Spaiñ in 1560 location of my story?
I am interested in placing my historical fiction novel in the setting of Spain 1560 A.D.
My character will live in a manor with gardens and land, being the son of a Spanish dignitary with a wife of his own. I have researched a few places but I am unsure which towns were loyal to Philip the Second at that time and also one that was not totally ravaged by plague for most of that century .
Thanks in advance!
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If you want him to be close to the Palace, it was in El Escorial, during his reign. I'd probably pick someplace near Madrid: Aranjuez, Guadalajara, Vallodalid, Alcalá de Henares (that's where Cervantes studied, called home). Someplace around there.
If you wanted to go somewhere where there's more action, go with Toledo. I would think that would have been very active during that time.
Spain was a united country by the time of Philip II, and there was very little trouble during his reign. The exception was with the large Morisco population. These were Moors, and some Jews, who had been forced to convert to Christianity but were still treated as second class citizens, and the government was trying to suppress thir traditions. In 1569 there was a Morisco Revolt in Granada.
An internet search of plague in Spain shows one outbreak in Valencia province in 1557. The next outbreak was devastating and country-wide, lasting several years, right at the end of the century.