The Count-Duke of Olivares: The Statesman in an Age of Decline [Paperback]

J. H. Elliott (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The royal ministers Olivares and Richelieu ruled European politics in the 1620s and 1630s. Olivares failed, Richelieu succeeded; Richelieu is well known today and Olivares is not. Elliott's long-awaited biography of the Spanish favorite of Philip IV should help to remedy this injustice. This is no work of adulation; Elliott is generous in his judgement of Olivares but never indulgent. He feels that Olivares could have done little in the long run to change the course of events that overwhelmed him, but he still bears the responsibility for his own bad choices. Elliott's judgement is as always impeccable, his analysis acute. David Keymer, Dean of Students, SUNY Coll. of Technology, Utica
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 738 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (September 10, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300044992
• ISBN-13: 978-0300044997
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #237,473 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #67 in Books > History > Europe > Portugal

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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Insight Into Early Modern States, September 4, 2009

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R. Albin (Ann Arbor, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Count-Duke of Olivares: The Statesman in an Age of Decline (Paperback)

This very well written and interesting biography is a narrative of the career of the Count-Duke of Olivares, the royal favorite who was the principal minister of the Spanish crown for the first half of the reign of Philip IV. Essentially a description of Olivares' ministerial career, this book provides considerable insight into both Olivares himself and the nature of early modern states. Olivares came to power when the teenage Philip succeeded his father. He had previously established himself as the royal favorite and seems to have had a paternal relationship with Philip. An intelligent and very diligent individual, Olivares seems to have been motivated to pursue political power by a combination of personal ambition, ambition for his family's status, a sincere devotion to service to the Crown, and a strong sense of religious devotion to the Catholic cause. Olivares assumed power under challenging circumstances. The Spanish Hapsburg state, bolstered by the riches of the Western Hemisphere, had been the most powerful polity in 16th century Europe. By the 17th century, however, Spain was challenged by the Dutch and the French, and was entangled in the complex politics in the low countries, Germany, and Italy. Along with many other intelligent Spaniards, Olivares recognized that coping with the decline of the Spanish state required considerable reform.

Over the course of his dominance of Spanish politics and foreign policy, Olivares attempted multiple reforms. These included attempts to overhaul the creaky tax structure, find a reliable currency, revive Spanish trade, and ward off the challenges of the Dutch, the French, and threats to Catholicism in the Holy Roman Empire. Like other early modern states, Spain was an assemblage of kingdoms united under the crown without uniform government, taxation, and with considerable social and economic barriers. The crown depended disproportionately, both financially and for administrative manpower, on the Castilian heartland. Ultimately, Castile was unable to sustain the burden. Olivares attempted unsuccessfully to develop more uniform government and encourage a more diverse service nobility and this period of dominance was terminated by the revolt of Catalonia and Portugal.

Elliott shows well that Olivares attempts at reform were frustrated by large magnitude of the tasks, the sometimes contradictory nature of the needed reforms, and particularly by the demands of Olivares' foreign policy. The latter was an attempt to maintain Spanish power throughout Europe and Spain's colonial possessions. The enormous burden of this effort, particularly the high costs of financing war on many fronts, required continuous resort to expedients that frustrated many aspects of the reform program. The end result was failure of reform and progressive loss of Spanish power in Europe and the colonies. In many ways, this is a very well documented and described case study of the challenges of governance in early modern Europe.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Account of the Limits of Politics, May 16, 2010

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Kevin M. Derby (Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Count-Duke of Olivares: The Statesman in an Age of Decline (Paperback)

J.H. Elliott once again captures the decline of imperial Spain. Elliott focuses on the strange career of the Count-Duke Olivares (it may tell you something about the man that he refused to give up either of the titles and so used both). Olivares was the favorite, the chief minister, of Phillip IV, early in the seventeenth century. While Olivares dreamed and planned to return Spain to past glories, he failed despite some early successes. By the end of his tenure in office, Spain was on the ropes in terms of economics and as a military power. The task was herculean and, as pompous and as scheming as Olivares was, he was also very competent. If Phillip was the "planet king" as Olivares grandly labeled him, then his favorite was the moon-circling and controlling the tides. Olivares was involved in everything-art, the king's personal behavior, trade, the colonies, religion, war, internal affairs, diplomacy, building a political structure. If Olivares could not salvage the Spanish situation, it may be fair to say that no one individual could. There are some things beyond political solutions and Spain's decline was one of them. The work is fascinating and leaves a haunting portrait of the limits of politics. Elliott offers a vivid portrait of this statesman and his world and it should be read by historians and political leaders alike.