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Philip II) in
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
, while in
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and
King of Naples The following is a list of rulers of the Kingdom of Naples, from its first separation from the Kingdom of Sicily to its merger with the same into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Kingdom of Naples (1282–1501) House of Anjou In 1382, the Kin ...
and
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
from 1554 until his death in 1598. He was '' jure uxoris'' King of England and
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
from his marriage to Queen
Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She ...
in 1554 until her death in 1558. He was also Duke of Milan from 1540. From 1555, he was Lord of the
Seventeen Provinces The Seventeen Provinces were the Imperial states of the Habsburg Netherlands in the 16th century. They roughly covered the Low Countries, i.e., what is now the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and most of the French departments of Nord (Fre ...
of the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. The son of Emperor Charles V and Isabella of Portugal, Philip inherited his father's
Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
in 1556 and succeeded to the Portuguese throne in 1580 following a dynastic crisis. The Spanish conquests of the Inca Empire and of the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
, named in his honor by
Ruy López de Villalobos Ruy López de Villalobos (; ca. 1500 – April 4, 1546) was a Spanish explorer who sailed the Pacific from Mexico to establish a permanent foothold for Spain in the East Indies, which was near the Line of Demarcation between Spain and Portugal a ...
, were completed during his reign. Under Philip II, Spain reached the height of its influence and power, sometimes called the Spanish Golden Age, and ruled territories in every continent then known to Europeans. Philip led a highly debt-leveraged regime, seeing state defaults in 1557, 1560, 1569, 1575, and 1596. This policy was partly the cause of the
declaration of independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...
that created the
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
in 1581. Philip finished building the royal palace
El Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial ( es, Monasterio y Sitio de El Escorial en Madrid), or Monasterio del Escorial (), is a historical residence of the King of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, u ...
in 1584. Deeply devout, Philip saw himself as the defender of Catholic Europe against the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
and the
Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...
. In 1584, Philip signed the
Treaty of Joinville The Treaty of Joinville was signed in secret on 31 December 1584 by the Catholic League, led by France's first family of Catholic nobles, the House of Guise, and Habsburg Spain. Treaty provisions In the treaty: * Philip II of Spain agreed to fi ...
funding the French Catholic League over the following decade in its civil war against the French
Huguenots The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
. In 1588, he sent an armada to invade Protestant England, with the strategic aim of overthrowing
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...
and re-establishing Catholicism there, but his fleet was defeated in a skirmish at
Gravelines Gravelines (, ; ; ) is a commune in the Nord department in Northern France. It lies at the mouth of the river Aa southwest of Dunkirk. It was formed in the 12th century around the mouth of a canal built to connect Saint-Omer with the sea. As ...
(northern France) and then destroyed by storms as it circled the British Isles to return to Spain. The following year Philip's naval power was able to recover after the failed invasion of the
English Armada The English Armada ( es, Invencible Inglesa, lit=English Invincible), also known as the Counter Armada or the Drake–Norris Expedition, was an attack fleet sent against Spain by Queen Elizabeth I of England that sailed on 28 April 1589 during ...
into Spain. Two more Spanish armadas unsuccessfully tried to invade England in 1596 and 1597. The Anglo-Spanish war carried on until 1604, six years after Philip's death. Under Philip, an average of about 9,000 soldiers were recruited from Spain each year, rising to as many as 20,000 in crisis years. Between 1567 and 1574, nearly 43,000 men left Spain to fight in Italy and the
Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
(modern-day Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands). Philip was described by the Venetian ambassador Paolo Fagolo in 1563 as "slight of stature and round-faced, with pale blue eyes, somewhat prominent lip, and pink skin, but his overall appearance is very attractive. ... He dresses very tastefully, and everything that he does is courteous and gracious." Philip was married four times; all his wives predeceased him.


Early life: 1527–1544

A member of the
House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
, Philip was the son of Emperor Charles V, who was also king of Castile and Aragon, and Isabella of Portugal. He was born in the Castilian capital of
Valladolid Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peop ...
on 21 May 1527 at Palacio de Pimentel, which was owned by Don Bernardino Pimentel (the first Marqués de Távara). The culture and courtly life of Castile were an important influence in his early life. He was entrusted to the royal governess
Leonor de Mascareñas Leonor de Mascareñas (d. 1583), was a Spanish courtier. She was the lady-in-waiting and confidante of the queen regent of Spain, Isabella of Portugal, and served as the royal governess of Philip II of Spain. Doña Leonor de Mascareñas had a da ...
, and tutored by Juan Martínez Siliceo, the future
archbishop of Toledo This is a list of Bishops and Archbishops of Toledo ( la, Archidioecesis Metropolitae Toletana).
. Philip displayed reasonable aptitude in arts and letters alike. Later he would study with more illustrious tutors, including the humanist Juan Cristóbal Calvete de Estrella. Though Philip had good command over
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
, Spanish, and Portuguese, he never managed to equal his father, Charles V, as a
polyglot Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all Eu ...
. While Philip was also an
archduke of Austria This is a list of people who have ruled either the Margraviate of Austria, the Duchy of Austria or the Archduchy of Austria. From 976 until 1246, the margraviate and its successor, the duchy, was ruled by the House of Babenberg. At that time, thos ...
, he was seen as a foreigner in the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
. The feeling was mutual. Philip felt himself to be culturally Spanish; he had been born in Castile and raised in the Castilian court, his native language was Spanish, and he preferred to live in the Spanish kingdoms. This ultimately impeded his succession to the imperial throne.James Boyden. ''Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopaedia of the Early Modern World''. In April 1528, when Philip was eleven months old, he received the oath of allegiance as heir to the crown from the
Cortes Cortes, Cortés, Cortês, Corts, or Cortès may refer to: People * Cortes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Hernán Cortés (1485–1547), a Spanish conquistador Places * Cortes, Navarre, a village in the South border of ...
of Castile. From that time until the death of his mother Isabella in 1539, he was raised in the royal court of Castile under the care of his mother and one of her
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
ladies, Doña Leonor de Mascarenhas, to whom he was devotedly attached. Philip was also close to his two sisters, María and Juana, and to his two pages, the Portuguese nobleman
Rui Gomes da Silva Rui or RUI may refer to: Names * Rui (surname) (芮), a Chinese surname * Rui (given name), a given name Places * Rui (state) (芮), a Chinese state during the Zhou Dynasty * Rui (village), a census town in Kolhapur district, Maharashtra, ...
and Luis de Requesens, the son of his governor Juan de Zúñiga. These men would serve Philip throughout their lives, as would Antonio Pérez, his secretary from 1541. Philip's martial training was undertaken by his governor, Juan de Zúñiga, a Castilian nobleman who served as the '' commendador mayor'' of Castile. The practical lessons in warfare were overseen by the
Duke of Alba Duke of Alba de Tormes ( es, Duque de Alba de Tormes), commonly known as Duke of Alba, is a title of Spanish nobility that is accompanied by the dignity of Grandee of Spain. In 1472, the title of ''Count of Alba de Tormes'', inherited by ...
during the
Italian Wars The Italian Wars, also known as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a series of conflicts covering the period 1494 to 1559, fought mostly in the Italian peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and the Mediterranean Sea. The pr ...
. Philip was present at the Siege of Perpignan in 1542 but did not see action as the Spanish army under Alba decisively defeated the besieging French forces under the Dauphin of France. On his way back to Castile, Philip received the oath of allegiance of the Aragonese Cortes at
Monzón Monzón is a small city and municipality in the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. Its population was 17,176 as of 2014. It is in the northeast (specifically the Cinca Medio district of the province of Huesca) and adjoins the rivers Cinca an ...
. His political training had begun a year previously under his father, who had found his son studious, grave, and prudent beyond his years, and having decided to train and initiate him in the government of the Spanish kingdoms. The king-emperor's interactions with his son during his stay in Castile convinced him of Philip's precocity in statesmanship, so he determined to leave in his hands the regency of the Spanish kingdoms in 1543. Philip, who had previously been made the Duke of Milan in 1540, began governing the most extensive empire in the world at the young age of sixteen. Charles left Philip with experienced advisors—notably the secretary
Francisco de los Cobos Francisco de los Cobos y Molina (c. 1477 – 10 May 1547) was the secretary of State and '' Comendador'' for the kingdom of Castile under the rule of the Emperor Charles I of Spain. Biographical data He was born in Úbeda ca. 1477 and died on ...
and the general Duke of Alba. Philip was also left with extensive written instructions that emphasised "piety, patience, modesty, and distrust". These principles of Charles were gradually assimilated by his son, who would grow up to become grave, self-possessed and cautious. Personally, Philip spoke softly and had an icy self-mastery; in the words of one of his ministers, "he had a smile that was cut by a sword".


