Editing William H. Prescott (section)

=== Research on Philip II ===
Shortly after the publication of the ''Conquest of Peru'', Prescott turned his mind to writing a history of [[Philip II of Spain]], which he had been contemplating for several years.<ref>Gardiner, p. 279</ref> [[John Lothrop Motley]], who planned to write an independent work on the subject, was aided by Prescott, who gave him access to his library.<ref>Ticknor, 1864, p. 280</ref> Although the two corresponded, there seems to have been little collaboration on their respective works. Prescott had started searching for sources as early as 1842, but a number of difficulties confronted him in his study of Philip II. The principal archives of historical material were held in [[Simancas]], but neither Lembke (who had collected materials for the ''Conquest of Mexico'') nor Middleton were able to gain access to them.<ref>Ticknor, 1864, p. 285</ref> They had been informed that the library was so disordered as to make productive research impossible, even if access had been gained. However, Lembke, who as a diplomat had been expelled from Spain, made the acquaintance of two wealthy Parisian scholars, [[François Mignet|Mignet]] and Ternaux-Compans, who offered him access to their manuscript collections.<ref>Ticknor, 1864, p. 286</ref> Furthermore, de Gayangos assisted greatly by locating important documents in the British Museum and in the collection of the [[bibliomaniac]] [[Thomas Phillipps]], who owned around 60,000&nbsp;manuscripts. He also borrowed several manuscripts from the archives in Brussels, having received letters from the respected Belgian diplomat [[Sylvain Van de Weyer]] in London. de Gayangos became Professor of [[Arabic literature]] at the [[Complutense University of Madrid]] in late 1842, and subsequently lent Prescott rare books and manuscripts from the university library.<ref>Ticknor, 1864, p. 288</ref> By the summer of 1848, Prescott had over 300 works on the subject at his disposal, but he continued to have serious problems with his eyesight; an examination by an oculist confirmed that there was untreatable damage to his retina.<ref>Ticknor, 1864, p. 281</ref> Prescott had been commissioned by the [[Massachusetts Historical Society]] to write a biography of the scholar John Pickering in 1848, which he wrote for publication later in that year.<ref>Ticknor, 1864, p. 283</ref> Prescott was invited to write a history of the [[Mexican–American War]], but declined, as he was uninterested in writing on contemporary events.<ref>Ticknor, 1864, p. 291</ref>

Prescott's main secondary source for the history was [[Leopold von Ranke]]'s ''Fürsten und Völker von Süd-Europa im sechzehnten und siebzehnten Jahrhundert'', a comprehensive work which included a detailed history of the [[papacy]]. Prescott admired Ranke's empirical [[historical method]], and considered his work to be the best of his predecessors on the subject.<ref>Ticknor, 1864, p. 289</ref> He had four copies of the relevant sections of the work reprinted in a large typeface so he could read it without assistance.<ref>Ticknor, 1864, p. 290</ref> He had made a broad plan of the work by February 1849. Prescott started writing the draft on July 26.<ref>Gardiner, p. 283</ref> At this time, Prescott was a creditor of [[John White Webster]], the chemist and murderer, and he was subsequently involved in his trial.<ref>Gardiner, pp. 293–294</ref>