yet during the hundred years that followed, it suffered an acute decline, economically and politically. Graham Darby traces the course of Spain's eventful history down to the inglorious end of the Habsburg monarchy and analyses the various, often conflicting, explanations and interpretations of `decline'.



At the beginning of the seventeenth century Spain was the foremost power in Europe. Yet during the hundred years that followed, it suffered an acute decline, economically and politically. Graham Darby traces the course of Spain's eventful history down to the inglorious end of the Habsburg monarchy and analyses the various, often conflicting, explanations and interpretations of `decline'.