WILLIAM H. PRESCOTT |
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HISTORY OF THE REIGN OF PHILIP THE SECOND
1527 –1598
KING OF SPAIN.
CHAPTERS
BOOK I. THE SPANISH EMPIRE AT WORK .1.
ABDICATION OF CHARLES THE FIFTH.
BOOK II. WAR OF RELIGIONS IN NETHERLANDS
10.
VIEW OF THE NETHERLANDS.
BOOK
III. THE WARS OF RELIGIONS IN NETHERLANDS (CONTINUED)
24.
ALVA SENT TO NETHERLANDS
BOOK IV. SPANISH EMPIRE AT WAR WITH THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE30. THE
OTTOMAN EMPIRE
BOOK V. THE WARS WITH THE MOORS38. THE
MOORS OF SPAIN
BOOK VI. SPANISH AFFAIRS.48.
DOMESTIC AFFAIRS
The reign
of Philip the Second has occupied the pen of the historian more frequently—if
we except that of Charles the Fifth—than any other portion of the Spanish
annals. It has become familiar to the English reader through the pages of
Watson, who has deservedly found favor with the public for the perspicuity of
his style,—a virtue, however, not uncommon in his day,—for the sobriety of his
judgments, and for the skill he has shown in arranging his complicated story,
so as to maintain the reader's interest unbroken to the end. But the public, in
Watson's day, were not very fastidious in regard to the sources of the
information on which a narrative was founded. Nor was it easy to obtain access
to those unpublished documents which constitute the best sources of information.
Neither can it be denied that Watson himself was not so solicitous as he should
have been to profit by opportunities which a little pains might have put within
his reach,—presenting, in this respect, a contrast to his more celebrated
predecessor, Robertson; that he contented himself too easily with such cheap
and commonplace materials as lay directly in his path; and that, consequently,
the foundations of his history are much too slight for the superstructure. For
these reasons, the reign of Philip the Second must still be regarded as open
ground for English and American writers.
And at
no time could the history of this reign have been undertaken with the same
advantages as at present, when the more enlightened policy of the European
governments has opened their national archives to the inspection of the
scholar; when he is allowed access, in particular, to the Archives of Simancas,
which have held the secrets of the Spanish monarchy hermetically sealed for
ages.
The
history of Philip the Second is the history of Europe during the latter half of
the sixteenth century. It covers the period when the doctrines of the
Reformation were agitating the minds of men in so fearful a manner as to shake
the very foundations of the Romish hierarchy in the fierce contest which
divided Christendom. Philip, both from his personal character, and from his
position as sovereign of the most potent monarchy in Europe, was placed at the
head of the party which strove to uphold the fortunes of the ancient Church;
and thus his policy led him perpetually to interfere in the internal affairs of
the other European states,—making it necessary to look for the materials for
his history quite as much without the Peninsula as within it. In this respect
the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella presents a strong contrast to that of
Philip the Second; and it was the consideration of this, when I had completed
my history of the former, and proposed at some future day to enter upon that of
the latter, that led me to set about a collection of authentic materials from
the public archives in the great European capitals. It was a work of
difficulty; and, although I had made some progress in it, I did not feel
assured of success until I had the good fortune to obtain the cooperation of my
friend, Don Pascual de Gayangos, Professor of Arabic in the University of
Madrid. This eminent scholar was admirably qualified for the task which he so
kindly undertook; since, with a remarkable facility—such as long practice only can
give—in deciphering the mysterious handwriting of the sixteenth century, he
combined such a thorough acquaintance with the history of his country as
enabled him to detect, amidst the ocean of manuscripts which he inspected, such
portions as were essential to my purpose.
With
unwearied assiduity he devoted himself to the examination of many of the
principal collections, both in England and on the Continent. Among these may be
mentioned the British Museum and the State-Paper Office, in London; the Library
of the Dukes of Burgundy, in Brussels; that of the University of Leyden; the
Royal Library, at the Hague; the Royal Library of Paris, and the Archives of
the Kingdom, in the Hôtel Soubise; the Library of the Academy of History, the
National Library at Madrid, and, more important than either, the ancient
Archives of Simancas, within whose hallowed precincts Señor Gayangos was one of the first scholars permitted to enter.
Besides
these public repositories, there are several private collections to the owners
of which I am largely indebted for the liberal manner in which they have opened
them for my benefit. I may mention, in particular, the late Lady Holland, who
kindly permitted copies to be made by Señor Gayangos
from the manuscripts preserved in Holland House; Sir Thomas Phillips, Bart.,
who freely extended the same courtesy in respect to the present work which he
had shown to me on a former occasion; and Patrick Fraser Tytler, Esq., the late
excellent historian of Scotland, who generously placed at my disposal sundry
documents copied by him in the public offices with his own hand, for the
illustration of the reign of Mary Tudor.
