Joseph Perez is a French historian specializing in Spanish history

History of Spain

The history of Spain involves all the other peoples and nations within the Iberian peninsula formerly known as Hispania, and includes still today the nations of Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain...

. Perez has specialized in the births of the modern Spanish state and the Latin American nations. Among his books, he examines the independence movements of Latin America

History of Latin America

Latin America refers to countries in the Americas where Romance languages are spoken. This definition, however, is not meant to include Canada, in spite of its large French-speaking population....

; Ferdinand and Isabella, the Catholic Monarchs

Catholic Monarchs

The Catholic Monarchs is the collective title used in history for Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both descended from John I of Castile; they were given a papal dispensation to deal with...

; Holy Roman Emperor Charles V

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...

, and Philip II of Spain

Philip II of Spain

Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....

.

Biography

Joseph Perez (also spelled Pérez) was born in Laroque-d'Olmes

Laroque-d'Olmes

Laroque-d'Olmes is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...

 in the Ariège

Ariège

Ariège is a department in southwestern France named after the Ariège River.- History :Ariège is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from the counties of Foix and Couserans....

 department, which is in the south of France near the Spanish border. His parents were Spaniards who emigrated from Bocairent

Bocairent

Bocairent is a municipality in the comarca of Vall d'Albaida in the Valencian Community, Spain....

 in Valencia. In 1955, he was named a lecturer of Spanish by the Superior University of Saint-Cloud

Saint-Cloud

Saint-Cloud is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris.Like other communes of the Hauts-de-Seine such as Marnes-la-Coquette, Neuilly-sur-Seine or Vaucresson, Saint-Cloud is one of the wealthiest cities in France, ranked 22nd out of the 36500 in...

. He completed his doctoral thesis in 1970. His thesis studied the Revolt of the Comuneros, and remains one of the leading scholarly books on the topics.

Perez became, and still is, a professor of Spanish and Latin American civilization at the University of Bordeaux 3

Michel de Montaigne University Bordeaux 3

Michel de Montaigne Bordeaux 3 University is a French university, based in Bordeaux . It is under the Academy of Bordeaux.-See also:* University of Bordeaux* List of public universities in France by academy* Michel de Montaigne...

. Perez also served as a member of the Directorio del Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS).

Perez 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 Perez directed the Casa de Velázquez in Madrid, a French cultural institution funded by the French government dedicated to supporting interplay between France and Hispanic cultures.

Awards and honors

Perez's doctoral thesis won the Saintour prize that year. He has severed as honorary president of the University of Bordeaux 3.

Perez is a corresponding member of the Real Academia de la Historia

Real Academia de la Historia

Real Academia de la Historia is a Spanish institution based 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 civilisation, and of the culture of the Spanish...

. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Valladolid

University of Valladolid

The University of Valladolid is a public university in the city of Valladolid, province of Valladolid, in the autonomous region of Castile-Leon, Spain...

. Other honors include being Order of Alfonso X the Wise, a Commander of the Order of Isabella the Catholic, and a member of the French Legion of Honor.

On January 25, 2007 the board of the Municipality of Bocairent

Bocairent

Bocairent is a municipality in the comarca of Vall d'Albaida in the Valencian Community, Spain....

, voted unanimously to grant Perez 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.

Works

Aside from books, Perez has also written numerous articles, especially in Bulletin Hispanique, such as his well-received notes and introduction to El caballero de Olmedo by Lope de Vega

Lope de Vega

Félix Arturo Lope de Vega y Carpio was a Spanish playwright and poet. He was one of the key figures in the Spanish Golden Century Baroque literature...

.

• 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)
• Lope de Vega
  Lope de Vega
  Félix Arturo Lope de Vega y Carpio was a Spanish playwright and poet. He was one of the key figures in the Spanish Golden Century Baroque literature...
  
  , El caballero de Olmedo; edición, introducción y notas de Joseph Pérez. Madrid: Castalia, 1970 (The gentleman of Olmedo)
• Charles Quint: empereur des deux mondes, 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. ISBN 84-89569-12-6) (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 ISBN 978-84-935857-0-9) (Isabella the Catholic: A model of Christianity?)
• Los judíos en España, Madrid: Marcial Pons, 2005 ISBN 84-96467-03-1 (The Jews of Spain)
• La Inquisición española: crónica negra del Santo Oficio, Madrid: Martínez Roca, 2005 ISBN 84-270-3174-2 (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)