Domestic policy

After living in the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
in the early years of his reign, Philip II decided to return to Castile. Although sometimes described as an absolute monarch, Philip faced many constitutional constraints on his authority, influenced by the growing strength of the bureaucracy. The
Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...
was not a single monarchy with one legal system but a federation of separate realms, each jealously guarding its own rights against those of the
House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
. In practice, Philip often found his authority overruled by local assemblies and his word less effective than that of local lords. Philip carried several titles as heir to the Spanish kingdoms and empire, including
Prince of Asturias Prince or Princess of Asturias ( es, link=no, Príncipe/Princesa de Asturias; ast, Príncipe d'Asturies) is the main substantive title used by the heir apparent or heir presumptive to the throne of Spain. According to the Spanish Constitution ...
. The newest constituent kingdom in the empire was Navarre, a realm invaded by Ferdinand II of Aragon mainly with Castilian troops (1512), and annexed to Castile with an ambiguous status (1513). War across Navarre continued until 1528 ( Treaties of Madrid and Cambrai). Charles V proposed to end hostilities with King
Henry II of Navarre Henry II (18 April 1503 – 25 May 1555), nicknamed ''Sangüesino'' because he was born at Sangüesa, was the King of Navarre from 1517, although his kingdom had been reduced to a small territory north of the Pyrenees by the Spanish conquest of 1 ...
—the legitimate monarch of Navarre—by marrying his son Philip to the heiress of Navarre, Jeanne III of Navarre. The marriage would provide a dynastic solution to instability in Navarre, making him king of all Navarre and a prince of independent Béarn, as well as lord of a large part of southern France. However, the French nobility under
Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...
opposed the arrangement and successfully ended the prospects of marriage between the heirs of Habsburg and Albret in 1541. In his will, Charles stated his doubts over Navarre and recommended that his son give the kingdom back. Both King Charles and his son Philip II failed to abide by the elective (contractual) nature of the Crown of Navarre and took the kingdom for granted. This sparked mounting tension not only with King Henry II and Queen Jeanne III of Navarre but also with the Parliament of the Spanish Navarre (''Cortes'', ''The Three States'') and the ''Diputación'' for breach of the realm specific laws (fueros)—violation of the ''pactum subjection is'' as ratified by Ferdinand. Tensions in Navarre came to a head in 1592 after several years of disagreements over the agenda of the intended parliamentary session. In November 1592, the Parliament (''Cortes'') of Aragón revolted against another breach of the realm-specific laws, so the Attorney General (''Justicia'') of the kingdom, Juan de Lanuza, was executed on Philip II's orders, with his secretary Antonio Perez taking exile in France. In Navarre, the major strongholds of the kingdom were garrisoned by troops alien to the kingdom (Castilians) in a conspicuous violation of the local laws, and the Parliament had long been refusing to pledge loyalty to Philip II's son and heir apparent without a proper ceremony. On 20 November 1592 a ghostly Parliament session was called, pushed by Philip II, who had arrived in
Pamplona Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region. Lying at near above ...
at the head of an unspecified military force, and with one only point on his agenda—attendance to the session was kept blank on the minutes: unlawful appointments of trusted Castilian officials and imposition of his son as the future king of Navarre at the Santa Maria Cathedral. A ceremony was held before the bishop of Pamplona (22 November), but its customary procedure and terms were altered. Protests erupted in Pamplona, but they were quelled. Philip II also grappled with the problem of the large
Morisco Moriscos (, ; pt, mouriscos ; Spanish for "Moorish") were former Muslims and their descendants whom the Roman Catholic church and the Spanish Crown commanded to convert to Christianity or face compulsory exile after Spain outlawed the open ...
population in the Spanish kingdoms, who had been forcibly converted to Christianity by his predecessors. In 1569, the
Morisco Revolt Moriscos (, ; pt, mouriscos ; Spanish for "Moorish") were former Muslims and their descendants whom the Roman Catholic church and the Spanish Crown commanded to convert to Christianity or face compulsory exile after Spain outlawed the open p ...
broke out in the southern province of Granada in defiance of attempts to suppress Moorish customs. Philip ordered the expulsion of the Moriscos from Granada and their dispersal to other provinces. Despite its immense dominions, the Spanish kingdoms had a sparse population that yielded a limited income to the crown (in contrast to France, for example, which was much more heavily populated). Philip faced major difficulties in raising taxes, and the collection was largely farmed out to local lords. He was able to finance his military campaigns only by taxing and exploiting the local resources of his empire. The flow of income from the
New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...
proved vital to his militant foreign policy, but his exchequer several times faced bankruptcy. Spanish culture flourished during Philip's reign, beginning the " Spanish Golden Age", creating a lasting legacy in literature, music, and the visual arts. One of the notable artists from Philip II's court was
Sofonisba Anguissola Sofonisba Anguissola ( – 16 November 1625), also known as Sophonisba Angussola or Sophonisba Anguisciola, was an Italian Renaissance painter born in Cremona to a relatively poor noble family. She received a well-rounded education that i ...
, who gained fame for her talent and unusual role as a woman artist. She was invited to the court of Madrid in 1559 and was chosen to become an attendant to Isabella Clara Eugenia (1566–1633). Anguissola also became a lady-in-waiting and court painter for the queen, Elizabeth de Valois. During her time as a court painter, Anguissola painted many official portraits of the royal family, a sharp departure from her previous personal portraits.


Economy

Charles V had left his son Philip with a debt of about 36 million ducats and an annual deficit of 1 million ducats. This debt caused Philip II to default on loans in 1557, 1560, 1575, and 1596 (including debt to Poland, known as
Neapolitan sums The Neapolitan sums ( pl, Sumy neapolitańskie) refers to a loan made in 1557 by Bona Sforza, dowager Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania, to Philip II of Spain. The debt was never repaid and continued to be disputed between the Polish– ...
). Lenders had no power over the King and could not force him to repay his loans. These defaults were just the beginning of Spain's economic troubles as its kings would default six more times in the next 65 years. Aside from reducing state revenues for overseas expeditions, the domestic policies of Philip II further burdened the Spanish kingdoms and would, in the following century, contribute to its decline, as maintained by some historians. The Spanish kingdoms were subject to different assemblies: the
Cortes Cortes, Cortés, Cortês, Corts, or Cortès may refer to: People * Cortes (surname), including a list of people with the name ** Hernán Cortés (1485–1547), a Spanish conquistador Places * Cortes, Navarre, a village in the South border of ...
in Castile, the assembly in Navarre, and one each for the three regions of Aragon, which preserved traditional rights and laws from the time when they were separate kingdoms. This made the Spanish kingdoms and its possessions difficult to rule, unlike France, which while divided into regional states, had a single Estates-General. The lack of a viable supreme assembly led to power defaulting into Philip II's hands, especially as manager and final arbiter of the constant conflict between different authorities. To deal with the difficulties arising from this situation, authority was administered by local agents appointed by the crown and viceroys carrying out crown instructions. Philip II felt it necessary to be involved in the detail, and he presided over specialised councils for state affairs, finance, war, and the
Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...
. Philip II played groups against each other, leading to a system of checks and balances that managed affairs inefficiently, even to the extent of damaging state business, as in the Perez affair. Following a fire in Valladolid in 1561, he resisted calls to move his Court to Lisbon, an act that could have curbed centralisation and bureaucracy domestically as well as relaxed rule in the Empire as a whole. Instead, with the traditional Royal and
Primacy Primacy may refer to: * an office of the Primate (bishop) * the supremacy of one bishop or archbishop over others, most notably: ** Primacy of Peter, ecclesiological doctrine on the primacy of Peter the Apostle ** Primacy of the Roman Pontiff, e ...
seat of Toledo now essentially obsolete, he moved his Court to the Castilian stronghold of
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
. Except for a brief period under
Philip III of Spain Philip III ( es, Felipe III; 14 April 1578 – 31 March 1621) was King of Spain. As Philip II, he was also King of Portugal, Naples, Sicily and Sardinia and Duke of Milan from 1598 until his death in 1621. A member of the House of Habsburg, Phi ...
, Madrid has remained the capital of Spain. It was around this time that Philip II converted the
Royal Alcázar of Madrid The Royal Alcázar of Madrid (Spanish: ''Real Alcázar de Madrid'') was a fortress located at the site of today's Royal Palace of Madrid, Madrid, Spain. The structure was originally built in the second half of the ninth century by the Muslims, ...
into a royal palace; the works, which lasted from 1561 until 1598, were done by tradesmen who came from the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, and
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. King Philip II ruled at a critical turning point in European history toward
modernity Modernity, a topic in the humanities and social sciences, is both a historical period (the modern era) and the ensemble of particular socio-cultural norms, attitudes and practices that arose in the wake of the Renaissancein the "Age of Reas ...
whereas his father Charles V had been forced to an itinerant rule as a medieval king. He mainly directed state affairs, even when not at Court. Indeed, when his health began failing, he worked from his quarters at the Palace-Monastery-Pantheon of
El Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial ( es, Monasterio y Sitio de El Escorial en Madrid), or Monasterio del Escorial (), is a historical residence of the King of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, u ...
that he had built in 1584, a palace built as a monument to Spain's role as a center of the Christian world. But Philip did not enjoy the supremacy that
King Louis XIV of France , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ve ...
would in the next century, nor was such a rule necessarily possible at his time. The inefficiencies of the Spanish state and the restrictively regulated industry under his rule were common to many contemporary countries. Further, the dispersal of the
Morisco Moriscos (, ; pt, mouriscos ; Spanish for "Moorish") were former Muslims and their descendants whom the Roman Catholic church and the Spanish Crown commanded to convert to Christianity or face compulsory exile after Spain outlawed the open ...
s from Granada – motivated by the fear they might support a Muslim invasion – had serious negative effects on the economy, particularly in that region.


