Francisco de los Cobos: Secretary of the Emperor Charles V by Hayward Keniston

Reviewed by David Freer

Francisco de los Cobos: Secretary of the Emperor Charles V follows a man, born with

nothing, who gained power and influence during the height of the Spanish empire.

Keniston created a human portrayal of Cobos from his ascent to power, through the

difficulties with Charles V, and his death. Cobos is revealed as a charming, practical, and

pious bureaucrat whose advice was indispensable to the monarch. Keniston describes

Cobos as a gregarious back-slapper with a quick wit and a genuine affinity for people.

Cobos used his skills to gain incredible wealth and influence; the book is less about the

policy decisions than the man behind the decisions. Keniston wrote: “This book is, first

of all, the story of Cobos; life and the little world of his family- his parents, his wife, his

children.”1 The book offers a detailed look into a man’s life but just as memorable is the

glimpse into the king he served.

Chroniclers of Charles V described the northern country folk as “semi-barbarous”2. The

journey into Castile was suspenseful and exciting. Yet the suspense is broken by maudlin

phrases such as “Poor little King! He surely could not understand a word of their

Castilian rhetoric.” At times nationalities are stereotyped, evidenced by phrases such as

“like good Spaniards.”3 The monetary details of Cobos’ rise to power are not usually

memorable and easily forgotten; it feels like a long-winded accounting ledger.

Maravedís in from this appointment on the credits side, maravedís out for this household

1
viii
2
page 39
3
page 32
project; for the casual reader it becomes tedious, for the scholar it would seem a valuable

resource. However, reading about Cobos’ “affable and ingratiating personality set him on

the path of bureaucratic preferment”4 was quite entertaining.

Away from the accounting, Cobos seems quite human, who seemingly embodies the rags-

to-riches American dream. Perhaps his story can be placed on the shelf with Dale

Carnegie and Horatio Alger? Although it is doubtful whether anyone can learn the social

skills which enabled Cobos to climb the kingly ladder from a book or even that Keniston

wrote the book as a primer for aspiring sycophants, but the fact remains that many

humans view those who wield ‘power’ in a special light.

What can be gained through the study of Cobos’ life? We can see the rise of the

bureaucracy in the ‘modern’ state. John Leddy Phelan described the men as “industrious,

loyal, meticulously orderly, prudent and somewhat unimaginative, these bureaucrats were

decisive instruments in the fashioning of royal absolutism.”5 Los Cobos received wide

acclaim as secretary to Charles V. The book is interspersed with many detailed

complimentary first hand accounts, such as the Portuguese ambassador, Antonio Azevedo

Coutinho’s letter: “I have found Cobos a servant of Your Highness and I am grateful to

him; and in the negotiations with France he has acted very well and I hope that he will in

these other matters.”6 Las Casas described him as ‘gifted’. Cobos certainly was “gifted”

for his service to the king; he received 1% of revenue from the riches found in the New

World for his services in addition to many other sources. Keniston admitted there was

4
George M. Addy The Hispanic American Historical Review, Vol. 41, No. 1 (Feb. 1961), 132-134
5
John Leddy Phelan, Speculum, Vol. 36, No. 1 (Jan. 1961) 138-139.
6
ibid page 94
guesswork in the calculations but sums it up thusly, “For a poor boy, he was doing very

well!”7

Hayward Keniston (1883-1970) had a long academic career asking the most important

questions of all: “What is worth knowing?” And “What role does the University play in

modern education?”

In 1957, Hayward Keniston undertook a systematic ranking of

universities by asking department heads at 25 "leading" universities
to rate the graduate departments. Since then, four national studies
have provided fodder for institutional rankings.8
Keniston actively promoted the art of teaching among historians. He sought "a new

attitude of respect for the dignity of the teaching career."9 In 1959 he published,

Graduate Study and Research in the Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania.

Hayward Keniston decided to write the book after discovering there were no complete

volumes devoted to Francisco de los Cobos. He spent time in archives in Simancas,

Seville, Madrid, in addition to Belgium, England, France, and Italy.10 After the digging

he organized his notes and tried to create a portrait of a man of his time. George Leady

of BYU described Keniston’s research, “With formidable industry the author ransacked

the papers of fully two dozen European archives and many printed works”11 and claimed

Cobos would not soon likely “find a better biographer.”

7
ibid page 117
8
http://wwics.si.edu/index.cfm?fuseaction=wq.essay&essay_id=105061
9

http://www.historians.org/projects/cge/1962/EducationofHistorians8.htm
10
Francisco de los Cobos: Secretary of the Emperor Charles V vii
11
George M. Addy The Hispanic American Historical Review, Vol. 41, No. 1 (Feb. 1961), 132-134