The most discreet favourite: Baltasar de Zúñiga and early modern spanish statecraft

The historiographical term “the favourite” has proved to be very successful in explaining this figure in many monarchical regimes in Early Modern Europe. However, there is much discussion about the limits of the favourite’s power and the extent to which he shared power with other relevant individual...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: González Cuerva, Rubén
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2014
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/347023
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/347023
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Baltasar de Zúñiga
Count-Duke of Olivares
Favourite
Philip IV
Spanish monarchy
House of Austria
Descripción
Sumario:The historiographical term “the favourite” has proved to be very successful in explaining this figure in many monarchical regimes in Early Modern Europe. However, there is much discussion about the limits of the favourite’s power and the extent to which he shared power with other relevant individuals. Micro-political research on power dynamics in Habsburg Spain leads us to the figure of Baltasar de Zúñiga (1561–1622), the Count-Duke of Olivares’s uncle and eminence grise. The more or less civilised struggle between Olivares and Zúñiga for royal favour provides a relevant case study of power management and its impact on public opinion at the time.