Foreign policy

Philip's foreign policies were determined by a combination of Catholic fervour and dynastic objectives. He considered himself the chief defender of Catholic Europe, both against the Ottoman Turks and against the forces of the
Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...
. He never relented from his fight against
heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...
, defending the Catholic faith and limiting freedom of worship within his territories. These territories included his patrimony in the Netherlands, where Protestantism had taken deep root. Following the
Revolt of the Netherlands The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...
in 1568, Philip waged a campaign against Dutch heresy and secession. It also dragged in the English and the French at times and expanded into the German Rhineland with the Cologne War. This series of conflicts lasted for the rest of his life. Philip's constant involvement in European wars took a significant toll on the treasury and caused economic difficulties for the Crown and even bankruptcies. In 1588, the English defeated Philip's Spanish Armada, thwarting his planned invasion of the country to reinstate Catholicism. But war with England continued for the next sixteen years, in a complex series of struggles that included France, Ireland and the main battle zone, the
Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
. It would not end until all the leading protagonists, including himself, had died. Earlier, however, after several setbacks in his reign and especially that of his father, Philip did achieve a decisive victory against the Turks at Lepanto in 1571, with the allied fleet of the Holy League, which he had put under the command of his illegitimate brother, John of Austria. He also successfully secured his succession to the throne of
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. With regard to Philip's overseas possessions, in response to the reforms imposed by the Ordenanzas, extensive questionnaires were distributed to every major town and region in New Spain called relaciones geográficas. These surveys helped the Spanish monarchy to govern these overseas conquests more effectively.


Italy

Charles V abdicated the throne of Naples to Philip on 25 July 1554, and the young king was invested with the kingdom (officially called "Naples and Sicily") on 2 October by
Pope Julius III Pope Julius III ( la, Iulius PP. III; it, Giulio III; 10 September 1487 – 23 March 1555), born Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 February 1550 to his death in March 155 ...
. The date of Charles' abdication of the throne of Sicily is uncertain, but Philip was invested with this kingdom (officially "Sicily and Jerusalem") on 18 November 1554 by Julius. In 1556, Philip decided to invade the
Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...
and temporarily held territory there, perhaps in response to
Pope Paul IV Pope Paul IV, born Gian Pietro Carafa, C.R. ( la, Paulus IV; it, Paolo IV; 28 June 1476 – 18 August 1559) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 May 1555 to his death in August 1559. While serving as pa ...
's anti-Spanish outlook. According to Philip II, he was doing it for the benefit of the
Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...
. In a letter to the Princess Dowager of Portugal, Regent of the Spanish kingdoms, dated 22 September 1556, Francisco de Vargas wrote: In response to the invasion,
Pope Paul IV Pope Paul IV, born Gian Pietro Carafa, C.R. ( la, Paulus IV; it, Paolo IV; 28 June 1476 – 18 August 1559) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 May 1555 to his death in August 1559. While serving as pa ...
called for a French military intervention. After minor fights in Lazio and near Rome, Fernando Alvarez de Toledo (Duke of Alba and Viceroy of Naples) met Cardinal Carlo Carafa and signed the Treaty of
Cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...
as a compromise: French and Spanish forces left the Papal states and the Pope declared a neutral position between France and the Spanish kingdoms. Philip led the Spanish kingdoms into the final phase of the
Italian Wars The Italian Wars, also known as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a series of conflicts covering the period 1494 to 1559, fought mostly in the Italian peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and the Mediterranean Sea. The pr ...
. A Spanish advance into France from the Low Countries led to their important victory at the Battle of St. Quentin in 1557. The French were defeated again at the Battle of Gravelines in 1558. The resulting
Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal perso ...
in 1559 secured
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to the Duchy of Savoy, and Corsica to the
Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the La ...
. Both Genoa and Savoy were allies of Spain and, although Savoy subsequently declared its neutrality between France and Spain, Genoa remained a crucial financial ally for Philip during his entire reign. The treaty also confirmed Philip's direct control over
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
,
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
, Sicily, and
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
. Therefore, all of southern Italy was under direct Spanish rule. Sicily and Naples were viceroyalties of the Crown of Castile, while Sardinia was part of the
Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of ...
. In the north, Milan was a Duchy of the Holy Roman Empire held by Philip. Attached to the Kingdom of Naples, the State of Presidi in Tuscany gave Philip the possibility to monitor maritime traffic to southern Italy. The
Council of Italy The Council of Italy, officially, the Royal and Supreme Council of Italy ( es, Real y Supremo Consejo de Italia, it, Reale e Supremo Consiglio d'Italia) was a ruling body and key part of the government of the Spanish Empire in Europe, second o ...
was set up by Philip in order to co-ordinate his rule over the states of Milan, Naples and Sicily. Ultimately, the treaty ended the 60-year Franco-Habsburg wars for supremacy in Italy. It marked also the beginning of a period of peace between the Pope and Philip, as their European interests converged, although political differences remained and diplomatic contrasts eventually re-emerged. By the end of the wars in 1559, Habsburg Spain had been established as the premier power of Europe, to the detriment of France. In France, Henry II was fatally wounded in a joust held during the celebrations of the peace. His death led to the accession of his 15-year-old son Francis II, who in turn soon died. The French monarchy was thrown into turmoil, which increased further with the outbreak of the
French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholics and Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estimates, between two and four mi ...
that would last for several decades. The states of Italy were reduced to second-rate powers, and Milan and Naples were annexed directly to Aragon. Mary Tudor's death in 1558 enabled Philip to seal the treaty by marrying Henry II's daughter,
Elisabeth of Valois Elisabeth of France or Elisabeth of Valois ( es, Isabel de Valois; french: Élisabeth de France) (2 April 1545 – 3 October 1568) was Queen of Spain as the third spouse of Philip II of Spain. She was the eldest daughter of Henry II of France ...
, later giving him a claim to the throne of France on behalf of his daughter by Elisabeth, Isabel Clara Eugenia.


