In this book Linda Martz explores the major developments in the theory and practice of poor relief in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Spain and determines how far Spanish attitudes to poverty compared with those of other countries in western Europe. This scholarly and lucid exploration of attitudes to poverty and welfare has been prepared with the interests of non-Hispanists also borne in mind and all quotations are in English. It provides an original contribution to the socio-economic history of western Europe.