Historiography Notes [excerpts] The historiography of Napoleon [Bonaparte] is extensive; however, his brother takes a back seat in history.... Although there is considerable folklore regarding Joseph, he has been the subject of only a few scholarly studies.... The secondary source bookshelf is growing but at a slow pace.... Some of these books were written at the end of the nineteenth century. Sporadically throughout the twentieth century, authors wrote about various parts of Joseph's life, but people began to...

Introduction [excerpt] The most infamous interaction of Philip II with England was certainly that of his attempted invasion with the ill-fated Spanish Armada in 1588. This incident cemented Philip's reputation in England as an unreasonable foreign aggressor, trying to steal the rightful inheritance of England's divinely favored Queen Bess. While the English regarded him in a primarily negative light, in Spain Philip's reign came be seen as a golden age. Yet, before he was king of Spain, Portugal, Naples,...