France

The French Wars of Religion (1562–1598) were primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants (Huguenots). The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise (Lorraine), and both sides received assistance from foreign sources. Philip claimed descent from
Constantine I Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...
and
Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first ...
, justifying his intervention in French Wars of Religion and his continuing efforts to depose
Henry IV of France Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarch ...
. Philip signed the Treaty of Vaucelles with Henry II of France in 1556. Based on the terms of the treaty, the territory of Franche-Comté in Burgundy was to be relinquished to Philip. However, the treaty was broken shortly afterwards. France and the Spanish kingdoms waged war in northern France and Italy over the following years. Spanish victories at St. Quentin and Gravelines led to the Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis, in which France recognised Spanish sovereignty over Franche-Comté. During the War of the Portuguese Succession, the pretender António, Prior of Crato, António fled to France following his defeats and, as Philip's armies had not yet occupied the Azores, he sailed there with a large Anglo-French fleet under Filippo di Piero Strozzi, Filippo Strozzi, a Florence, Florentine exile in the service of France. The naval Battle of Terceira took place on 26 July 1582, in the sea near the Azores Islands, Azores, off São Miguel Island, as part of the War of the Portuguese Succession and the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604). The Spanish navy defeated the combined Anglo-French fleet that had sailed to preserve control of the Azores under António. The French naval contingent was the largest French force sent overseas before the age of Louis XIV of France, Louis XIV. The Spanish victory at Terceira was followed by the Conquest of the Azores, Battle of the Azores between the Portuguese loyal to the claimant António, supported by French and English troops, and the Spanish-Portuguese forces loyal to Philip commanded by the admiral Don Álvaro de Bazán, 1st Marquis of Santa Cruz, Álvaro de Bazán. Victory in Azores completed the incorporation of Spanish Empire, Portugal into the Spanish Empire. Philip financed the Catholic League during the French Wars of Religion. He directly intervened in the final phases of the wars (1589–1598), ordering the Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, Duke of Parma into France in an effort to unseat Henry IV of France, Henry IV, and perhaps dreaming of placing his favourite daughter, Isabel Clara Eugenia, on the French throne. Elizabeth of Valois, Philip's third wife and Isabella's mother, had already ceded any claim to the French Crown with her marriage to Philip. However the Parliament of Paris, in power of the Catholic party, gave verdict that Isabella Clara Eugenia was "the legitimate sovereign" of France. Philip's interventions in the fighting – sending the Duke of Parma to end Henry IV's Siege of Paris, 1590, siege of Paris in 1590 and the Siege of Rouen (1591), siege of Rouen in 1592 – contributed in saving the French Catholic Leagues's cause against a Protestant monarchy. In 1593, Henry agreed to convert to Catholicism; weary of war, most French Catholics switched to his side against the hardline core of the Catholic League, who were portrayed by Henry's propagandists as puppets of a foreign monarch, Philip. By the end of 1594 certain League members were still working against Henry across the country, but all relied on the support of the Spanish Crown. In January 1595, therefore, Henry officially declared war on the Spanish Crown, to show Catholics that Philip was using religion as a cover for an attack on the French state, and Protestants that he had not become a puppet of the Spanish Crown through his conversion, while hoping to reconquer large parts of northern France from the Franco-Spanish Catholic forces. French victory at the Battle of Fontaine-Française in Burgundy, 5 June 1595, marked an end to the Catholic League in France. The French also made some progress during an invasion of the Spanish Netherlands. They captured Ham, Belgium, Ham and massacred the small Spanish garrison, provoking anger among the Spanish ranks. The Spanish launched a concerted offensive that year, taking Siege of Doullens, Doullens, Cambrai, and Siege of Le Catelet (1595), Le Catelet; at Doullens, they massacred 4,000 of its citizens. On 24 April 1596, the Spanish also Siege of Calais (1596), conquered Calais. Following the Spanish capture of Amiens in March 1597, the French Crown laid siege to it until it managed to Siege of Amiens (1597), reconquer Amiens from the overstretched Spanish forces in September 1597. Henry then negotiated a peace with the Spanish Crown. The war was only drawn to an official close, however, after the Edict of Nantes, with the Peace of Vervins in May 1598. The 1598 Treaty of Vervins was largely a restatement of the 1559 Peace of Câteau-Cambrésis and Spanish forces and subsidies were withdrawn; meanwhile, Henry issued the Edict of Nantes, which offered a high degree of religious toleration for French Protestants. The military interventions in France thus failed to oust Henry from the throne or suppress Protestantism in France, and yet they had played a decisive part in helping the French Catholic cause gain the conversion of Henry, ensuring that Catholicism would remain France's official and majority faith – matters of paramount importance for the devoutly Catholic Spanish king.


Mediterranean

In the early part of his reign Philip was concerned with the rising power of the Ottoman Empire under Suleiman the Magnificent. Fear of Islamic domination in the Mediterranean caused him to pursue an aggressive foreign policy. In 1558, Turkish admiral Piyale Pasha captured the Balearic Islands, especially inflicting great damage on Menorca and enslaving many, while raiding the coasts of the Spanish mainland. Philip appealed to the Pope and other powers in Europe to bring an end to the rising Ottoman Empire, Ottoman threat. Since his father's losses against the Ottomans and against Hayreddin Barbarossa in 1541, the major European sea powers in the Mediterranean, namely the Spanish Crown and Venice, became hesitant in confronting the Ottomans. The myth of "Turkish invincibility" was becoming a popular story, causing fear and panic among the people. In 1560, Philip II organised a ''Holy League'' between the Spanish kingdoms and the Republic of Venice, the
Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the La ...
, the
Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...
, the Duchy of Savoy and the Knights Hospitaller, Knights of Malta. The joint fleet was assembled at Messina and consisted of 200 ships (60 galleys and 140 other vessels) carrying a total of 30,000 soldiers under the command of Giovanni Andrea Doria, nephew of the famous Genoese admiral Andrea Doria. On 12 March 1560, the Holy League captured the island of Djerba, which had a strategic location and could control the sea routes between Algiers and Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli. As a response, Suleiman sent an Ottoman fleet of 120 ships under the command of Piyale Pasha, which arrived at Djerba on 9 May 1560. The battle lasted until 14 May 1560, and the forces of Piyale Pasha and Turgut Reis (who joined Piyale Pasha on the third day of the battle) won an overwhelming victory at the Battle of Djerba. The Holy League lost 60 ships (30 galleys) and 20,000 men, and Giovanni Andrea Doria was barely able to escape with a small vessel. The Ottomans retook the Fortress of Djerba, whose Spanish commander, D. Álvaro de Sande, attempted to escape with a ship but was followed and eventually captured by Turgut Reis. In 1565 the Ottomans sent Siege of Malta (1565), a large expedition to Malta, which laid siege to several forts on the island, taking some of them. The Spanish sent a relief force, which finally drove the Ottoman army out of the island. The grave threat posed by the increasing Ottoman domination of the Mediterranean was reversed in one of history's most decisive battles, with the destruction of nearly the entire Ottoman fleet at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, by the Holy League under the command of Philip's half brother, John of Austria, Don Juan of Austria. A fleet sent by Philip, again commanded by Don John, reconquered Tunis from the Ottomans in 1573. The Turks soon rebuilt their fleet, and in 1574 Uluç Ali Reis managed to recapture Conquest of Tunis (1574), Tunis with a force of 250 galleys and a siege that lasted 40 days. Thousands of Spanish and Italian soldiers became prisoners. Nevertheless, Lepanto marked a permanent reversal in the balance of naval power in the Mediterranean and the end of the threat of Ottoman control. In 1585 a peace treaty was signed with the Ottomans.


Colonial policy


Strait of Magellan

During Philip's reign Spain considered the Pacific Ocean a ''mare clausum'' – a sea closed to other naval powers. As the only known entrance from the Atlantic, the Strait of Magellan was at times patrolled by fleets sent to prevent entrance of non-Spanish ships. To end navigation by rival powers in the Strait of Magellan Spanish viceroy Francisco de Toledo ordered Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa to explore the strait and found settlements on its shores. In 1584, Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa founded two colonies in the strait: Nombre de Jesús (Patagonia), Nombre de Jesús and Ciudad del Rey Don Felipe. The latter was established north of the strait with 300 settlers. The new colonies suffered from high death rates; likely as consequence executions, brawls, violent encounters with indigenous peoples, and most important, diseases which were rife. Deeper contributing causes for failure of the settlement and death of most settlers may have been the poor mood settlers showed already from the beginning of the settlement. This mood can in part be explained by a series of difficulties the expedition had to go through between the departure from Spain and the arrival to the strait. Philip II's inaction despite repeated pleas by Sarmiento to aid the ailing colony has been attributed to the strain on Spain's resources that resulted from wars with England and Dutch rebels. In 1587 English corsairs renamed Ciudad del Rey Don Felipe Puerto del Hambre, or "Port Famine"—most of the settlers had died by cold or starvation. When Sir Thomas Cavendish landed at the site of Rey Don Felipe in 1587, he found only ruins of the settlement. He renamed it Port Famine. The Spanish failure at colonizing the Strait of Magellan made Chiloé Archipelago assume the role of protecting western Patagonia from foreign intrusions. Valdivia and Chiloé acted as sentries, being hubs where the Spanish collected intelligence from all over Patagonia.


