Four hundred years after his death, Philip II remains one of the most controversial figures in history, admired and reviled in equal measure. This new study traces the development of the 16th-century spanish king and of a kingship that lay at the heart of European political, religious, and cultural evolution. It looks at the government that evolved during his reign as well as the pressures of his tortured private life, exploring the paradox of a man who as a young ruler was deeply prudent but who became extraordinarily aggressive in old age and who reshaped the world through his successes and failures.

Patrick Williams is Senior Lecturer in Spanish History, University of Portsmouth.