Joseph Pérez (14 January 1931 8 October 2020) was a French historian specializing in Spanish history.Presentación PDF sobre Joseph Pérez para el acto institucional del Ayuntamiento de Bocairente.
/ref> Pérez specialized in the births of the modern Spanish state and the Latin American nations. Among his books, he examined the independence movements of Hispanic America; Ferdinand and Isabella, the

Catholic Monarchs The Catholic Monarchs were Isabella I of Castile, Queen Isabella I of Crown of Castile, Castile () and Ferdinand II of Aragon, King Ferdinand II of Crown of Aragón, Aragon (), whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of ...

;

Holy Roman Emperor Charles V Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) fr ...

, and

Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...

Biography

Joseph Pérez was born in Laroque-d'Olmes in the Ariège department, which is in the south of France near the Spanish border. His parents were Spaniards who emigrated from Bocairent in Valencia. In 1955, he was named a lecturer of Spanish by the Superior University of

Saint-Cloud Saint-Cloud () is a French commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, from the centre of Paris. Like other communes of Hauts-de-Seine such as Marnes-la-Coquette, Neuilly-sur-Seine and Vaucresson, Saint-Cloud is one of France's wealthie ...

. He completed his doctoral thesis in 1970. His thesis studied the

Revolt of the Comuneros The Revolt of the Comuneros (, "War of the Communities of Castile") was an uprising by citizens of Crown of Castile, Castile against the rule of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles I and his administration between 1520 and 1521. At its hei ...

, and remains one of the leading scholarly books on the topics. Pérez became a professor of Spanish and Hispanic American civilization at the University of Bordeaux 3. Pérez also served as a member of the ''Directorio del Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique'' (CNRS). Pérez has worked to spread French and Spanish culture in both directions. He founded the ''La Maison des Pays Iberiques'', a center for Spanish culture in France, and between 1989 and 1996 Pérez directed the

Casa de Velázquez The ''Casa de Velázquez'' is a French school in Spain modelled on the Villa Médicis in Rome, and Villa Abd-el-Tif in Algeria.''75 aniversario de la Casa de Velázquez. Memoria gráfica 1928-2003'', Madrid, Casa de Velázquez, 2006, 182 p. - acc ...

in Madrid, a French cultural institution funded by the French government dedicated to supporting interplay between France and Hispanic cultures. Pérez died on 8 October 2020 in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

, aged 89.

Ideas

Joseph Pérez challenges the notion of decadence that is associated with Spain in the 17th and 18th centuries. For him, this black legend is a distorted image due to the views held by the Protestant countries of northern Europe.

Awards and honors

Pérez's doctoral thesis won the Saintour prize that year. He has served as honorary president of the University of Bordeaux 3. Pérez was a corresponding member of the

Real Academia de la Historia The Royal Academy of History (, RAH) is a Spanish institution in Madrid that studies history "ancient and modern, political, civil, ecclesiastical, military, scientific, of letters and arts, that is to say, the different branches of life, of c ...

. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the

University of Valladolid The University of Valladolid is a public university located in the city of Valladolid, Valladolid province, autonomous region of Castile and Leon, Spain. Established in the 13th century, it is one of the oldest universities in the world. The ...

. Other honors include being

Order of Alfonso X the Wise The Civil Order of Alfonso X the Wise () is a Spanish civil order established in 1939, recognising activities in the fields of education, science, culture, higher education and research. The order was created on 23 May 1902 by Royal decree as t ...

, a Commander of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OYC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and ...

, and a member of the

French Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

. On 25 January 2007 the board of the Municipality of Bocairent voted unanimously to grant Pérez the title of "Adopted son of Bocairent." Bocairent was the birthplace of his parents and his three brothers. The ceremony celebrating the event was held on March 30, 2007 at the town hall. In 2014, Pérez won the

Princess of Asturias Awards The Princess of Asturias Awards (, ), formerly the Prince of Asturias Awards from 1981 to 2014 (), are a series of annual prizes awarded in Spain by the Princess of Asturias Foundation (previously the Prince of Asturias Foundation) to individuals ...

in Social Sciences.El hispanista francés Joseph Pérez, Premio Príncipe de Ciencias Sociales 2014
/ref>

Works

Aside from books, Pérez wrote numerous articles, especially in ''Bulletin Hispanique'', such as his well-received notes and introduction to ''El caballero de Olmedo'' by

Lope de Vega Félix Lope de Vega y Carpio (; 25 November 156227 August 1635) was a Spanish playwright, poet, and novelist who was a key figure in the Spanish Golden Age (1492–1659) of Spanish Baroque literature, Baroque literature. In the literature of ...