Revolt in the Netherlands

Philip's rule in the
Seventeen Provinces The Seventeen Provinces were the Imperial states of the Habsburg Netherlands in the 16th century. They roughly covered the Low Countries, i.e., what is now the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and most of the French departments of Nord (Fre ...
known collectively as the Netherlands faced many difficulties, leading to Eighty Years' War, open warfare in 1568. He appointed Margaret of Parma as Governor of the Netherlands, when he left the low countries for the Spanish kingdoms in 1559, but forced her to adjust policy to the advice of Cardinal Granvelle, who was greatly disliked in the Netherlands, after he insisted on direct control over events in the Netherlands despite being over two weeks' ride away in Madrid. There was discontent in the Netherlands about Philip's taxation demands and the incessant Inquisition of the Netherlands, persecution of Protestants. In 1566, Protestant preachers sparked anti-clerical riots known as the Dutch Revolt#1566 — Iconoclasm and repression, Iconoclast Fury; in response to growing Protestant influence, the army of the Iron Duke (Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba) went on the offensive. In 1568, Alba had Lamoral, Count of Egmont and Philip de Montmorency, Count of Horn executed in Brussels' Grand-Place, central square, further alienating the local aristocracy. There were massacres of civilians in Spanish Fury at Mechelen, Mechelen,Henk van Nierop, ''Treason in the Northern Quarter: War, Terror, and the Rule of Law in the Dutch Revolt'' (Princeton University Press, 2009), 69–70. Massacre of Naarden, Naarden, Zutphen and Haarlem. In 1571, Alba erected at Antwerp a bronze statue of himself trampling the rebellious Dutch under his horse's hooves, cast from the melted-down cannon looted by the Spanish troops after the Battle of Jemmingen in 1568; it was modelled on medieval images of the Spanish patron Saint James Matamoros, Saint James "the Moorslayer" riding down Muslims and caused such outrage that Philip had it removed and destroyed. In 1572, a prominent exiled member of the Dutch aristocracy, William the Silent, William of Orange (Prince of Orange), invaded the Netherlands with a Protestant army, but he only succeeded in holding two provinces, Holland and Zeeland. Because of the Spanish repulse in the Siege of Alkmaar (1573) led by his equally brutal son Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo, 4th Duke of Alba, Fadrique, Alba resigned his command, replaced by Luis de Requesens y Zúñiga, Luis de Requesens. Alba boasted that he had burned or executed 18,600 persons in the Netherlands, in addition to the far greater number he massacred during the war, many of them women and children; 8,000 persons were burned or hanged in one year, and the total number of Alba's Flemish people, Flemish victims can not have fallen short of 50,000. Under Requesens, the Army of Flanders reached a peak strength of 86,000 in 1574 and retained its battlefield superiority, destroying Louis of Nassau's German mercenary army at the Battle of Mookerheyde on 14 April 1574, killing both him and his brother Henry of Nassau-Dillenburg, Henry. Rampant inflation and the loss of Spanish treasure fleet, treasure fleets from the
New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...
prevented Philip from paying his soldiers consistently, leading to the so-called Spanish Fury at Sack of Antwerp, Antwerp in 1576, where soldiers ran amok through the streets, burning more than 1,000 homes and killing 6,000 citizens. Philip sent in Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, as Governor-General of the Spanish Netherlands from 1578 to 1592. Farnese defeated the rebels in 1578 at the Battle of Gembloux (1578), Battle of Gembloux, and he captured many rebel towns in the south: Siege of Maastricht (1579), Maastricht (1579), Tournai (1581), Oudenaarde (1582), Dunkirk (1583), Bruges (1584), Siege of Ghent (1583–1584), Ghent (1584), and Fall of Antwerp, Antwerp (1585). The States General of the Netherlands, States General of the northern provinces, united in the 1579 Union of Utrecht, passed an Act of Abjuration in 1581 declaring that they no longer recognised Philip as their king. The southern Netherlands (what is now Belgium and Luxembourg) remained under Spanish rule. In 1584, William the Silent was assassinated by Balthasar Gérard, after Philip had offered a reward of 25,000 crowns to anyone who killed him, calling him a "pest on the whole of Christianity and the enemy of the human race". The Dutch forces continued to fight on under Orange's son Maurice of Nassau, who received modest help from the Queen of England in 1585. The Dutch gained an advantage over the Spanish because of their growing economic strength, in contrast to Philip's burgeoning economic troubles. The war came to an end in 1648, when the Dutch Republic was recognised by the Spanish Crown as independent; the eight decades of war came at a massive human cost, with an estimated 600,000 to 700,000 victims, of which 350,000 to 400,000 were civilians killed by disease and what would later be considered war crimes.


King of Portugal

In 1578 young king Sebastian of Portugal died at the Battle of Alcácer Quibir without descendants, triggering a 1580 Portuguese succession crisis, succession crisis. His granduncle, the elderly Henry I of Portugal, Cardinal Henry, succeeded him as king, but Henry had no descendants either, having taken holy orders. When Henry died two years after Sebastian's disappearance, three grandchildren of Manuel I of Portugal, Manuel I claimed the throne: Infanta Catarina, Duchess of Braganza; António, Prior of Crato; and Philip II of Spain. António was acclaimed King of Portugal in many cities and towns throughout the country, but members of the Council of Governors of Portugal who had supported Philip escaped to the Spanish kingdoms and declared him to be the legal successor of Henry. Philip II then marched into Portugal and defeated Prior António's troops in the Battle of Alcântara (1580), Battle of Alcântara. The Portuguese suffered 4,000 killed, wounded, or captured, while the Spanish sustained only 500 casualties. The troops commanded by Fernando Álvarez de Toledo the 3rd Duke of Alba imposed subjection to Philip before entering Lisbon, where he seized an immense treasure. Philip II of Spain assumed the Portuguese throne in September 1580 and was crowned ''Philip I'' of Portugal in 1581 (recognized as king by the Portuguese Cortes of Tomar) and a near sixty-year personal union under the rule of the Philippine Dynasty began. This gave Philip control of the extensive Portuguese empire. When Philip left for Madrid in 1583, he made his nephew Albert VII, Archduke of Austria, Albert of Austria his viceroy in Lisbon. In Madrid he established a Council of Portugal to advise him on Portuguese affairs, giving prominent positions to Portuguese nobles in the Spanish courts, and allowing Portugal to maintain autonomous law, currency, and government. This is on the well-established pattern of Polysynodial System, rule by councils.


Relations with England and Ireland


King of England and Ireland

Philip's father arranged his marriage to 37-year-old Queen Mary I of England, Charles' maternal first cousin. His father ceded the crown of Naples, as well as his claim to the Kingdom of Jerusalem, to him. Their Wedding of Mary I of England and Philip II of Spain, marriage at Winchester Cathedral on 25 July 1554 took place just two days after their first meeting. Philip's view of the affair was entirely political. Lord Chancellor Gardiner and the House of Commons of England, House of Commons petitioned Mary to consider marrying an Englishman, preferring Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon, Edward Courtenay. Under the terms of the Act for the Marriage of Queen Mary to Philip of Spain, Philip was to enjoy Mary I's titles and honours for as long as their marriage should last. All official documents, including Act of Parliament, Acts of Parliament, were to be dated with both their names, and Parliament was to be called under the joint authority of the couple. Coins were also to show the heads of both Mary and Philip. The marriage treaty also provided that England would not be obliged to provide military support to Philip's father in any war. The Privy Council instructed that Philip and Mary should be joint signatories of royal documents, and this was enacted by an Act of Parliament, which gave him the title of king and stated that he "shall aid her Highness ... in the happy administration of her Grace's realms and dominions". In other words, Philip was to co-reign with his wife.Louis Adrian Montrose, ''The subject of Elizabeth: authority, gender, and representation'', University of Chicago Press, 2006 As the new King of England could not read English, it was ordered that a note of all matters of state should be made in Latin or Spanish.A. F. Pollard, ''The History of England – From the Accession of Edward VI. to the Death of Elizabeth (1547–1603)'', READ BOOKS, 2007Wim de Groot, ''The Seventh Window: The King's Window Donated by Philip II and Mary Tudor to Sint Janskerk in Gouda (1557)'', Uitgeverij Verloren, 2005 Acts making it high treason to deny Philip's royal authority were passed in IrelandRobert Dudley Edwards, ''Ireland in the age of the Tudors: the destruction of Hiberno-Norman civilisation'', Taylor & Francis, 1977 and England. Philip and Mary appeared on coins together, with a single crown suspended between them as a symbol of joint reign. The Great Seal shows Philip and Mary seated on thrones, holding the crown together. The coat of arms of England was impaled with Philip's to denote their joint reign.Richard Marks, Ann Payne, British Museum, British Library; ''British heraldry from its origins to c. 1800''; British Museum Publications Ltd., 1978''The Numismatist'', American Numismatic Association, 1971 During their joint reign, they waged war against France, which resulted in the loss of Calais, England's last remaining possession in France. Philip's wife had succeeded to the Kingdom of Ireland, but the title of Crown of Ireland Act 1542, King of Ireland had been created in 1542 by Henry VIII after he was excommunicated, and so it was not recognised by Catholic monarchs. In 1555,
Pope Paul IV Pope Paul IV, born Gian Pietro Carafa, C.R. ( la, Paulus IV; it, Paolo IV; 28 June 1476 – 18 August 1559) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 May 1555 to his death in August 1559. While serving as pa ...
rectified this by issuing a papal bull recognising Philip and Mary as rightful King and Queen of Ireland. County Offaly, King's County and Daingean, Philipstown in Ireland were named after Philip as King of Ireland in 1556. The couple's joint royal style after Philip ascended the Spanish throne in 1556 was: ''Philip and Mary, by the Grace of God, King and Queen of England, Spain, France, Jerusalem, both the Sicilies and Ireland, Defenders of the Faith, Archdukes of Austria, Dukes of Burgundy, Milan and Brabant, Counts of Habsburg, Flanders and Tirol''. However, the couple had no children. Mary died in 1558 before the union could revitalise the Roman Catholic Church in England. With her death, Philip lost his rights to the English throne (including the ancient English claims to the French throne) and ceased to be King of England, Ireland and (as claimed by them) France. Philip's great-grandson, Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, married Princess Henrietta of England in 1661; in 1807, the Jacobitism, Jacobite claim to the British throne passed to the descendants of their child Anne Marie d'Orléans.


