PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
The present edition differs from the first in a number of ways.

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION
THe present work is the first of a projected two-volume history of Spain from 1516 to 1700.

CHAPTER I
THE HABSBURG INHERITANCE
I. The Union of the Crowns
On 19 October 1469 Isabella, heiress to the throne of Castile, married Ferdinand, son and heir of John II of Aragon.