List of Contributors; Acknowledgments; List of abbreviations; Sir John Elliott: an appreciation; Introduction; Part I. Power and Propaganda: The World of the Court: 1. Twin souls: monarchs and favourites in early seventeenth-century Spain Antonio Feros; 2. Taxation and political culture in Castile, 1590–1640 Charles J. Jago; 3. Clio and the Crown: writing history in Habsburg Spain Richard L. Kagan; Part II. The Pattern of Society: Community and Identity in Habsburg Spain: 4. Toledanos and their kingdom of Granada, 1492–1560s Linda Martz; 5. Castile, Spain and the monarchy: the political community from Patria natural to Patria nacional I. A. A. Thompson; 6. Aragonese constitutionalism and Habsburg rule: the varying meanings of liberty Xavier Gil; 7. Patriotism in early modern Valencia James G. Casey; 8. The mental world of Jeroni Pujades James Amelang; 9. Centring the periphery: the Cerdanya between France and Spain Peter Sahlins; Part III. Spain and its Empire: 10. David or Goliath?: Philip II and his world in the 1580s Geoffrey Parker; 11. Olivares, the cardinal-infante and Spain's strategy in the Low Countries (1635–1643): the road to Rocroi Jonathan I. Israel; 12. Conquest after conquest: the rise of Spanish domination in America Peter Bakewell; 13. Heeding Heraclides: empire and its discontents, 1619–1812 Anthony Pagden; 14. Why were Spain's 'special overseas laws' never enacted? Josep M. Fradera; Notes on the contributors; Index.

"...achieves the primary goal of any Festschrift: it demonstrates the impact of the scholar being honored. It does so by elegantly reviewing Elliott's impact on imperial Spain and early modern studies in three parts that truly reflect the main themes of his work....Elliott forces all historians to look beyond the idiosyncratic, and this volume of essays in his honor can serve Latin Americanists by introducing them to some excellent work in Spanish history." H-Net Book Reviews