John Elliott (1930–2022)

In many respects J. H. Elliott's biography of Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares represents the capstone of his long and distinguished career as an historian of early modern Spain. After spending decades painstakingly researching and accumulating the surviving sources, he produced what is the most comprehensive and insightful study of the man who was the chief minister and "favorite" of the Spanish king Philip IV. It is a magnificent work, one that is not only a political biography of Olivares but an account of a mighty empire grappling with decline.

These two subjects are inextricably intertwined in this book because, as Elliott demonstrates, Spain's mounting burdens dominated Olivares's years in power. The problem was what the historian [a:Paul M. Kennedy|14709278|Paul M. Kennedy|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] subsequently termed "imperial overstretch," as by the time Olivares became chief minister, Spain faced the dual tasks of both maintaining its position in the world and reforming the systems of government and finance to make them work more effectively. Yet these goals often were irreconcilable, as to get the finances he needed in the short term to maintain Spanish prestige and power Olivares was forced to abandon the long-term fiscal and governing reforms Spain needed. This left Olivares dealing with crisis after crisis, as Spain's growing problems abroad strained its economic and military resources to their breaking point. In the end for all his strenuous efforts Olivares could not halt what was a terminal decline, and was ultimately forced from office with his grand designs unfulfilled.

Elliott's biography is a fascinating study of an important figure in Spanish history and the problems he faced while in office. Through them he reveals the dynamics of an empire in slow decline and the ultimately futile efforts by its leaders to maintain its power. it is an impressive achievement, and one that will stand deservedly as an indispensable study of Olivares and the history of early modern Spain for decades to come.… (more)

This book discusses mostly the domestic politics of the Spanish monarchy and the economic and diplomatic challenges it faced during the years indicated in the title. The author possesses great skill for narrative explanation in broad strokes, so the book is a pleasure to read. I would have expected it to include bit more material about Spain's American colonies and how they influenced the homeland, but the author's later work Empires of the Atlantic World can be recommended to readers more interested in Spanish colonialism. I also thought the second half of the book was less informative than the first because the number of personalities who exercised authority in the Spanish monarchy seems to have increased quite a lot toward the end of this period. It would perhaps have been a good idea to emphasize the economic reasons of the Spanish decline a bit more and individual decisions-makers a bit less. Nevertheless, the first half of the book is a good case study of how European monarchies functioned in this time period, and especially how strongly the quality of government depended on the personal characteristics of the monarch and how critical succession problems could be.… (more)