After Mary I's death

Upon Mary's death, the throne went to Elizabeth I of England, Elizabeth I. Philip had no wish to sever his tie with England, and had sent a proposal of marriage to Elizabeth. However, she delayed in answering, and in that time learned Philip was also considering a House of Valois, Valois alliance. Elizabeth I was the Protestant daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. This union was deemed illegitimate by English Catholics, who disputed the validity of both the annulment of Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon and of his subsequent marriage to Boleyn, and hence claimed that Mary, Queen of Scots, the Catholic great-granddaughter of Henry VII of England, Henry VII, was the rightful monarch. For many years Philip maintained peace with England, and even defended Elizabeth from the Pope's threat of excommunication. This was a measure taken to preserve a European balance of power. Ultimately, Elizabeth allied England with the Protestant rebels in the Netherlands. Further, English ships began a policy of piracy against Spanish trade and threatened to plunder the great Spanish treasure ships coming from the New World. English ships went so far as to attack a Spanish port. The last straw for Philip was the Treaty of Nonsuch signed by Elizabeth in 1585 – promising troops and supplies to the rebels. Although it can be argued this English action was the result of Philip's
Treaty of Joinville The Treaty of Joinville was signed in secret on 31 December 1584 by the Catholic League, led by France's first family of Catholic nobles, the House of Guise, and Habsburg Spain. Treaty provisions In the treaty: * Philip II of Spain agreed to fi ...
with the Catholic League (French), Catholic League of France, Philip considered it an act of war by England. The execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1587 ended Philip's hopes of placing a Catholic on the English throne. He turned instead to more direct plans to invade England and return the country to Catholicism. In 1588, he sent a fleet, the Spanish Armada, to rendezvous with the Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, Duke of Parma's army and convey it across the English Channel. However, the operation had little chance of success from the beginning, because of lengthy delays, lack of communication between Philip II and his two commanders and the lack of a deep bay for the fleet. At the point of attack, a storm struck the English Channel, already known for its harsh currents and choppy waters, which devastated large numbers of the Spanish fleet. There was a tightly fought battle against the English Royal Navy; it was by no means a slaughter (only one Spanish ship was sunk), but the Spanish were forced into a retreat, and the overwhelming majority of the Armada was destroyed by the harsh weather. Whilst the English Royal Navy may not have destroyed the Armada at the Battle of Gravelines, they had prevented it from linking up with the army it was supposed to convey across the channel. Thus whilst the English Royal Navy may have only won a slight tactical victory over the Spanish, it had delivered a major strategic one—preventing the invasion of England. Through a week of fighting the Spanish had expended 100,000 cannonballs, but no English ship was seriously damaged. However, over 7,000 English sailors died from disease during the time the Armada was in English waters. The defeat of the Spanish Armada gave great heart to the Protestant cause across Europe. The storm that smashed the Armada was seen by many of Philip's enemies as a sign of the will of God. Many Spaniards blamed the admiral of the Armada for its failure, but Philip, despite his complaint that he had sent his ships to fight the English, not the elements, was not among them. A measure of the character of Philip can be gathered by the fact that he personally saw to it that the wounded men of the Armada were treated and received pensions, and that the families of those who died were compensated for their loss, which was highly unusual for the time. While the invasion had been averted, England was unable to take advantage of this success. An attempt to use her newfound advantage at sea with a English Armada, counter-armada the following year failed disastrously with 40 ships sunk and 15,000 men lost. Likewise, English buccaneering and attempts to seize territories in the Caribbean were defeated by Spain's rebuilt navy and their improved intelligence networks (although Capture of Cádiz, Cádiz was destroyed by an Anglo-Dutch force after a failed attempt to seize the treasure fleet). The Habsburgs also struck back with the Dunkirkers, who took an increasing toll on Dutch and English shipping. Eventually, the Spanish attempted two further Armadas, in October 1596 and October 1597. The 2nd Spanish Armada, 1596 Armada was destroyed in a storm off northern Spain; it had lost as many as 72 of its 126 ships and suffered 3,000 deaths. The 3rd Spanish Armada, 1597 Armada was frustrated by adverse weather as it approached the English coast undetected. This Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) would be fought to a grinding end, but not until both Philip II (d. 1598) and Elizabeth I (d. 1603) were dead. Some of the fighting was done on land in Ireland, France, and the Netherlands, with the English sending expeditionary forces to France and the Netherlands to fight Spain, and Spain attempting to assist Irish rebellions in Ireland.


Death

Philip II died in
El Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial ( es, Monasterio y Sitio de El Escorial en Madrid), or Monasterio del Escorial (), is a historical residence of the King of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, u ...
, near Madrid, on 13 September 1598, of cancer. He was succeeded by his 20-year-old son, Philip III of Spain, Philip III.


Legacy

Under Philip II, Spain reached the peak of its power. However, in spite of the great and increasing quantities of gold and silver flowing into his coffers from the American mines, the riches of the Portuguese spice trade, and the enthusiastic support of the Habsburg dominions for the Counter-Reformation, he would never succeed in suppressing Protestantism or defeating the Dutch rebellion. Early in his reign, the Dutch might have laid down their weapons if he had desisted in trying to suppress Protestantism, but his devotion to Catholicism would not permit him to do so. He was a devout Catholic and exhibited the typical 16th century disdain for religious heterodoxy; he said, "Before suffering the slightest damage to religion in the service of God, I would lose all of my estates and a hundred lives, if I had them, because I do not wish nor do I desire to be the ruler of heretics." As he strove to enforce Catholic orthodoxy through an intensification of the
Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...
, students were barred from studying elsewhere, and books printed by Spaniards outside the kingdom were banned. Even a highly respected churchman like Bartolome Carranza, Archbishop Carranza of Toledo was jailed by the Inquisition for 17 years, for publishing ideas that seemed sympathetic in some degree with Protestantism. Such strict enforcement of orthodox belief was successful, and Spain avoided the religiously inspired strife tearing apart other European dominions. The School of Salamanca flourished under his reign. Martín de Azpilcueta, highly honoured at Rome by several popes and looked on as an oracle of learning, published his ''Manuale sive Enchiridion Confessariorum et Poenitentium'' (Rome, 1568), long a classical text in the schools and in ecclesiastical practice. Francisco Suárez, generally regarded as the greatest scholastic after Thomas Aquinas and regarded during his lifetime as being the greatest living philosopher and theologian, was writing and lecturing, not only in Spain but also in Rome (1580–1585), where Pope Gregory XIII attended the first lecture that he gave. Luis de Molina published his ''De liberi arbitrii cum gratiae donis, divina praescientia, praedestinatione et reprobatione concordia'' (1588), wherein he put forth the doctrine attempting to reconcile the omniscience of God with human free will that came to be known as Molinism, thereby contributing to what was one of the most important intellectual debates of the time; Molinism became the ''de facto'' Society of Jesus, Jesuit doctrine on these matters, and is still advocated today by William Lane Craig and Alvin Plantinga, among others. Because Philip II was the most powerful European monarch in an era of war and religious conflict, evaluating both his reign and the man himself has become a controversial historical subject. Even before his death in 1598, his supporters had started presenting him as an archetypical gentleman, full of piety and Christian virtues, whereas his enemies depicted him as a fanatical and despotic monster, responsible for inhuman cruelties and barbarism. This dichotomy, further developed into the so-called Spanish Black Legend and White Legend, was helped by King Philip himself. Philip prohibited any biographical account of his life to be published while he was alive, and he ordered that all his private correspondence be burned shortly before he died. Moreover, Philip did nothing to defend himself after being betrayed by his ambitious secretary Antonio Perez, who published incredible calumnies against his former master; this allowed Perez's tales to spread all around Europe unchallenged. That way, the popular image of the king that survives to today was created on the eve of his death, at a time when many European princes and religious leaders were turned against Spain as a pillar of the Counter-Reformation. This means that many histories depict Philip from deeply prejudiced points of view, usually negative. However, some historians classify this anti-Spanish analysis as part of the Black Legend. In a more recent example of popular culture, Philip II's portrayal in ''Fire Over England'' (1937) is not entirely unsympathetic; he is shown as a very hardworking, intelligent, religious, somewhat paranoid ruler whose prime concern is his country, but who had no understanding of the English, despite his former co-monarchy there. Even in countries that remained Catholic, primarily France and the Italian states, fear and envy of Spanish success and domination created a wide receptiveness for the worst possible descriptions of Philip II. Although some efforts have been made to separate legend from reality, that task has proved extremely difficult, since many prejudices are rooted in the cultural heritage of European countries. Spanish-speaking historians tend to assess his political and military achievements, sometimes deliberately avoiding issues such as the king's inflexible Catholicism. English-speaking historians tend to show Philip II as a fanatical, despotical, criminal, imperialist monster, minimising his military victories (Battle of Lepanto (1571), Battle of Lepanto, Battle of St. Quentin (1557), Battle of Saint Quentin, etc.) to mere anecdotes, and magnifying his defeats (namely the Spanish Armada, Armada) even though at the time those defeats did not result in great political or military changes in the balance of power in Europe. Moreover, it has been noted that objectively assessing Philip's reign would necessitate a re-analysis of the reign of his greatest opponents, namely England's Queen
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...
and the Dutch William the Silent, who are popularly regarded as great heroes in their home nations; if Philip II is to be shown to the English or Dutch public in a more favourable light, Elizabeth and William would lose their cold-blooded, fanatical enemy, thus decreasing their own patriotic accomplishments. He ended French Valois ambitions in Italy and brought about the Habsburg ascendency in Europe. He secured the Portuguese kingdom and empire. He succeeded in increasing the importation of silver in the face of English, Dutch, and French privateers, overcoming multiple financial crises and consolidating Spain's overseas empire. Although clashes would be ongoing, he ended the major threat posed to Europe by the Ottoman navy. Historian Geoffrey Parker (historian), Geoffrey Parker offers a management-psychological explanation, as summarized by Tonio Andrade and William Reger:
One might have expected that Philip—being a dedicated, persistent, and hard-working man, and being the head of Western Europe’s wealthiest and largest empire—would have succeeded in his aims. He didn’t. His endeavors were doomed by his own character, or at least that’s how Parker sees it. Drawing on studies in management science and organizational psychology, Parker argues that a successful manager of a large organization must keep attention on the big picture, must have a good strategy for dealing with copious information, must know how to delegate, and must be flexible. Philip failed on all counts. He was a micromanager who got bogged down in details, refusing to delegate and trying to read every dispatch that came to his desk. He obsessed and dithered, so that by the time his decisions were made and his orders reached the men meant to carry them out, the situation on the ground had changed. Philip was also inflexible, unwilling to abandon ineffective policies. Most pernicious of all was Philip’s tendency toward messianic thinking, a belief that he was doing God’s work and that heaven would support him with miracles.


