Intelligence and the Formulation of Policy and Strategy in Early Modern Europe: the Spanish Monarchy in the Reign of Charles II (1665-1700)

This article seeks to explore the means whereby the Spanish Monarchy under the last Habsburg, Charles II (1665-1700), contributed to its own survival in the era of Louis XIV by exploring its acquisition and use of intelligence. There was nothing particularly distinctive about Spain's intelligence machinery. Nor was it always effective. Nevertheless, Spain's extensive diplomatic and imperial network facilitated the acquisition of a great deal of information which on occasion was clearly of great importance - for example, in preventing the destruction of Charles II's fleet in the summer of 1693 by that of Louis XIV. In sum, intelligence contributed to the remarkable resilience of the Spanish Monarchy in an age of supposed Spanish decline.