Overlord ii mistress present archive#
Overlord ii mistress present series#

Overlord ii mistress present archive#

The documents come from Orellana’s archive as governor of the so-called “Four Towns,” the Cuatro Villas of the Cantabrian coast, which were the only northern seaports lying in the principal Spanish kingdom of Castile, and hence more directly ruled by Philip than the autonomous Basque towns further east or the ports of Asturias and Galicia further west. The 174 letters and documents - the great majority of them from the King - are mostly addressed by him to Diego de Orellana de Chaves, from the summer of 1592 his corregidor (royal governor) of the nodal points of Spain’s northern littoral - the Castile coast facing England and the west of France - on the Bay of Biscay, which was the arena for this era of close engagement at sea and amphibious warfare on land between the Armada efforts of 1587––1600.

Overlord ii mistress present series#

Vital and original documentation of Spain’s struggle with her English, French and Dutch enemies in the waters of Western Europe, this unbroken series of royal letters and state papers brings to light fresh information, hitherto unused, on the crucial period of Philip II’s reign from the defeat of the Armada in 1588 up to the King’s death in September 1598.

A very few documents slightly frayed or stained, without impairment of the text: some trimmed at lower edge, losing no main text but occasionally having a portion of original summary or signed initials missing: all writing fine and clear. Letters are all folio or small folio (varying from about 315 x 220 mm to about 280 x 205 mm).

In all, 379 leaves: 184 1/2 pages written and 5 mainly printed. Many letters are with contemporary wax impressions of the seals, and with contemporary endorsements. 159 of the letters are from King Philip II, all signed: 52 with the King’s autograph signature and 107 with official stamped facsimile signature all the other documents signed autograph except for a very few contemporary secretarial copies. All the manuscripts are in contemporary Spanish secretarial hands a few are in the writers’ autographs. Physical Descriptionġ74 letters and documents, all in Spanish: 172 manuscript, 2 printed. Location: Spain (chiefly the various residences of the Court Santander, Laredo, etc.) various dates from 20 November 1591 to 10 July 1597. A large and important collection of letters and other documents, almost all signed by the King, mainly to Diego de Orellana de Chaves, Corregidor of the Four Towns of the Sea on Spain’s North Coast, on the naval war against England and France, etc. Philip II, King of Spain - The Cuatro Villas de la Costa, Spain. Kraus, Rare Books and Manuscripts, New York, NY, preceding Kraus’s sale of the collection to Brigham Young University. The following description of the letters of Philip II, King of Spain - and their historical context - was assembled by H.P.

Note on the English Summaries, Transcription Method and MarkingĪbout the Collection and its Historical Context.

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