Titles, honours and styles

* Heir titles ** Prince of Gerona: 21 May 1527 – 16 January 1556 **
Prince of Asturias Prince or Princess of Asturias ( es, link=no, Príncipe/Princesa de Asturias; ast, Príncipe d'Asturies) is the main substantive title used by the heir apparent or heir presumptive to the throne of Spain. According to the Spanish Constitution ...
1528–1556 * List of Castilian monarchs, King of Castile as Philip II: 16 January 1556 – 13 September 1598 ** King of Castile, of León, of Granada, of Toledo, of Galicia, of Seville, of Cordoba, of Murcia, of Jaen, of the Algarves, of Algeciras, of Gibraltar, of the Canary Islands, of the Indias, the Islands and Mainland of the Ocean Sea; Lord of Molina ** Lord of Biscay * List of Aragonese monarchs, King of Aragon as Philip I: 16 January 1556 – 13 September 1598 ** King of Aragón ** King of the Two Sicilies *** List of kings of Naples, King of Naples, of Jerusalem (from 25 July 1554) *** List of monarchs of Sicily, King of Sicily. Duke of Athens, of Neopatria ** List of Valencian monarchs, King of Valencia ** List of Majorcan monarchs, King of Majorca ** list of Sardinian monarchs, King of Sardinia and of Corsica, Margrave of Oristano, Count of Goceano ** List of Navarrese monarchs, King of Navarre ** Count of Barcelona, of Roussillon, of Cerdanya * List of Portuguese monarchs, King of Portugal as Philip I: 12 September 1580 – 13 September 1598 ** King of Portugal and the Algarves of either side of the sea in Africa, Lord of Guinea and of Conquest, Navigation, and Commerce of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia, and India, etc. * List of kings of England, King of England de ''jure uxoris'' as Philip I: 25 July 1554 – 17 November 1558 ** King of England, France (titular); Fidei Defensor, Defender of the Faith ** List of kings of Ireland, King of Ireland * Imperial and Habsburg patrimonial titles: ** list of dukes of Milan, Duke of Milan: 11 October 1540 (secret donation) / 25 July 1554 (public investiture) – 13 September 1598 ** Imperial vicar of Siena: since 30 May 1554 ** Archduke of Austria ** Princely Count of Habsburg and of Tyrol ** Prince of Swabia * Burgundian titles ** Lord of the Netherlands: 25 October 1555 – 13 September 1598 *** Duke Dukes of Brabant, of Lothier, of Brabant, Dukes of Limburg, of Limburg, Counts, Dukes and Grand Dukes of Luxembourg, of Luxemburg, Dukes of Guelders, of Guelders. Count Counts of Flanders, of Flanders, Counts of Artois, of Artois, Counts of Hainaut, of Hainaut, Count of Holland, of Holland, Count of Zeeland, of Zeeland, Marquis of Namur, of Namur, Count of Zutphen, of Zutphen. Margrave of the Holy Roman Empire, Lord of Frisia, Salins, Mechelen, the cities, towns and lands of Utrecht, Overyssel, Groningen ** List of counts of Burgundy, Count Palatine of Burgundy from 10 June 1556; Charolais (county), Count of Charolais from 21 September 1558 ** Duke of Burgundy ** Dominator in Asia, Africa * Honours **List of Knights of the Golden Fleece, Knight of the Golden Fleece: 1531 – 13 September 1598 ** Grand Master of the Order of the Golden Fleece:Rocquet, Claude-Henri.
Bruegel; or The Workshop of Dreams
'. Univ. of Chicago Press, 1991. .
23 October 1555 – 13 September 1598 ** List of Grand Masters of the Order of Calatrava, Grand Master of the Order of Calatrava: 16 January 1556 – 13 September 1598 ** List of Grand Masters of the Order of Alcantara, Grand Master of the Order of Alcantara: 16 January 1556 – 13 September 1598 ** List of Grand Masters of the Order of Santiago, Grand Master of the Order of Santiago: 16 January 1556 – 13 September 1598 ** Order of Montesa, Grand Master of the Order of Montesa: 8 December 1587 – 13 September 1598 Philip continued his father's style of "Majesty" (Latin: ''Maiestas''; Spanish: ''Majestad'') in preference to that of "Highness" (''Celsitudo''; ''Alteza''). In diplomatic texts, he continued the use of the title "Rex Catholicismus, Most Catholic" (''Rex Catholicissimus''; ''Rey Católico'') first bestowed by Pope Alexander VI on Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella in 1496. Following the Act for the Marriage of Queen Mary to Philip of Spain, Act of Parliament sanctioning his marriage with Mary, the couple was styled "Philip and Mary, by the grace of God King and Queen of England, British claims to the French throne, France,
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
, Kings of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, Fidei Defensor, Defenders of the Faith, Princes of Spanish Empire, Spain and Kingdom of Sicily, Sicily, Archdukes of Archduchy of Austria, Austria, Dukes of
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, Duchy of Burgundy, Burgundy and Duchy of Brabant, Brabant, Counts of Habsburg, Count of Flanders, Flanders and County of Tyrol, Tyrol".Waller, Maureen. ''Sovereign Ladies: The Six Reigning Queens of England''. St. Martin's Press (New York), 2006. . Upon his inheritance of Spain in 1556, they became "Philip and Mary, by the grace of God King and Queen of England, Spain, France, Two Sicilies, both the Sicilies, Jerusalem and Ireland, Defenders of the Faith, Archdukes of Austria, Dukes of Burgundy, Milan and Brabant, Counts of Habsburg, Flanders and Tyrol". In the 1584
Treaty of Joinville The Treaty of Joinville was signed in secret on 31 December 1584 by the Catholic League, led by France's first family of Catholic nobles, the House of Guise, and Habsburg Spain. Treaty provisions In the treaty: * Philip II of Spain agreed to fi ...
, he was styled "Philip, by the grace of God second of his name, king of Castille, Leon, Aragon, Portugal, Navarre, Naples, Sicily, Jerusalem, King of Majorca, Majorca, King of Sardinia, Sardinia, and the islands, Indies, and ''wikt:terra firma, terra firma'' of the Ocean Sea; archduke of Austria; duke of Burgundy, Duke of Lothier, Lothier, Brabant, Duchy of Limbourg, Limbourg, Duchy of Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Duchy of Guelders, Guelders, and Milan; Count of Habsburg, Flanders, County of Artois, Artois, and County of Burgundy, Burgundy; Count Palatine of County of Hainaut, Hainault, County of Holland, Holland and County of Zeeland, Zeeland, County of Namur, Namur, Drenthe, Zutphen County, Zutphen; prince of "Zvuanem"; marquis of the Holy Roman Empire; lord of Frisia, Salland, Lordship of Mechelen, Mechelen, and of the Ommelanden, cities, towns, and lands of Lordship of Utrecht, Utrecht, Overissel, and Lordship of Groningen, Groningen; master of Asia and Africa". His coinage typically bore the obverse inscription "PHS·D:G·HISP·Z·REX" (Latin: "Philip, by the grace of God King of Spain et cetera"), followed by the local title of the mint ("DVX·BRA" for Duke of Brabant, "C·HOL" for Count of Holland, "D·TRS·ISSV" for Lord of Overissel, etc.). The obverse and reverse, reverse would then bear a motto such as "PACE·ET·IVSTITIA" ("For Peace and Justice") or "DOMINVS·MIHI·ADIVTOR" ("Epistle to the Hebrews, The Lord is my helper"). A medal struck in 1583 bore the inscriptions "PHILIPP II HISP ET NOVI ORBIS REX" ("Philip II, King of Spain and the New World") and "NON SUFFICIT ORBIS" ("The world is not enough").Cremades, Checa. ''Felipe II''. Op. cit. in
The Place of Tudor England
. ''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society'', 6th Series, Vol. 12. Cambridge Univ. Press, 2003. .