In
Spain the collection made by Señor Gayangos was
enriched by materials drawn from the family archives of the marquis of Santa
Cruz, whose illustrious ancestor first had charge of the Spanish armada; from
the archives of Medina Sidonia, containing papers of the duke who succeeded to
the command of that ill-starred expedition; and from the archives of the house
of Alva,—a name associated with the most memorable acts of the government of
Philip.
The
manuscripts, thus drawn from various quarters, were fortified by such printed
works as, having made their appearance in the time of Philip the Second, could
throw any light on his government. Where such works were not to be purchased, Señor Gayangos caused copies to be made of them, or of
those portions which were important to my purpose. The result of his kind,
untiring labors has been to put me in possession of such a collection of
authentic materials for the illustration of the reign of Philip as no one
before had probably attempted to make. Nor until now had the time come for
making the attempt with success.
There
still remained, however, some places to be examined where I might expect to
find documents that would be of use to me. Indeed, it is in the nature of such
a collection, covering so wide an extent of ground, that it can never be
complete. The historian may be satisfied, if he has such authentic materials at
his command, as, while they solve much that has hitherto been enigmatical in
the accounts of the time, will enable him to present, in their true light, the
character of Philip and the policy of his government. I must acknowledge my
obligations to more than one person, who has given me important aid in
prosecuting my further researches.
One of
the first of them is my friend, Mr. Edward Everett, who, in his long and
brilliant career as a statesman, has lost nothing of that love of letters which
formed his first claim to distinction. The year before his appointment to the
English mission he passed on the Continent, where, with the kindness that
belongs to his nature, he spent much time in examining for me the great
libraries, first in Paris, and afterwards more effectually in Florence. From
the Archivio Mediceo,
in which he was permitted by the grand duke to conduct his researches, he
obtained copies of sundry valuable documents, and among them the letters of the
Tuscan ministers, which have helped to guide me in some of the most intricate
parts of my narrative. A still larger amount of materials he derived from the
private library of Count Guicciardini, the descendant of the illustrious
historian of that name. I am happy to express my lively sense of the courtesy
shown by this nobleman; also my gratitude for kind offices rendered me by
Prince Corsini; and no less by the Marquis Gino Capponi, whose name will be
always held in honor for the enlightened patronage which he has extended to
learning, while suffering, himself, under the severest privation that can befall
the scholar.
There
was still an important deficiency in my collection,—that of the Relazioni Venete, as the reports are called which were made by ambassadors of Venice on their
return from their foreign missions. The value of these reports, for the
information they give of the countries visited by the envoys, is well known to
historians. The deficiency was amply supplied by the unwearied kindness of my
friend, Mr. Fay, who now so ably fills the post of minister from the United
States to Switzerland. When connected with the American legation at Berlin, he,
in the most obliging manner, assisted me in making arrangements for obtaining
the documents I desired, which, with other papers of importance, were copied
for me from the manuscripts in the Royal Library of Berlin, and the Ducal
Library of Gotha. I have also, in connection with this, to express my
obligations to the distinguished librarian of the former institution, Mr.
Pertz, for the good-will which he showed in promoting my views.
Through
Mr. Fay, I also obtained the authority of Prince Metternich to inspect the
Archives of the Empire in Vienna, which I inferred, from the intimate relations
subsisting between the courts of Madrid and Vienna in that day, must contain
much valuable matter relevant to my subject. The result did not correspond to
my expectations. I am happy, however, to have the opportunity of publicly
offering my acknowledgments to that eminent scholar, Dr. Ferdinand Wolf, for
the obliging manner in which he conducted the investigation for me, as well in
the archives above mentioned, as, with better results, in the Imperial Library,
with which he is officially connected.
In
concluding the list of those to whose good offices I have been indebted, I must
not omit the names of M. de Salvandy, minister of
public instruction in France at the time I was engaged in making my collection;
Mr. Rush, then the minister of the United States at the French court; Mr.
Rives, of Virginia, his successor in that office; and last, not least, my
friend, Count de Circourt, a scholar whose noble
contributions to the periodical literature of his country, on the greatest
variety of topics, have given him a prominent place among the writers of our
time.
I am
happy, also, to tender my acknowledgments for the favors I have received from
Mr. Van de Weyer, minister from Belgium to the court of St. James; from Mr. B.
