Sir John Huxtable Elliott

Brian Hamm

EUH 5934

Dr. Harland-Jacobs

30 January 2012

Sir John Huxtable Elliott: His Writings and Contributions

In many ways, it is impossible to do justice to the impressive life and career of Sir John

Huxtable Elliott in a short essay such as this one. Simply listing his countless awards, publications, and honorary titles and degrees would take up most of the space allotted for this short paper (as the pages attached to the end of the essay can attest). Instead of writing a traditional, chronologically-organized biography of this great historian, this essay will focus more directly on the continuities within Elliott’s oeuvre. After even a brief scan of Elliott’s vita, one would be more than justified in wondering whether there were any continuities to Elliott’s work at all. From his first monograph (The Revolt of the Catalans: A Study in the Decline of

Spain, 1598-1640) in 1963 to today, Elliott has written books on the Count-Duke of Olivares, the intellectual and cultural impact of the New World on Europe, the palace of Philip IV, and a magisterial comparison of the British and Spanish Empires across three centuries, among many other diverse topics. Yet, despite this breathtaking range of publications, this paper argues that there are indeed many important threads. Due to limitations of space, however, this paper will focus on one of the most fundamental continuities in Elliott’s work: the use of comparative and/or transnational history to elucidate the history of early modern Spain. Elliott’s many accomplishments are even more impressive after considering the state of the field of early modern Spanish history in the English-speaking academy, when Elliott was a graduate student at Trinity College, Cambridge, in the early 1950s. Spain for most American and

British historians was largely a terra incognita, which, if it brought up any images at all, was of a land filled with sadistic Inquisitors and Don Quixotes. It is telling that at Cambridge, Elliott studied under Sir Herbert Butterfield, a historian of the British Isles, who, in Elliott’s words,

“knew nothing about the subject [i.e., Spanish history].”1 Yet, the advisor-student relationship was a fruitful one, and by the early 1960s, Elliott had already written two well-received books and was appointed as a Lecturer of History at Cambridge.

Although these first two books were both political histories, Elliott soon demonstrated his prodigious versatility, which has helped him become one of the most well-known and influential historians of his generation. Elliott once said in an interview that he hated “being typecast as a political historian,” and his next major work would go a long ways in dispelling any notions of typecasting Elliott as merely a “political historian.”2 The size of the slim volume, The Old World and the New, 1492-1650 (1970), belies the enormity of the topic—and the significance of its contribution. In this book, Elliott posits his famous thesis about the “blunted impact” of the New

World on the Old.3 Before “Atlantic history” was a fashionable historical subfield, Elliott demonstrated in The Old World and the New that expanding one’s horizons across the Atlantic could lead to intriguing and unexpected conclusions.4

1 “Interview with Sir John Elliott” (7 March 2008). http://www.history.ac.uk/makinghistory/resources/interviews/Elliott_John.html. Accessed 29 January 2012. 2 “An Interview with J.H. Elliott.” History Today 41 (1991): 48. 3 “Between 1492 and 1650, Europeans had discovered something about the world around them, and a good deal more about themselves. Ironically, the impact of this discovery was blunted by the very extent and completeness of their successes overseas. These successes ministered to the vanity of Europe, or at least of the official Europe of sovereign nation-states, which placed a high premium on the virtues of political and social stability, and conformity. Such a Europe was unlikely to show itself unduly receptive to new impressions and experiences.” J.H. Elliott, The Old World and the New, 1492-1650 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970), 104. 4 It is worth noting that the fourth (and final) chapter of The Old World and the New is entitled “The Atlantic World.”

2 Throughout all of Elliott’s large-scale projects over the past three decades, one can find many comparative elements in them, culminating in the celebrated work of Atlantic history,

Empires of the Atlantic World (2006). For example, when researching the Count-Duke of

Olivares, Elliott took the opportunity to compare Olivares to his more well-known counterpart,

Cardinal Richelieu, in Richelieu and Olivares, which was published in 1984.5 One reviewer aptly summarized Elliott’s portraits of the two men by commenting that “Olivares emerges from this study as a much more complex and subtle personality than usually depicted, whereas Richelieu appears somewhat less masterful and modern.”6 While the critique could certainly be made that

Elliott stresses the similarities at the expense of the differences, the point remains that a great contribution is made by this kind of comparative history, which can challenge the reader to rethink his assumptions and paradigms, especially regarding such famous individuals as

Richelieu.

