Chapter Three. The kingdom of Naples in the spanish imperial system

Abstract

One of the most important recent acquisitions to historiography has been new ways of thinking about the Kingdom of Naples within the Spanish imperial system. “Spanish Italy” refers to a complex of political structures whose evolution was directly or indirectly marked by the destiny of Spain and its imperial system. This means that the three terms, “Italy,” “Spain,” and “imperial system” become inseparable. This triad can be seen in four different but closely interconnected perspectives: relations within the Spanish imperial system as a whole; the relationship among the various parts of the Spanish imperial system and between them and Spain or, better, between them and the guiding region, Castile; Italy within Spain’s politics of power; and the internal and external policies of the Italian states. Gerard Delille’s Le maire et le prieur compares the relationship of lineages over generations to local and central power across the Western Mediterranean. Keywords: Castile; Gerard Delille; Italian states; Kingdom of Naples; Le maire et le prieur ; Spanish imperial system; Spanish Italy