Kamen, Henry Arthur Francis

A biography of Spain's King Philip V, examining the monarch's lasting achievements in the areas of politics, imperial policy, finance, government, and military affairs; discussing his role in the blossoming of Spanish culture; and looking at personal issues such as his character, his illness, and his two wives.

Provides an account of how Spain became the world's first superpower, surveying events from the late fifteenth to the mid-eighteenth century to show how the Spanish Empire was really a global enterprise in which various other countries including Portugal, China, Africa, German, and others played major roles.