In the Name of God and King: The Spanish Empire

FAIN: GN-50486-04

Community Television of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA 90027)
Carl Byker (Project Director: March 2004 to March 2005)

Consultation with scholars on a three-hour television documentary series chronicling the rise and fall of the Spanish Empire, from the reign of Ferdinand and Isabel through the end of Philip II's reign.

“In the Name of God and King: The Spanish Empire” will explore the Spanish Empire, the first truly global superpower, as it struggles with the blessings and burdens of incredible wealth and power. It is a story of lofty moral goals and ruthless pragmatism, of personal triumph and communal guilt. Above all, it is a timeless tale of human beings wrestling with what it means to be “civilized.” A few of the themes include: the ways in which the economies of Spain and Europe were interlinked to the exploitation of the New World, the twin rising of religion and nationalism, the Inquisition and its effects, and finally the dramatic impact of Spain’s empire on everything from food and clothing to art and architecture.