The seventeenth century has gained enormously from the resurgence of historical studies in Spain and from the contributions of historians outside the penninsula. In this book, John Lynch has taken account of this research to substantially revise and expand his Spain Under the Hapsburgs, Volume II . It retains its previous framework, and provides a penetrating account of Spanish society, economy, government and politics during this period. In this book, now available in paper, John Lynch has substantially revised and expanded his Spain Under the Habsburgs, Volume II, taking account of the research of the last decade and the interests of modern historians. The book retains its previous framework and preserves the character which has made it one of the most quoted works on Spain's century of adversity. It continues to cast a penetrating eye on the regime of Philip III and Lerma, the imperial policies of Philip IV and Olivares, the mid-century revolutions, the chronology of depression, and the balance of progress and poverty under Charles II. And it still provides the most comprehensive and challenging account of the role of America in the Hispanic world and of the changing relations between colonies and metropolis.