Francesco SIDOTI Abstract. Intelligence is a typically Western word that refers to the specific history of Western rationalism. Intelligence structures inherit this rationalism, which has been applied to every sector of life and nature. Along with various other factors, Western hegemony has been the masterpiece of intelligence superiority. For centuries, Western intelligence was conducted in […]
Category: Vol. 18 no. 2
Intelligence Sources and the Revisionist Reassessment of the Catholic Question in Anglo-Spanish Relations (1570–1600) Through a Case Study of Jesuit Propaganda
Vittoria FEOLA Abstract. This study reinterprets the ‘Catholic question’ in AngloSpanish relations between 1570 and 1600 through the analytical lens of intelligence history. By examining both English and Continental espionage networks, directed by Francis Walsingham, William Cecil and their Spanish counterparts, such as Bernardino de Mendoza and Robert Persons, this essay challenges the traditional depiction […]
From Crusader to Realist: Revisiting the First Decades of Philip II’s English Strategy
Giulia MARCOLINI Abstract. This article aims to revisit Philip II’s policy toward Elizabethan England, arguing that it was guided primarily by geopolitical pragmatism rather than a messianic Catholic crusade. Traditional historiography has represented the Spanish monarch as the quintessential defender of the faith, emphasizing his alleged zeal to reconvert England and his support for English […]
English Foreign Policy in the First War of Religion: The Embassy of Sir Nicholas Throckmorton (1559-1564)
Sofia Degli ESPOSTI Abstract. This article is about English foreign policy during the French Wars of Religion and on the interplay between religion and diplomacy in the early years of Elizabeth I’s reign. The study focuses on Sir Nicholas Throckmorton’s embassy to France from 1559 to 1564, a period marked by the growing influence of […]
In the Shadow of the Grand Turk. Hispanic Intelligence in the Mediterranean in the 16th Century
Gennaro VARRIALE Abstract. This essay has two aims. First, it analyzes the Spanish monarchy’s intelligence system with special reference to its European domains ca. 1550-1650. Secondly, it pays particular attention to the role of espionage in the Spanish struggle against the Ottoman empire. Thus it contributes to two current historiographical debates by arguing that, first, […]