Read more
Royal Favouritism and the Governing Elite of the Spanish Monarchy, 1640-1665 presents a study of the later years of the reign of Philip IV from the perspective of his favourite (valido), don Luis Méndez de Haro, and of the other ministers who helped govern the Spanish Habsburg Monarchy. It offers a positive vision of a period that is often seen as one of failure and decline. Unlike his predecessors, Haro exercised the favour that he enjoyed in a discreet way, acting as a perfect courtier and honest broker between the king and his aristocratic subjects. Nevertheless, Alistair Malcolm also argues that the presence of a royal favourite at the head of the government of Spain amounted to a major problem. The king's delegation of his authority to a single nobleman was considered by many to have been incompatible with good kingship, and Philip IV was himself very uneasy about failing in his responsibilities as a ruler. Haro was thus in a highly insecure situation, and sought to justify his regime by organizing the management of a prestigious and expensive foreign policy. In this context, the eventual conclusion of the very honourable peace with France in 1659 is shown to have been as much the result of the independent actions of other ministers as it was of a royal favourite very reluctantly brought to the negotiating table at the Pyrenees. By conclusion, the quite sudden collapse of Spanish European hegemony after Haro's death in 1661 is represented as a delayed reaction to the repercussions of a flawed system of government.
List of contents
- Introduction
- PART I: THE PROBLEM OF THE VALIDO
- 1: Kingship and the perfect courtier
- 2: The royal family and its entourage
- 3: Personal rule, 1643-1648
- PART II: THE MINISTERIAL ELITE
- 4: Government and society after Olivares
- 5: Ins and outs: the appointment and employment of ministers
- 6: 'Other people' and 'different ministers': a factionless era?
- PART III: WAR AND PEACE IN EUROPE
- 7: Sustaining the conflict, 1648-1657
- 8: Crisis and revival, 1657-1659
- Aftermath: the unravelling of a valimiento, 1659-1661
- Epilogue: personal rule and regency during the 1660s
- Bibliography
About the author
Alistair Malcolm studied History at the Universities of St Andrews and Oxford, and is currently a lecturer at the University of Limerick. He is a specialist in the cultural and political history of Spain during its Golden Age. His current projects are a general study of the effects of court favouritism on policy-making in Spain during the seventeenth century, and a book of documents in translation to assist in the teaching of early modern Spanish history for undergraduates. His approach to the writing of history is one intended to appeal to specialists and general readers alike.
Summary
Royal Favouritism and the Governing Elite of the Spanish Monarchy, 1640-1665 presents a study of the later years of the reign of Philip IV from the perspective of his favourite (valido), don Luis Méndez de Haro, and of the other ministers who helped govern the Spanish Habsburg Monarchy. It offers a positive vision of a period that is often seen as one of failure and decline. Unlike his predecessors, Haro exercised the favour that he enjoyed in a discreet way, acting as a perfect courtier and honest broker between the king and his aristocratic subjects. Nevertheless, Alistair Malcolm also argues that the presence of a royal favourite at the head of the government of Spain amounted to a major problem. The king's delegation of his authority to a single nobleman was considered by many to have been incompatible with good kingship, and Philip IV was himself very uneasy about failing in his responsibilities as a ruler. Haro was thus in a highly insecure situation, and sought to justify his regime by organizing the management of a prestigious and expensive foreign policy. In this context, the eventual conclusion of the very honourable peace with France in 1659 is shown to have been as much the result of the independent actions of other ministers as it was of a royal favourite very reluctantly brought to the negotiating table at the Pyrenees. By conclusion, the quite sudden collapse of Spanish European hegemony after Haro's death in 1661 is represented as a delayed reaction to the repercussions of a flawed system of government.
Additional text
Malcolm's impressive grasp of the details of the Spanish aristocracy and international politics of the 1640s and 1650s makes this an important book ... Malcolm makes the wealth of names and connections the reader needs to grasp as comprehensible as possible, particularly through tables and family trees
Report
This book lays the foundation for a re-examination of the politics and personalities of Philip IV's reign and in doing so provides an inestimable service to students of court and government. At last, the third great favourite of the Spanish seventeenth century and the court in which he operated become properly visible to us. Patrick Williams, The Court Historian: The International Journal of Court Studies