Beyond expanding his horizons geographically, Elliott has also demonstrated the value in crossing disciplinary boundaries. Over the course of his career, Elliott has published several pieces in the field of art history—or perhaps more correctly, in the frontier territory separating history from art history.7 Of course, the most notable example of this is his co-authored book with Jonathan Brown, A Palace for a King: The Buen Retiro and the Court of Philip IV (1980).8

What is truly impressive about many of these writings—especially “Art and Decline in

Seventeenth-Century Spain” (1983), and “Appearance and Reality in the Spain of Velázquez”

5 J.H. Elliott, Richelieu and Olivares [1984], 2nd ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991). 6 De Lamar Jensen, “Richelieu and Olivares by J.H. Elliott.” American Historical Review 90 (1985): 668. 7 “Art and Decline in Seventeenth-Century Spain,” in Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (London: Royal Academy of Arts, 1983), 40-51; The Sale of the Century: Artistic Relations between Spain and Great Britain, 1604-1655 (with Jonathan Brown) (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002); “El Greco’s Mediterranean: The Encounter of Civilizations,” in El Greco, ed. David Davies (London: National Gallery Publications, 2003), 19-31; and “Appearance and Reality in the Spain of Velázquez,” in Velázquez, ed. Dawson W. Carr (London: National Gallery Publications, 2006), 10-25. 8 J.H. Elliott and Jonathan Brown, A Palace for a King: The Buen Retiro and the Court of Philip IV [1980], 2nd ed. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004).

3 (2006)—is Elliott’s ability to connect insights from the art of Spain’s Golden Age to long- standing historical debates about the “decline” of Spain in the seventeenth century. At the heart of this discussion is the paradox that Spain’s “remarkable age of literary and artistic creativity coincided with an age of political and economic decline.”9 In probing the depths of this paradox,

Elliott’s work will undoubtedly continue to be of great profit to historians and art historians alike for many years to come.

Towards the end of his career, Elliott expanded on themes first elaborated in his The Old

World and the New. Elliott’s lectures and writings comparing Spain and Britain (and their empires) gave much credibility to the rapidly expanding field of Atlantic history in the 1990s and early 2000s.10 Though he is widely looked to as an example of the great potential of Atlantic history,11 Elliott is not an uncritical advocate of Atlantic history. For starters, Elliott maintains that all forms of comparative history, including Atlantic history, are “not for the young or for the graduate student,” because of the difficulties and challenges in mastering the relevant literatures and making sure one is “getting the comparisons weighed rightly.”12 But even when practiced by seasoned historians, Elliott notes disapprovingly of the common method of “dividing [Atlantic history] into neat national packages”—i.e., “British, French, Dutch, Spanish, and Portuguese

Atlantic history.”13 Yet, Elliott maintains that there is still great value in comparative history: 9 “Art and Decline in Seventeenth-Century Spain,” in Spain and its World, 1500-1700: Selected Essays (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989), 267. 10 “The Seizure of Overseas Territories by the European Powers,” in The European Discovery of the World and its Economic Effects on Pre-Industrial Society, 1500-1800, ed. Hans Pohl (Stuttgart: Franz Steiner, 1990), 43-61; “Britain and Spain in America: Colonists and Colonized,” Stenton Lecture (University of Reading, 1994); “Starting Afresh? The Eclipse of Empire in British and Spanish America,” conference paper (UCLA, 2007). All three essays are published in Spain, Europe, and the Wider World, 1500-1800 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009). Concerning the methodological debates about Atlantic history specifically, see “Atlantic History: A Circumnavigation,” in The British Atlantic World, 1500-1800 [2002], 2nd ed. (New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2009), 253-270. 11 For example, in a recent edited volume, Atlantic History: A Critical Appraisal, Elliott’s Empires of the Atlantic World is discussed in five different chapters, almost always with lavish praise (“Elliott triumphantly negotiates…” [10]; a “magisterial synthesis” [57]; “a truly magnificent scholarly achievement” [309]). Atlantic History: A Critical Appraisal, eds. Jack P. Greene and Philip D. Morgan (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009). 12 “Interview with Sir John Elliott.” 13 J.H. Elliott, “Atlantic History: A Circumnavigation,” 255.

