Under the reign of his most holy Catholic Majesty Philip IV, the glorious Spanish empire, although lustrous as the gold it plunders from the new world, is being hollowed out by greed, avarice, and everyone's desire to gain a larger piece of an ever-shrinking pie. Of course she is also having to pay to ensure the misguided Dutch stay true to the one True Faith whether they want to or not. Although she has no problem in spending her loyal sons' flesh and blood, the gold it costs is another matter altogether.
There was a time when Spaniards could strut with pride through the streets of their bustling cities knowing that they were kings and queens of their hemisphere, and neither the heretic English nor the cowardly French would dare challenge her divine right of conquest. Alas, the impudence of a heretic know no bounds, and privateers flying English colours now dare the impotent wrath of Spain. Those cowards, with their better cannons and faster, more manoeuvrable ships, stay well out of range of Spain's heroic guns, and splinter ships into slivers while stealing away her ill gotten gains.
Still, is Spain's pride pricked? Do her gallants display themselves any less flamboyantly? Do her nobles conspire to rob and cheat the crown with any less avarice or the Church stop doing what is necessary to stamp out heresy and line its pockets? No of course not - they all must still receive what they feel they are entitled to, even if it means stealing it from the king's pocket. Like the rest of Spain, their needs being met depends upon how much of the bounty from the fleet of ships making the annual voyage from South America with their holds full of pagan gold ends up in their pockets. 
As has been faithfully recounted by Arturo Perez-Reverte in previous stories, although Spain is becoming the old whore of Europe, the pretty exterior doesn't stand up in close proximity and corruption riddles her like the pox, there are still those to whom honour and pride are not just for show, even if they're sometimes for sale. While there might not be much credence given the saying honour among thieves in most societies, in the Spain of Philip IV its among the company of cut-purses and throat-slitters that you're liable to find men sufficiently stalwart, for the right price, to fight for king and country.
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