Edit: I posted this topic before but without pictures. The description I posted last time is included below. Anyway, here are some photos Finally! The first three are of the Bible. The last photo is of a photo copy of the letter that my grandfather gave to me when I was home. Unfortunately, I am away and can't get a good photo of the original letter at the moment, but should be able to do it myself when I go back home in a few weeks. Hopefully it will hold you over until then.
Bible: Pic 1 ; Pic 2 ; pic 3 ;
Copy of Resignation: Letter
Hey Historians.
So, my Dutch grandfather was given an old Dutch picture bible by some friends in New Jersey. It's a bit ragged but beautiful. He was flipping through it recently and found inside a piece of parchment with the resignation of an Antonio Perez, the secretary to Philip II, King of Spain, in mid to late 16th century. The resignation is written in English and looks authentic. I'll post pictures of both the items ASAP.
After reading quickly on wikipedia about Antonio Perez it seems that the resignation is in relation to the murder of Juan de Escobedo, secretary of Don Juan of Austria. The story goes: Perez was friends with Escobedo, convinced King Philip that Escobedo should become secretary to Don Juan of Austria, Escobedo would then act as a spy for Perez so Perez could use royal secrets to his advantage but Escobedo ends up becoming friends with Don Juan so Perez has him killed. From there, Philip II gets pissed, wants Perez to pay (because Perez was basically manipulating the King for some time) and Perez somehow manages to escape multiple imprisonments and death and lives the rest of his life in France and England.
What's interesting is how the resignation letter got in the bible, what it means, whose bible it was, and how it got to New Jersey and then in the hands of my Dutch Grandfather who lives in Florida.
My guess is that the bible belonged to Philip II as he was quite religious and, for a time, was also King of Netherlands (and England and Ireland).
Nevertheless, I'm not sure if Perez ever officially resigned as secretary. Perhaps the letter was a plan to resign before everything got messy? Anyway, this Perez guy seemed to be a badass with a silver tongue who could manipulate lots of people, from royalty to the public (which is how he managed to often escape imprisonment).
I'm interested to know if you all could provide any more information on this topic, concerning the history as well as the items themselves as my grandfather seems to think they're worth something.
Thanks!
I do not think this is genuine for several reasons
the bible is from the 18th c. It was printed almost 150 years after the events you are describing.
the letter is written in English. Both Perez and Philip were native Spanish speakers. Why would a minister of the Spanish king write a resignation letter in English? Even when Philip was titular king of England all matters dealing with Spain were written in Spanish, also encoded if they were being sent to England.
the handwriting is not from the period nor is the letter addressed correctly. It would have SCM at the top for Sacra Catolica Magestad. Letters typically opened with the name of the writer not the recipient. "I, Antonio Perez, ...."
Thanks for posting the images. It does look like an old bible, but with 1721 as the printing date it is 18th century, not Philip's 16th.
The style of English of the letter looks modern, down to the form of a modern resignation letter. So does the handwriting, so much so that I wonder if it's even written with a modern pen. Given these, I would honestly hazard that the letter is some sort of school project prop by an about present day student in the US that somehow made its way into the bible before it was given to you grandfather. Who were these people who gave him the bible?
Another scenario I can envision -- and I apologize if this is overly familiar -- is perhaps your grandfather just wanted to make you a puzzle to solve. It might answer why he hasn't given you a clearer image of the letter. And since you have gone on to learn a bit about Antonio Perez, if his purpose was your edification and presenting you with a mystery to solve as a detective, I'd say it has already had some success.