4 “Even imperfect comparisons can help to shake historians out of their provincialisms, by provoking new questions and offering new perspectives.”14 In many ways, this quotation serves as a fitting summary of Elliott’s greatest contribution to the discipline of history: whether its comparing Richelieu to Olivares, British America to Spanish America, or Albert VII and

Isabella’s palace in Brussels to Philip IV’s lavish estate in Madrid, Elliott’s skillful and insightful work has always helped to “shake historians out of their provincialisms” by “provoking new questions and offering new perspectives.”

14 J.H. Elliott, Empires of the Atlantic World: Britain and Spain in America, 1492-1830 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006), xviii.

5 Chronology

Positions Held: - Regius Professor Emeritus of Modern History at Oxford (1997-present) - Regius Professor of Modern History, Oxford (1990-1997) - Professor in the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton (1973-1990) - Professor of History at King’s College, London (1968-73) - Lecturer of History at Cambridge (1957-67)

Major Awards and Accomplishments: - Honorary Fellow at Oriel College, Oxford and Trinity College, Cambridge - Honorary Professor at the University of Warwick - Fellow of the Rothermere American Institute, University of Oxford - Francis Parkman Prize (2007) - Balzan Prize (1999)—£200,000 award (!) - Cross of St. George (Catalonia) (1999) - Prince of Asturias Award in Social Sciences (1996) - Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II (1994) - Grand Cross in the Order of Alfonso X the Wise (1988) - Commander in the Order of Isabella the Catholic (1987) – (Knight Grand Cross, 1996) - Wolfson Prize for History (1986) - Fellow at the British Academy (1972-present) - First non-Marxist member of the editorial board of Past and Present (1958-2000)

Selected Publications

Books: - Spain, Europe, and the Wider World: 1500-1800. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009. - Empires of the Atlantic World: Britain and Spain in America, 1492-1830. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006. - The Sale of the Century: Artistic Relations between Spain and Great Britain, 1604-1655 (with Jonathan Brown). New Haven: Yale University Press, 2002. - Do the Americas Have a Common History?: An Address. Providence: The John Carter Brown Library, 1998. - Spain and Its World, 1500-1700: Selected Essays. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989. - The Count-Duke of Olivares: The Statesman in an Age of Decline. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1986. - Richelieu and Olivares [1984]. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991. - A Palace for a King: The Buen Retiro and the Court of Philip IV (with Jonathan Brown) [1980]. 2nd ed. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004. - The Old World and the New: 1492-1650 [1970]. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.

6 - Europe Divided: 1559-1598 [1968]. 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell, 2000. - Imperial Spain: 1469-1716 [1963]. 2nd ed. London: Penguin, 2002. - The Revolt of the Catalans: A Study in the Decline of Spain, 1598-1640 [1963]. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984.

Articles and Chapters: - “Appearance and Reality in the Spain of Velázquez.” In Velázquez, ed. Dawson W. Carr (London: National Gallery Publications, 2006), 10-25. [Reprinted in Spain, Europe, and the Wider World, 1500-1800 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009), 279- 303.] - “The General Crisis in Retrospect: A Debate without End.” In Early Modern Europe: From Crisis to Stability, eds. Philip Benedict and Myron P. Gutmann. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 2005. [Reprinted in Spain, Europe, and the Wider World, 1500-1800 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009), 52-73.] - “The Same World, Different Worlds.” In Mezclado y sospechoso, ed. Gregorio Salinero. Madrid: Casa de Velázquez, 2005. [Reprinted in Spain, Europe, and the Wider World, 1500-1800 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009), 193-210.] - “King and Patria in the Hispanic World.” In El Imperio Sublevado: Monarquía y naciones en España e Hispanoamérica, eds. Victor Mínguez and Manuel Chust. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 2004. [Reprinted in Spain, Europe, and the Wider World, 1500-1800 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009), 173-192.] - “El Greco’s Mediterranean: The Encounter of Civilizations.” In El Greco, ed. David Davies (London: National Gallery Publications, 2003), 19-31. [Reprinted in Spain, Europe, and the Wider World, 1500-1800 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009), 233-253.] - “Court Society in Seventeenth-Century Europe: Madrid, Brussels, London.” In Velázquez, Rubens y Van Dyck. Madrid: Museo del Prado, 1999. [Reprinted in Spain, Europe, and the Wider World, 1500-1800 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009), 254-278.] - “A Europe of Composite Monarchies.” Past & Present No. 137 (1992): 48-71. [Reprinted in Spain, Europe, and the Wider World, 1500-1800 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009), 3-24.] - “Foreign Policy and Domestic Crisis: Spain, 1598-1659.” In Krieg und Politik, 1618- 1648, ed. Konrad Repgen (Munich: Schriften des Historischen Kollegs, Kolloquien 8, 1988), 185-202. [Reprinted in Spain and its World, 1500-1700: Selected Essays (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989), 114-136.] - “A Non-Revolutionary Society: Castile in the 1640s.” In Etudes d’Histoire Européene. Mélanges offerts à René et Suzanne Pillorget. Angers: Presses de l’Université d’Angers, 1990. [Reprinted in Spain, Europe, and the Wider World, 1500-1800 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009), 74-91.] - “The Seizure of Overseas Territories by the European Powers.” In The European Discovery of the World and its Economic Effects on Pre-Industrial Society, 1500- 1800, ed. Hans Pohl (Stuttgart: Franz Steiner, 1990), 43-61. [Reprinted in Spain, Europe, and the Wider World, 1500-1800 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009), 109-130.]

