Philip 11 of Spain has been given such a bad press by history - particularly by Anglo-American historians whose own motives were frequently questionable - that it is probably too late to mount a rescue operation on his reputation. He was no monster, but a cautious, bureaucratic, procrastinating ruler with too much to worry about and too little ability to delegate. As the Most Catholic King, he had to cope with "heresy" in Europe and the encroaches of Islam; as a Habsburg he was left with the damnosa hereditas of the Netherlands and the enmity of France; and finally, he had to face England and her piratical but able seafaring elite. Like so many of the Habsburgs, Philip tended to get immersed in paper work and routine, but he also had an unfortunate Messianic streak which made him see himself as the Heaven-sent protector of God's Church. This scholarly study may be a little too much for the average reader - over 100 pages of notes alone, plus bibliography.