The Conspiracy of the Ninth Duke of Medina Sidonia (1641) -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- List of Abbreviations -- Note on Currencies -- List of Illustrations -- Maps -- Introduction -- PART ONE: WITH ALL HIS POWER AND AUTHORITY -- 1 The inheritance of a Duke of Medina Sidonia -- 1.1 An Andalusian Seigneurial Estate -- 1.2 Sanlúcar de Barrameda and Ducal Finances -- 1.3 The Military Career of a Duke of Medina Sidonia -- 1.4 The Medina Sidonia and the Olivares Government: Family and Politics -- 2 Tension and Rupture in the Hispanic Empire (1636-1640) -- 2.1 Shoring up Prestige -- 2.2 Relations with Morocco -- 2.3 Defeat and more War (1639-1640) -- PART TWO: THE END OF MYTHICAL FIDELITY: THE CONSPIRACY -- 3 The Conspiracy (1640-1642) -- 3.1 Portugal: Casting Off the Ties of Obedience (December 1640-July 1641) -- 3.2 Conspiracy, Denunciation, and Pardon (August 1641-May 1642) -- 3.3 A Trip Without Permission and the Impossible Prosecution (June 1642-January 1643) -- 3.4 From Loyalty to Rupture -- 4 Punishment (1643-1667) -- 4.1 The Fall of Olivares and Punishment without Verdict (February 1643-1648) -- 4.2 The Fall of a Great Seigneurial House (1648-1667) -- 4.3 The Tragic Fate of the Marquis of Ayamonte -- Epilogue: An Overlooked Imperial Transformation -- Bibliography -- Index.