. *''La révolution des "Comunidades" de Castille (1520-1521)'' Bordeaux: Institut d'Etudes Ibériques et Ibero-Américaines de l'Université, 1970, translated as ''La revolución de las comunidades de Castilla (1520-1521)'', Madrid: Siglo XXI de España, 1978 (''The revolution of the ''Comunidades'' of Castile (1520-1521)'') *''Los movimientos precursores de la emancipación en Hispanoamérica'', Madrid: Alhambra, Madrid: Alhambra, 1977. (''Precursor movements to the emancipation of Latin America'') *''Histoire de l'Espagne'', Paris: Fayard, 1997, translated as ''Historia de España'', Barcelona: Crítica, 1999. (''History of Spain'') *''Isabel y Fernando, los Reyes Católicos'', Fuenterrabía: Nerea, 2001 (''Isabella and Ferdinand, the Catholic Monarchs'') *''Historia de una tragedia: la expulsión de los judíos de España'', Barcelona: Crítica, 1993 (''History of a tragedy: The Expulsion of the Jews of Spain'') *''El humanismo de Fray Luis de León'', Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1994. (''The humanism of Luis de León'') *

, ''El caballero de Olmedo''; edición, introducción y notas de Joseph Pérez. Madrid: Castalia, 1970 (''The gentleman of Olmedo'') *''Charles Quint: empereur des deux mondes'', coll. "

Découvertes Gallimard (, ; in United Kingdom: ''New Horizons'', in United States: ''Abrams Discoveries'') is an Collection (publishing), editorial collection of Book illustration, illustrated monographic books published by the Éditions Gallimard in Pocket edition, ...

" (nº 197), París: Gallimard, 1994, translated to Spanish as ''Carlos V'', Madrid: Temas de Hoy, 1999. (''Charles V: Emperor of Two Worlds / Charles V'') *''L'Espagne de Philippe II'' Paris: Le grand livre du mois, 1999; translated to Spanish as ''La España de Felipe II'', Barcelona: Crítica, 2000. (''The Spain of Philip II'') *''L'Espagne des Rois Catholiques'' Paris: Bordas, 1971 (''The Spain of the Catholic Monarchs'') *''L'Espagne du XVIe siècle'' Paris: Armand Colin, 1973, later updated as ''La España del siglo XVI'', Madrid: Anaya, 1998 (''The Spain of the 16th century'') *''Isabelle et Ferdinand, Rois Catholiques d'Espagne'' Paris: Fayard, 1988, translated to Spanish as ''Isabel y Fernando, los Reyes Católicos'' (Madrid: Nerea, 1997. ) (''Isabella and Ferdinand, the Catholic Monarchs'') *''Crónica de la Inquisición en España'', Barcelona: Martínez Roca, 2002 (''Chronicle of the Inquisition in Spain'') *''Isabelle la Catholique: un modèle de chrétienté?'' Paris: Payot & Rivages, 2004 (''Isabel la Católica : ¿un modelo de cristiandad?'' ALMED 2007 ) (''Isabella the Catholic: A model of Christianity?'') *''Los judíos en España'', Madrid: Marcial Pons, 2005 (''The Jews of Spain'') *''La Inquisición española: crónica negra del Santo Oficio'', Madrid: Martínez Roca, 2005 (''The Spanish Inquisition: The black history of the Holy Office'') *''De l'humanisme aux Lumières: études sur l'Espagne et l'Amérique'', Madrid: Casa de Velázquez, 2000. (''Of the Humanism of the Enlightenment: Studies of Spain and America'')

References

* General biographical details are confirmed in ''La révolution des "Comunidades" de Castille'', "About the Author." {{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Joseph 1931 births 2020 deaths People from Ariège (department) ENS Fontenay-Saint-Cloud-Lyon alumni 20th-century French historians 21st-century French historians Historians of Spain Historians of Latin America French Hispanists French male non-fiction writers French people of Spanish descent Commanders of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Officers of the Legion of Honour Academics and writers on the Spanish Inquisition