Get Dynasty and Piety: Archduke Albert (1598-1621) and Habsburg PDF

The youngest son of Emperor Maximilian II, and nephew of Philip II of Spain, Archduke Albert (1559-1621) was once initially destined for the church. although, dynastic imperatives determined differently and in 1598, upon his marriage to Philip's daughter, the Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia, he stumbled on himself ruler of the Habsburg Netherlands, the most dynamic but politically volatile territories in early-modern Europe. via an research of Albert's reign, this e-book deals a brand new and fuller knowing of foreign occasions of the time, and the Habsburg position in them. Drawing on quite a lot of archival and visible fabric, the ensuing examine of Habsburg political tradition demonstrates the big measure of autonomy loved by means of the archducal regime, which allowed Albert and his entourage to exert a decisive impact on a number of an important occasions: getting ready the floor for the Anglo-Spanish peace of 1604 by means of the instant reputation of King James, clearing the best way for the Twelve Years' Truce by way of conditionally accepting the independence of the United Provinces, reasserting Habsburg impression within the Rhineland by way of the armed intervention of 1614 and devising the phrases of the Oñate Treaty of 1617. In doing so the publication indicates how they sought to begin a pragmatic coverage of consolidation reaping benefits the Spanish Monarchy and the home of Habsburg. while earlier paintings at the topic has tended to be aware of both the connection among Spain and the Netherlands or among Spain and the Empire, this e-book bargains a miles deeper and lots more and plenty extra nuanced perception in how the home of Habsburg functioned as a dynasty in the course of those severe years of accelerating non secular tensions. according to large study within the information left through the archducal regime and its diplomatic companions or opponents, it bridges the distance among the reigns of Philip II and Philip IV and places study into the interval onto a desirable new basis.