<html><div style='background-color:'><P>The modern concept of a capital does not really apply to Spain prior to the reign of Phillip II when Madrid was selected. The capital was a floating entity, and in some senses it was where the king happened to reside at the moment. The administrative apparatus was small and mostly moved with the king or queen when the court moved around the kingdom. Before Philip II, Toledo, the ecclesiastical center of Spain, came closest to meeting the modern definition of "capital," but the kings rarely lived there for very long. Toledo was the center for the extensive and well-organized bureaucracy of the church. But almost every city in the center of Spain at one time or another had a claim to being the "capital," for the king and court resided in each of those places for extended periods. The eventual choice of Madrid was rather a surprise for although the small city was very central to the kingdom!
, it was not an important place prior to the 17th century. For more on this topic, I strongly recommend the wonderful histories of early-modern Spain by Elliott, Kamen and Payne.</P>
<P>E. O. Pederson</P>
<P>Seattle, WA </P></div><br clear=all><hr>Join the world’s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. <a href='http://go.msn.com/bql/hmtag4_etl_EN.asp'>Click Here</a><br></html>