A History of Spain
1 total work
This work examines a key period in the history of Spain that has traditionally been regarded as one characterized by endless civil wars and anarchy. Dynastic feuds and overmighty nobles seriously weakened the power of incompetent kings. Jews were subjected to persecutions and massacres which continued even after many of them became Christians. The crusade against the power of Islam seemed almost to have been forgotten. Crises provoked a search for solutions, and the author shows how the 14th and 15th centuries witnessed progress as well as chaos. Remarkable political theories were developed, new institutions emerged, economic initiatives flourished and cultural advances were made. Spain would shortly become an imperial power dominating Western Europe and vast areas of America, and it was out of the problems of these transitional years that a new dynamism emerged.