Homer Dixon, consul for the Netherlands at Boston; and from my friend and
kinsman, Mr. Thomas Hickling, consul for the United States at St. Michael’s,
who kindly furnished me with sundry manuscripts exhibiting the condition of the
Azores at the period when those islands passed, with Portugal, under the scepter
of Philip the Second.
Having
thus acquainted the reader with the sources whence I have derived my materials,
I must now say a few words in regard to the conduct of my narrative. An obvious
difficulty in the path of the historian of this period arises from the nature
of the subject, embracing, as it does, such a variety of independent, not to
say incongruous topics, that it is no easy matter to preserve anything like
unity of interest in the story. Thus the Revolution of the Netherlands,
although, strictly speaking, only an episode to the main body of the narrative,
from its importance, well deserves to be treated in a separate and independent
narrative by itself. Running along through the whole extent of Philip's reign,
it is continually distracting the attention of the historian, creating an
embarrassment something like that which arises from what is termed a double
plot in the drama. The best way of obviating this is to keep in view the
dominant principle which controlled all the movements of the complicated
machinery, so to speak, and impressed on them a unity of action. This principle
is to be found in the policy of Philip, the great aim of which was to uphold
the supremacy of the Church, and, as a consequence, that of the crown.
"Peace and public order," he writes on one occasion, "are to be
maintained in my dominions only by maintaining the authority of the Holy
See." It was this policy, almost as sure and steady in its operation as
the laws of Nature herself, that may be said to have directed the march of
events through the whole of his long reign; and it is only by keeping this
constantly in view that the student will be enabled to obtain a clue to guide
him through the intricate passages in the history of Philip, and the best means
of solving what would otherwise remain enigmatical in his conduct.
In the
composition of the work, I have, for the most part, conformed to the plan which
I had before adopted. Far from confining myself to a record of political
events, I have endeavored to present a picture of the intellectual culture and
the manners of the people. I have not even refused such aid as could be
obtained from the display of pageants, and court ceremonies, which, although
exhibiting little more than the costume of the time, may serve to bring the
outward form of a picturesque age more vividly before the eye of the reader. In
the arrangement of the narrative, I have not confined myself altogether to the
chronological order of events, but have thrown them into masses, according to
the subjects to which they relate, so as to produce, as far as possible, a
distinct impression on the reader. And in this way I have postponed more than
one matter of importance to a later portion of the work, which a strict regard
to time would assign more properly to an earlier division of the subject.
Finally, I have been careful to fortify the text with citations from the
original authorities on which it depends, especially where these are rare and
difficult of access.
In the
part relating to the Netherlands I have pursued a course somewhat different
from what I have done in other parts of the work. The scholars of that country,
in a truly patriotic spirit, have devoted themselves of late years to exploring
their own archives, as well as those of Simancas, for the purpose of
illustrating their national annals. The results they have given to the world in
a series of publications, which are still in progress. The historian has reason
to be deeply grateful to those pioneers, whose labors have put him in
possession of materials which afford the most substantial basis for his
narrative. For what basis can compare with that afforded by the written
correspondence of the parties themselves? It is on this sure ground that I have
mainly relied in this part of my story; and I have adopted the practice of
incorporating extracts from the letters in the body of the text, which, if it
may sometimes give an air of prolixity to the narrative, will have the
advantage of bringing the reader into a sort of personal acquaintance with the
actors, as he listens to the words spoken by themselves.
In the earlier
part of this Preface, I have made the acknowledgments due for assistance I have
received in the collection of my materials; and I must not now conclude without
recording my obligations, of another kind, to two of my personal friends,—Mr.
Charles Folsom, the learned librarian of the Boston Athenæum,
who has repeated the good offices he had before rendered me in revising my
manuscript for the press; and Mr. John Foster Kirk, whose familiarity with the
history and languages of Modern Europe has greatly aided me in the prosecution
of my researches, while his sagacious criticism has done me no less service in
the preparation of these volumes.
Notwithstanding
the advantages I have enjoyed for the composition of this work, and especially
those derived from the possession of new and original materials, I am fully
sensible that I am far from having done justice to a subject so vast in its
extent and so complicated in its relations. It is not necessary to urge in my defence any physical embarrassments under which I labor;
since that will hardly be an excuse for not doing well what it was not
necessary to do at all. But I may be permitted to say, that what I have done
has been the result of careful preparation; that I have endeavored to write in
a spirit of candor and good faith; and that, whatever may be the deficiencies
of my work, it can hardly fail—considering the advantages I have enjoyed over my
predecessors—to present the reader with such new and authentic statements of
facts as may afford him a better point of view than that which he has hitherto
possessed for surveying the history of Philip the Second.
Boston,
July, 1855
CONTENTS.
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