The Project Gutenberg EBook of History of the Reign of Philip the Second,
King of Spain., by William H. Prescott

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Title: History of the Reign of Philip the Second, King of Spain.

Author: William H. Prescott

Release Date: May 30, 2010 [EBook #32600]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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[Illustration: PHILIP THE SECOND.

_From the Original by Titian in the Royal Museum at Madrid._

London, George Routledge & Sons, Broadway, Ludgate Hill.]

HISTORY
OF
THE REIGN
OF
PHILIP THE SECOND,
KING OF SPAIN.

BY
WILLIAM H. PRESCOTT,
CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE INSTITUTE OF FRANCE, OF THE ROYAL
ACADEMY OF HISTORY AT MADRID, ETC.

VOLUMES FIRST AND SECOND.

COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME.

LONDON
GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS
THE BROADWAY, LUDGATE
NEW YORK. 416, BROOME STREET.

PREFACE.

The reign of Philip the Second has occupied the pen of the historian
more frequently--if we except that of Charles the Fifth--than any other
portion of the Spanish annals. It has become familiar to the English
reader through the pages of Watson, who has deservedly found favor with
the public for the perspicuity of his style,--a virtue, however, not
uncommon in his day,--for the sobriety of his judgments, and for the
skill he has shown in arranging his complicated story, so as to maintain
the reader's interest unbroken to the end. But the public, in Watson's
day, were not very fastidious in regard to the sources of the
information on which a narrative was founded. Nor was it easy to obtain
access to those unpublished documents which constitute the best sources
of information. Neither can it be denied that Watson himself was not so
solicitous as he should have been to profit by opportunities which a
little pains might have put within his reach,--presenting, in this
respect, a contrast to his more celebrated predecessor, Robertson; that
he contented himself too easily with such cheap and commonplace
materials as lay directly in his path; and that, consequently, the
foundati