The Habsburgs: To Rule the World

This is the story of a mighty dynasty that ruled in Europe for nearly a thousand years—as well as its distinctive universe, which it itself created and then lost at the dawn of the twentieth century. Starting with modest Swabian feudal lords, in the fifteenth century the Habsburgs gained power over the Holy Roman Empire, and then, within just a few decades, over a huge part of the globe—from Hungary, the Netherlands, and Spain to Peru and Mexico. Historians often depict the Habsburg empire as a random state formation, a patchwork quilt—but Reidy clearly demonstrates the unbending will of the Habsburgs for power, fueled by their belief in their higher calling to be defenders of the Catholic faith, guarantors of peace, and patrons of enlightenment. This audiobook contains everything you need to know about a dynasty that forever changed the European continent—and the entire world.