BSS Webinar series & Instituto Cervantes: Spanish spies in Elizabethan England by Historian Jonathan Roche

Event Date:

February 3, 2021

Event Time:

6:30 pm

Event Location:

Online

BSS Webinar series & Instituto Cervantes: Spanish spies in Elizabethan England by Historian Jonathan Roche

About this Event which will be in English 

In the late sixteenth century, England and Spain were at war. At stake was England´s religious future: would the Protestant reformation, started in England by Henry VIII in the 1530s, continue, or would Catholicism be reestablished as England´s state religion through Spanish military might? The major battles of the Anglo-Spanish war are famous – most notably the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 – but these battles were just one aspect of this ideological struggle. In this talk, Jonathan Roche explores the shadowy world of spies, double agents, codebreakers, and agents provocateur to reveal the secret struggle for England´s religious and political future which also occurred. He shows how both England and Spain developed extensive espionage network and that the intelligence these networks gathered was integral in shaping the conflict. This lecture evokes an era of surveillance, paranoia, plots, and the perpetual threat of invasion; an era when the right piece of intelligence could have changed England´s future forever.

Jonathan Roche is a BritishSpanish Society scholar. PHD researcher University of Nottingham

Inglaterra y España estaban en guerra a finales del siglo XVI. Estaba en juego el futuro religioso de Inglaterra, ¿continuaría la reforma protestante, iniciada en Inglaterra por Enrique VIII en la década de 1530, o se restablecería el catolicismo como la religión estatal de Inglaterra a través del poderío militar español? Las derrota de la Armada Española en 1588), pero estas batallas fueron sólo un aspecto de esta lucha ideológica. En esta charla, Jonathan Roche explora el tenebroso mundo de los espías, agentes dobles y agentes provocadores para revelar la lucha secreta por el futuro religioso y polí­tico de Inglaterra que también ocurrió. Roche muestra cómo tanto Inglaterra, como España, desarrollaron una extensa red de espionaje y que la inteligencia que estas redes reunieron fue integral para dar forma al conflicto. Esta conferencia evoca una era de vigilancia, paranoia, complots, y la perpetua amenaza de invasión; una era en la que la inteligencia correcta podría haber cambiado el futuro de Inglaterra para siempre.

En inglés

Wednesday 3rd February, 2021 at 18:30-19:30 UK Time

This is a Free Event, but please register in advance to join us

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We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday 3rd February at 6:30pm UK Time!

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  • Online
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  • Zoom videoconference

Event Schedule Details

  • February 3, 2021 6:30 pm   -   7:30 pm
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