From the sixteenth to the early eighteenth century Spain was the world's most powerful nation, dominant in Europe and with authority over immense territories in America and the Pacific. This text outlines and explains the way in which this world power was achieved, by following the crucial processes through the reigns of each of the nation's rulers, from Ferdinand and Isabella at the end of the fifteenth to Philip V at the beginning of the eighteenth century.

The book underlines the essential fragility of Spain's material resources as the main reason why it never succeeded in achieving success as an imperial power. It also examines the origins of the eternal obsession of Spaniards with their own failings and alleged `decline', and argues that the perception of `decline' distorts what really happened in their history.

This is essentially the authoritative and easy-to-read, outline of the central features of Spanish politics and civilisation in the Golden Age of its world empire.