These studies focus on Spain's relations with England from the last stages of the Elizabethan war to the opening years of the Cromwellian regime. Particular attention is given to the issue of religion and to the character and conduct of peacetime diplomacy - and intelligence gathering. In the first studies, Professor Loomie deals with the policies of Philip II and preparations for the 1597 Armada. The following articles examine Spanish attitudes towards the Stuart court and an unknown cultivation of the ’Independents’ during and after the Civil War.