[xvii] A book as long in the making as this one has been inevitably accumulates many benefactors, both personal and institutional. Let me begin by acknowledging the unfailing dedication of the numerous archivists all over Spain who, in the face of serious limitations imposed by the Franco regime, preserved, organized, and made available as best they could one of the richest archival heritages in the world. The size of this heritage is impressive when one works in the commonly used Archivo General de Simancas, the Archivo General de Indias (Sevilla), or the Archivo Histórico Nacional (Madrid), but it is even more striking when one penetrates to the municipal and provincial collections that are scattered across the country. In particular I wish to indicate my gratitude for the patience and helpfulness of the staff of the Archivo de la Villa de Madrid, one of the richest municipal archives in Europe.

Several institutional acknowledgments are in order, since without research support the years in Spain and the attendant travel costs would have been insupportable. Both the Research Council of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and the Research Committee of the Faculty Senate of the University of California, San Diego provided travel funds, computer support, and time for writing and reflection. The Comisión de Intercambio Cultural Entre España y los Estados Unidos (Spanish Fulbright Program) made possible two years in Spain as a graduate student and a year as a Faculty Research Fellow. The National Endowment for the Humanities provided an additional year of leave which allowed the final archival work and provided time to begin serious writing.

No acknowledgments can be complete without mention of the professional friends and colleagues who provided useful criticism, advice, and moral support. Among these are my Spanish friends Gabriel Tortella Casares, Gonzalo Anes Alvarez, and Antonio Dominguez Ortiz, who provided valuable orientation to the academic world of Spain. Others crucial to the development of the project were Domenico Sella, Rondo Cameron, Herbert Rowen, and Richard [xviii] Herr. Several people provided constructive comments on the manuscript as it evolved, including Robert Ritchie, Woodrow Borah, and Edward Malefakis. As the book reached consideration for publication, I benefited immensely from uncompromising and searching critiques by Elias Turna and Pablo Fernández Albaladejo and by Michael Weisser, who has provided me with an ongoing debate over the relationship between the two great cities of the Spanish meseta, Madrid and Toledo. My most important professional debt of all is to Kathryn M. Ringrose, who, as professional colleague, research assistant, confidant, and wife provided ongoing criticism and encouragement and subordinated a large part of her own career to this project.