Alvarez de Toledo, Cayetana 1974–

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Alvarez de Toledo, Cayetana 1974–

PERSONAL:

Born October 15, 1974, in Madrid, Spain; married. Education: Oxford University, Ph.D., 2000.

CAREER:

Historian and journalist. Director of cabinet for secretary general of the People's Party in Spain. Former opinion page editor, El Mundo (newspaper).

WRITINGS:

Politics and Reform in Spain and Viceregal Mexico: The Life and Thought of Juan de Palafox, 1600-1659, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 2004.

(With others) La Crisis de la Monarquía de Felipe IV, Crítica (Barcelona, Spain), 2006.

Contributor of editorials and program content to COPE (Spanish radio network).

SIDELIGHTS:

Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo is a former journalist and Oxford-educated historian who has also served as a top advisor to Spanish presidential candidate Angel Acebes of the People's Party. Before becoming actively involved in politics, Álvarez de Toledo edited the opinion pages of El Mundo, one of Spain's largest daily newspapers. She was also a regular contributor to the Spanish radio network COPE. Born in Madrid, Álvarez de Toledo has lived in Argentina, the United Kingdom, and Spain. Her principal interest as a scholar lies in the colonial-era interactions between Europeans, Africans, and Native Americans, especially in Spanish-speaking regions of North America.

Álvarez de Toledo's book Politics and Reform in Spain and Viceregal Mexico: The Life and Thought of Juan de Palafox, 1600-1659 examines the complicated political climate in Mexico through the experiences of Juan de Palafox, a Catholic priest who held dual religious and governmental posts in Puebla de Los Angeles, a prosperous Mexican diocese. Palafox arrived in Mexico in 1640 and departed in 1649, having been unsuccessful in his attempts to reform the government in a way that would make it more financially sound and more equitable to Creole and Native American citizens. Palafox's stubborn commitment to his vision of sound church/state policies alienated European missionaries and government officials but found popular support among the native and mixed-native populations. According to Elisa Sampson Vera Tudela in the Bulletin of Latin American Research, Álvarez de Toledo makes connections "between Palafox's political life in Spain and his later adventures, carry- ing these on to his final years in exile," thereby throwing "a fascinating and novel light onto the changes in imperial policy and governance."

In the Historian, J. Burton Kirkwood commended Álvarez de Toledo for presenting "a tightly-argued, balanced, and well-researched analysis of the breadth of issues faced by Palafox." Kirkwood admired the author's ability to assess "broad issues considered within the context of Spanish colonial policies" and concluded that Politics and Reform in Spain and Viceregal Mexico "emerges as an important study for those interested in colonial Spain." Renaissance Quarterly reviewer Joan Meznar noted that Álvarez de Toledo's book "demonstrates the wealth of insights to be gained from studying what she terms ‘transatlantic’ European politics." Meznar found the work "a model for Latin Americanists and Europeanists alike of how much can be gained by approaching issues of transatlantic political significance with an eye to motivations, actions, and outcomes in both the Old World and the New."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

American Historical Review, December 1, 2005, "Juan De Ovando: Governing the Spanish Empire in the Reign of Philip II."

Bulletin of Latin American Research, January, 2008, Elisa Sampson Vera Tudela, review of Politics and Reform in Spain and Viceregal Mexico: The Life and Thought of Juan de Palafox, 1600-1659, p. 127.

English Historical Review, February 1, 2006, Fernando Cervantes, review of Politics and Reform in Spain and Viceregal Mexico, p. 218.

Historian, March 22, 2006, J. Burton Kirkwood, review of Politics and Reform in Spain and Viceregal Mexico, p. 135.

Renaissance Quarterly, March 22, 2006, Joan Meznar, review of Politics and Reform in Spain and Viceregal Mexico, p. 169.