During the height of the Spanish Habsburg era, Madrid stood as the grand seat of one of Europe’s proudest ruling dynasties, resplendent as the center of one of the foremost imperial powers. Yet by the 17th century, the Spanish Habsburgs were in a managed decline, and traditional scholarship has emphasized the matching role of the capital in such descent, as part of the wider Spanish Decadencia. However, according to this new book by Escobar, while imperial power may have been declining, the city of Madrid only became grander, a reflection of Habsburg ideals of good governance, and putting it on the path to become not another imperial city in decline, but one of the world’s great modern capitals. Habsburg Madrid (Penn State University Press) explores the entirety of a grand city up close, shining a new light on the elements of one of Europe’s once great empires.
