Henry Kamen

A Historical Revision

The Spanish Inquisition

Brevísima Historia de España ("Austral")

From the late-fifteenth to the mid-eighteenth century, Spain was the most extensive empire the world had seen, stretching from Naples and the Netherlands to the Philippines. This provocative work of history attributes Spain's rise to power to the collaboration of international business interests, including Italian financiers, German technicians, and Dutch traders. At the height of its power, the Spanish Empire was a global enterprise in which non-Spaniards -- Portuguese, Basque, Aztec, Genoese, Chinese, Flemish, West African, Incan, and Neapolitan -- played an essential role. Challenging, persuasive, and unique in its thesis, Henry Kamen's Empire explores Spain's complex impact on world history with admirable clarity and intelligence.

How Spain Became a World Power, 1492-1763

Empire

For nearly two centuries Spain was the world’s most influential nation, dominant in Europe and with authority over immense territories in America and the Pacific. Because none of this was achieved by its own economic or military resources, Henry Kamen sets out to explain how it achieved the unexpected status of world power, and examines political events and foreign policy through the reigns of each of the nation’s rulers, from Ferdinand and Isabella at the end of the fifteenth century to Philip V in the 1700s. He explores the distinctive features that made up the Spanish experience, from the gold and silver of the New World to the role of the Inquisition and the fate of the Muslim and Jewish minorities. In an entirely re-written text, he also pays careful attention to recent work on art and culture, social development and the role of women, as well as considering the obsession of Spaniards with imperial failure, and their use of the concept of ‘decline’ to insist on a mythical past of greatness. The essential fragility of Spain’s resources, he explains, was the principal reason why it never succeeded in achieving success as an imperial power. This completely updated fourth edition of Henry Kamen’s authoritative, accessible survey of Spanish politics and civilisation in the Golden Age of its world experience substantially expands the coverage of themes and takes account of the latest published research.

A Society of Conflict

Spain, 1469-1714

Confiscations in the Economy of the Spanish Inquisition

The War of Succession in Spain, 1700-15

These 15 studies cover the period from the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, to the coming of the Bourbons in 1700, concentrating on the themes of the social dimensions of religion, in the earlier period and the political consequences of dynastic change in the latter.

Crisis and Change in Early Modern Spain

European Society 1500-1700

A Concise History of Spain

Inquisition and Society in Spain in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries

This textbook in English covers both domestic and foreign policy in the period. Henry Kamen presents Spain as a poor nation thrust reluctantly into an imperial role which provoked deep internal divisions and conflicts.

Henry Kamen reassesses the significance and consequences of the expulsion of the Jews and also argues that there is little evidence for the alleged Jewishness of the conversos who were the Inquisitionʹs first victims. He presents a major revision of the impact of blood purity prejudices on Spanish society, revises the figures given for execution of heretics by the tribunal, and examines the amount of Spanish persecution in the context of executions in neighboring countries. He gives a completely new picture of the infamous censorship system, showing it to be much less effective than is often presented, and he investigates the role played by foreign propaganda in the creation of the diabolic image of the Inquisition. Kamen reconstructs the atmosphere of fear and oppression that typified the period, relating it to the fear generated by community tensions. He also demonstrates for the first time that the famous auto-da-fe was not a product of traditional Spanish piety but a deliberate tool of the inquisitors, invented in the sixteenth century in order to boost their political standing.

Social Change in Europe, 1550-1660

The Iron Century

Spain in the Later Seventeenth Century, 1665-1700

Ever since the sixteenth century, the Inquisition has been held synonymous with terror, bigotry and persecution, and distorted views of its activities persist today, Henry Kamen'sfirst study of the Inquisition, published in 1965, quickly became established as the best introduction to one of the most notorious institutions in western history. Now completely revised, it is the most up-to- date evaluation of the subject available.

An Historical Revision

Between 1450 and 1750 Europe underwent tremendous political, religious and cultural change - change which laid the foundations for the Europe we know today. Henry Kamen has compiled an accessible biographical guide to Europe in this most exciting of periods - the time of the Renaissance and the Reformation, the time of da Vinci and Erasmus, Elizabeth I and Oliver Cromwell. In over a thousand entries, which cover the whole of Europe and include politics, culture, religion and science, Professor Kamen and his international contributors, all experts in their field, shed new light on the key players in this extraordinarily rich and formative period of history.

Who's Who in Europe 1450-1750

Philip V, who reluctantly assumed the Spanish throne in 1700, was the first of the Bourbon dynasty which continues to rule Spain today. His 46-year reign, briefly curtailed in 1724 when he abdicated in favour of his short-lived son, Louis I, was one of the most important in the country's history. This account is the first biography of Philip V in English. Drawing on contemporary opinion and fresh archival sources, Kamen discusses Philip's character, decisions and policies. He offers a new assessment of the king's illness (which led earlier historians to view Philip as mad) and re-evaluates the role of his two wives. Kamen's account of Philip as king also provides an essential introduction to the study of early eighteenth-century Spain and the Bourbon monarchy.

The King who Reigned Twice

Philip V of Spain

Was the Golden Age of Spain in the sixteenth century an illusion? By introducing and examining some of the key issues and themes involved, Henry Kamen offers a balanced discussion of this question. The second edition of this book has been thoroughly revised and rewritten in the light of recent research, while new chapters have been added which cover such material as religion and culture.

Second Edition

Golden Age Spain

Spain has had a long history of exiles. Since the destruction of the last Muslim territories in Granada in 1492, wave after wave of its people have been driven from the country. The Disinherited paints a vivid picture of Spain�s diverse exiles, from Muslims, Jews and Protestants to Liberals, Socialists and Communists, artists, writers and musicians. Kamen describes the ways in which many of these expelled citizens have shaped Spanish culture � or impoverished it by leaving � and enriched their adopted homes through their creative responses to exile and to encounters with new worlds, Picasso, Mir�, Dali and Bu�uel among them. Henry Kamen�s compelling and sympathetic account tells the story of their incalculable impact on the world.

Henry Kamen

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