Spanish Naval Power, 1589-1665: Reconstruction and Defeat

Description

This is the first book to attempt a comprehensive analysis of the state of Spain's naval forces in the years following the defeat of the Great Armada in 1588 and during the seventeenth century. This was a period in which all of Europe's maritime powers were attaching increasing importance to naval warfare in their bid to topple Spain and to seize the rich pickings of her vast empire. The book is not, however, about naval battles and tactics. It is a study of the political, social, economic and technological conditions that influenced the character and performance of the Spanish navy. Based on hitherto untapped material in national and local Spanish archives, the book's findings throw new light on the conservation of Spain's timber resources, naval funding, recruitment and the status of the Spanish seaman.

'Spanish Naval Power provides an overview of the strategic, political and administrative contexts in which the service operated before undertaking detailed studies of funding, shipbuilding, logistics and personnel. Well written with an eye for the telling example and the poignant touch, Goodman sets out in detail not just the story of a navy but also that of the world in which it existed. It is rare that a work of naval history becomes recognised immediately as a 'classic', but that is the distinction that this book richly deserves.' The Mariner's Mirror 'This is a book of admirable scholarship which, in its insularity, its profound absorption in bureaucratic procedure and its remoteness from practical operations, nicely exemplifies one of Spain's fundamental naval weaknesses.' N. A. M. Rodger, History '... important analysis.' The Mariner's Mirror