7 - “The Court of the Spanish Habsburgs: a Peculiar Institution?” In Politics and Culture in Early Modern Europe: Essays in Honour of H.G. Koenigsberger, eds. Phyllis Mack and Margaret C. Jacob (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987), 5-24. [Reprinted in Spain and its World, 1500-1700: Selected Essays (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989), 142-161.] - “The Marquis of Castel Rodrigo and the Landscape Paintings in the Buen Retiro” (with Jonathan Brown). The Burlington Magazine 129 (1987): 104-107. - “Power and Propaganda in the Spain of Philip IV.” In Rites of Power: Symbolism, Ritual, and Politics Since the Middle Ages, ed. Sean Wilentz (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1985), 145-173. [Reprinted in Spain and its World, 1500-1700: Selected Essays (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989), 162-188.] - “A Question of Reputation?: Spanish Foreign Policy in the Seventeenth Century.” The Journal of Modern History 55 (1983): 475-483. - “Art and Decline in Seventeenth-Century Spain.” In Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (London: Royal Academy of Arts, 1983), 40-51. [Reprinted in Spain and its World, 1500-1700: Selected Essays (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989), 263-286.] - “Spain and its Empire in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries.” In Early Maryland in a Wider World, ed. David B. Quinn (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1982), 58-83. [Reprinted in Spain and its World, 1500-1700: Selected Essays (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989), 7-26.] - “Quevedo and the Count-Duke of Olivares.” In Quevedo in Perspective: Eleven Essays for the Quadricentennial, ed. James Iffland (Newark, DE: Juan de la Cuesta, 1982), 227-250. [Reprinted in Spain and its World, 1500-1700: Selected Essays (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989), 189-209.] - “Self-Perception and Decline in Early Seventeenth-Century Spain.” Past & Present No. 74 (1977): 41-61. [Reprinted in Spain and its World, 1500-1700: Selected Essays (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989), 241-261.] - “The Discovery of America and the Discovery of Man.” Proceedings of the British Academy 48 (1972): 101-125. [Reprinted in Spain and its World, 1500-1700: Selected Essays (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989), 42-64.] - “Revolution and Continuity in Early Modern Europe.” Past & Present No. 42 (1969): 35- 56. [Reprinted in Spain and its World, 1500-1700: Selected Essays (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989), 92-113.] - “The Mental World of Hernán Cortés.” Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 5th ser., 17 (1967): 41-58. [Reprinted in Spain and its World, 1500-1700: Selected Essays (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989), 27-41.] - “A Provincial Aristocracy: the Catalan Ruling Class in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries.” In Homenaje a Jaime Vicens Vives, 2 vols. (Barcelona: Universidad de Barcelona, 1967), II.125-141. [Reprinted in Spain and its World, 1500-1700: Selected Essays (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989), 71-91.] - “The Decline of Spain.” Past & Present No. 20 (1961): 52-75. [Reprinted in Spain and its World, 1500-1700: Selected Essays (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989), 217-240.] - “The King and the Catalans.” Cambridge Historical Journal 11 (1955): 253-271.