John Lynch, Spain Under the Habsburgs, 2nd ed., 2 vol. (1981, reissued 1984), provides a good overview of early modern Spain. Antonio Domínguez Ortiz, The Golden Age of Spain, 1516–1659 (1971), is a synthesis by one of the most distinguished Spanish scholars. Fernand Braudel, The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II, 2 vol. (1972–73, reissued 1995; trans. from French 2nd rev. ed., 1966), is an economic and historical geography of the Mediterranean basin during the 16th century, in which Spain plays a central role; this book has become a classic. M.J. Rodríguez-Salgado, The Changing Face of Empire: Charles V, Philip II, and Habsburg Authority, 1551–1559 (1988), discusses Spanish foreign policy. Geoffrey Parker, Philip II, 3rd ed. (1995), is a balanced study. Henry Kamen, Philip of Spain (1997), is a recent and controversial biography. John Francis Guilmartin, Jr., Gunpowder and Galleys: Changing Technology and Mediterranean Warfare at Sea in the Sixteenth Century (1974), studies war in the Mediterranean. Many books were published for the 400th anniversary of the Armada campaign; among these is Colin Martin and Geoffrey Parker, The Spanish Armada, 2nd rev. ed. (1999). Geoffrey Parker, The Army of Flanders and the Spanish Road, 1567–1659: The Logistics of Spanish Victory and Defeat in the Low Countries’ Wars (1972, reprinted with corrections, 1995), is the definitive work on the Spanish army in western Europe; and R.A. Stradling, The Armada of Flanders: Spanish Maritime Policy and European War, 1568–1668 (1992), is the equivalent for the Spanish navy. I.A.A. Thompson, War and Government in Habsburg Spain, 1560–1620 (1976), studies the effects of war on government in Spain. Jonathan I. Israel, The Dutch Republic and the Hispanic World, 1606–1661 (1982, reprinted 1986), is also useful. J.H. Elliott, The Revolt of the Catalans: A Study in the Decline of Spain, 1598–1640 (1963, reissued 1984), and The Count-Duke of Olivares: The Statesman in an Age of Decline (1986), are outstanding contributions to Spanish history written in English. J.H. Parry, The Spanish Seaborne Empire (1966, reprinted 1990), is an excellent sketch of its subject. Jonathan Brown and J.H. Elliott, A Palace for a King: The Buen Retiro and the Court of Philip IV (1980, reissued 1986), successfully attempts to integrate the history of art with political history. Henry Kamen, The Phoenix and the Flame: Catalonia and the Counter Reformation (1993), is an interesting study of 16th- and 17th-century Catalonia. Sara T. Nalle, God in La Mancha: Religious Reform and the People of Cuenca, 1500–1650 (1992), is a fascinating study of religious practice in one Castilian province. The 18th century
John Lynch, Bourbon Spain, 1700–1808 (1989, reprinted 1993), is an excellent survey. Two specialist studies, using modern techniques, are Richard Herr, Rural Change and Royal Finances in Spain at the End of the Old Regime (1989); and David R. Ringrose, Transportation and Economic Stagnation in Spain, 1750–1850 (1970). Other specific topics are addressed by William J. Callahan, Church, Politics, and Society in Spain, 1750–1874 (1984), and Honor, Industry, and Commerce in 18th Century Spain (1972); and Richard Herr, The Eighteenth-Century Revolution in Spain (1958, reissued 1969), on the reign of Charles III. The 19th and early 20th centuries
Gerald Brenan, The Spanish Labyrinth: An Account of the Social and Political Background of the Civil War, 2nd ed. (1950, reissued 1993), remains a stimulating introduction to the problems of modern Spain. General histories of political, economic, and social developments include José Alvarez Junco and Adrian Shubert (eds.), Spanish History since 1808 (2000); Adrian Shubert, A Social History of Modern Spain (1990, reprinted 1992); Raymond Carr, Spain, 1808–1975, 2nd ed. (1982); Stanley G. Payne, Politics and the Military in Modern Spain (1967); and Carolyn P. Boyd, Praetorian Politics in Liberal Spain (1979).
There has been a renewal of interest in the economic history of this period. The classic work is Jordi Nadal, El fracaso de la revolución industrial en España, 1814–1913, 5th ed. (1982). David R. Ringrose, Spain, Europe, and the “Spanish Miracle,” 1700–1900 (1996, reissued 1998); and Leandro Prados de la Escosura, De imperio a nación: crecimiento y atraso económico en España (1780–1930) (1988), provide revisionist views of Spain’s economic history.
Sources on early- and mid-19th-century politics include Jesus Cruz, Gentlemen, Bourgeois, and Revolutionaries: Political Change and Cultural Persistence among the Spanish Dominant Groups, 1750–1850 (1996); Renato Barahona, Vizcaya on the Eve of Carlism: Politics and Society, 1800–1833 (1989); V.G. Kiernan, The Revolution of 1854 in Spanish History (1966); and C.A.M. Hennessy, The Federal Republic in Spain: Pi y Margall and the Federal Republican Movement, 1868–74 (1962, reprinted 1980). Pamela Beth Radcliff, From Mobilization to Civil War: The Politics of Polarization in the Spanish City of Gijon, 1900–1937 (1996), is an important study of politics in one major city. Paul Heywood, Marxism and the Failure of Organised Socialism in Spain, 1879–1936 (1990), analyzes the socialist party. Studies of the place of the church in society and politics include William J. Callahan, Church, Politics, and Society in Spain, 1750–1874 (1984); and Joan Connelly Ullman, The Tragic Week: A Study of Anti-Clericalism in Spain, 1875–1912 (1968).
Among the important recent works on the late Spanish empire are Christopher Schmidt-Nowara, Empire and Antislavery: Spain, Cuba, and Puerto Rico, 1833–1874 (1999); and Sebastian Balfour, The End of the Spanish Empire, 1898–1923 (1997). Primo de Rivera (1923–30) and the Second Republic (1931–36)
The excellent but misleadingly titled work by Shlomo Ben-Ami, Fascism from Above: The Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera in Spain, 1923–1930 (1983), deals with the dictatorship, and The Origins of the Second Republic in Spain (1978), chronicles its collapse. George Esenwein and Adrian Shubert, Spain at War: The Spanish Civil War in Context, 1931–1939 (1995), is a recent synthesis. Paul Preston, The Coming of the Spanish Civil War: Reform, Reaction, and Revolution in the Second Republic, 2nd ed. (1994); Nigel Townson, The Crisis of Democracy in Spain: Centrist Politics under the Second Republic, 1931–1936 (2000); and Edward E. Malefakis, Agrarian Reform and Peasant Revolution in Spain: Origins of the Civil War (1970), are detailed studies of aspects of politics during the Second Republic. The Civil War (1936–39) and Franco’s Spain (1939–75)
Hugh Thomas, The Spanish Civil War, 3rd ed., rev. and enlarged (1977, reissued 1994), is a narrative history; Raymond Carr, The Civil War in Spain, 1936–39, new ed. (1986), takes a wider view. Burnett Bolloten, The Spanish Civil War: Revolution and Counterrevolution (1991), is an encyclopaedic account. George Orwell, Homage to Catalonia (1938, reissued 2000), remains a classic account of political feuds in Barcelona. Michael Alpert, A New International History of the Spanish Civil War (1994, reissued 1997), covers international aspects of the conflict; and Mary Nash, Defying Male Civilization: Women in the Spanish Civil War (1995), covers the role of women.