Heraldry


Family

Philip was married four times and had children with three of his wives. He also had two long-term relationships with Isabel Osorio and Eufrasia de Guzmán. File:Maria Manuela, Princess of Portugal and Asturias - El Prado.jpg, Princess Maria of Portugal File:Anthonis Mor 001.jpg, Queen Mary Tudor of England by Antonis Mor File:Isabel de Valois2..jpg, Queen Elisabeth of Valois by Juan Pantoja de la Cruz File:La reina Ana de Austria, por Sofonisba Anguissola.jpg, Queen Anna of Austria by
Sofonisba Anguissola Sofonisba Anguissola ( – 16 November 1625), also known as Sophonisba Angussola or Sophonisba Anguisciola, was an Italian Renaissance painter born in Cremona to a relatively poor noble family. She received a well-rounded education that i ...


First marriage

Philip's first wife was his double first cousin, Maria Manuela, Princess of Portugal. She was a daughter of Philip's maternal uncle, John III of Portugal, and paternal aunt, Catherine of Austria, Queen of Portugal, Catherine of Austria. They were married at Salamanca on 12 November 1543. The marriage produced one son in 1545, after which Maria died four days later due to haemorrhage: * Carlos, Prince of Asturias (8 July 1545 – 24 July 1568), died unmarried at the age of 23 and without issue.


Second marriage

Philip's second wife was his first cousin once removed, Queen Mary I of England. The marriage, which took place on 25 July 1554 at Winchester Cathedral, was political. By this marriage, Philip became '' jure uxoris'' List of English monarchs, King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland, although the couple was apart more than together as they ruled their respective countries. The marriage produced no children, although there was a false pregnancy, and Mary died in 1558, ending Philip's reign in England and Ireland.


Third marriage

Philip's third wife was
Elisabeth of Valois Elisabeth of France or Elisabeth of Valois ( es, Isabel de Valois; french: Élisabeth de France) (2 April 1545 – 3 October 1568) was Queen of Spain as the third spouse of Philip II of Spain. She was the eldest daughter of Henry II of France ...
, the eldest daughter of Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici. The original ceremony was conducted by proxy (the
Duke of Alba Duke of Alba de Tormes ( es, Duque de Alba de Tormes), commonly known as Duke of Alba, is a title of Spanish nobility that is accompanied by the dignity of Grandee of Spain. In 1472, the title of ''Count of Alba de Tormes'', inherited by ...
standing in for Philip) at Notre Dame de Paris, Notre Dame prior to Elisabeth's departure from France. The actual ceremony was conducted in Guadalajara (province), Guadalajara upon her arrival in Spain. During their marriage (1559–1568) they conceived five daughters and a son, though only two of the girls survived. Elisabeth died a few hours after the loss of her last child. Their children were: * Stillborn son (1560) * Miscarried twin daughters (August 1564). * Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain, Isabella Clara Eugenia (12 August 1566 – 1 December 1633, aged 67), married Albert VII, Archduke of Austria, * Catalina Micaela of Spain, Catherine Michaela (10 October 1567 – 6 November 1597, aged 30), married Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, and had issue. * Joan (3 October 1568) died shortly after birth.


Fourth marriage

Philip's fourth and final wife was his niece, Anna of Austria (1549–1580), Anna of Austria. By contemporary accounts, this was a convivial and satisfactory marriage (1570–1580) for both Philip and Anna. This marriage produced four sons and one daughter. Anna died of heart failure 8 months after giving birth to Maria in 1580. Their children were: * Ferdinand, Prince of Asturias (4 December 1571 – 18 October 1578, aged six). * Charles Laurence (12 August 1573 – 30 June 1575, aged one). * Diego, Prince of Asturias, Diego Félix (15 August 1575 – 21 November 1582, aged seven). *
Philip III of Spain Philip III ( es, Felipe III; 14 April 1578 – 31 March 1621) was King of Spain. As Philip II, he was also King of Portugal, Naples, Sicily and Sardinia and Duke of Milan from 1598 until his death in 1621. A member of the House of Habsburg, Phi ...
(14 April 1578 – 31 March 1621, aged 42). * Maria (14 February 1580 – 5 August 1583, aged three). File:Cenotafio de Felipe II y su familia.jpg, Cenotaph of Philip and three of his four wives at El Escorial File:Sánchez Coello Royal feast.jpg, Philip and his niece Anna banqueting with family and courtiers, by Alonso Sánchez Coello


Ancestry


See also

* Descendants of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon * The empire on which the sun never sets * List of Spanish monarchs * Royal Armoury of Madrid * Ruy Gómez de Silva, 1st Prince of Éboli


Notes


References


Further reading

* Boyden, James M. ''The Courtier and the King: Ruy Gómez De Silva, Philip II, and the Court of Spain'' (University of California Press, 1995). * Elliott, J. H. ''Imperial Spain: 1469–1716'' (1966). * Elliott, John H
"The decline of Spain"
''Past & Present'' 20 (1961): 52–75. * Grierson, Edward. ''The Fatal Inheritance: Philip II and the Spanish Netherlands'' (1969). * Gwynn, Aubrey
"A Catholic King: Philip II of Spain"
''Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review'', vol. 22, no. 85 (1933), pp. 48–64. * Hume, M. A. S
''Philip II. of Spain''
(1903). * Israel, Jonathan
"King Philip II of Spain as a symbol of 'Tyranny
''Co-herencia'' 15.28 (2018): 137–154. * Kamen, Henry. ''Philip of Spain'' (Yale University Press, 1999), a major scholarly biography
Online free to borrow
* Kelsey, Harry. ''Philip of Spain, King of England: The Forgotten Sovereign'' (London, I.B. Tauris, 2011). * Koenigsberger, H. G. ''The Habsburgs and Europe, 1516–1660'' (1971)
Online free to borrow
* López, Anna Santamaría. Great Faith is Necessary to Drink from this Chalice': Philip II in the Court of Mary Tudor, 1554–58." in ''Early Modern Dynastic Marriages and Cultural Transfer'' ed. by Joan-Lluis Palos and Magdalena S. Sanchez (2017) pp: 115–138. * Lynch, John. ''Spain Under the Habsburgs: vol I: Empire and Absolutism: 1516–1598'' (1965) * Lynch, John
"Philip II and the Papacy"
''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society'' 11 (1961): 23–42. * * Merriman, R. B
''The Rise of the Spanish Empire in the Old World and in the New''
(4 vols, 1918). Vol. 4 has in-depth coverage of Philip II. * Geoffrey Parker (historian), Parker, Geoffrey. ''Imprudent King: A New Life of Philip II'' (2014), a major scholarly biography. * Parker, Geoffrey. ''The Grand Strategy of Philip II'' (Yale University Press, 1998)
online review
* Parker, Geoffrey. ''Philip II'' (1995), short scholarly biography * Parker, Geoffrey. ''The World is Not Enough: The Imperial Vision of Philip II of Spain'' (Baylor University Press, 2001). * Parker, Geoffrey
"The Place of Tudor England in the Messianic Vision of Philip II of Spain"
''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society'' (2002): 167–221. * Patterson, Benton Rain. ''With the Heart of a King: Elizabeth I of England, Philip II of Spain & the Fight for a Nation's Soul & Crown'' (2007). * Petrie, Charles. ''Philip II of Spain'' (1963), short scholarly biography. * . * Pierson, Peter. ''Philip II of Spain'' (1975). * Redworth, Glyn
"Philip (1527–1598)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,'' online edition, May 2011. Retrieved 25 August 2011. * Maria José Rodriguez-Salgado, Rodriguez-Salgado, M. J. "The Court of Philip II of Spain". In ''Princes, Patronage, and the Nobility: The Court at the Beginning of the Modern Age, cc. 1450–1650.'' Edited by Ronald G. Asch and Adolf M. Birke. (Oxford University Press, 1991). . * Samson, Alexander. ''Mary and Philip: The Marriage of Tudor England and Habsburg Spain'' (Manchester University Press, 2020
excerpt
* Samson, Alexander. "Power Sharing: The Co-monarchy of Philip and Mary", in ''Tudor Queenship: The Reigns of Mary and Elizabeth'', ed. by Alice Hunt and Anna Whitelock (Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2010), pp. 159–172. * Thomas, Hugh. ''World Without End: The Global Empire of Philip II'' (Penguin UK, 2014); ''World Without End: Spain, Philip II, and the First Global Empire'' (Random House, 2015) popular history. * Waxman, Matthew C
"Strategic Terror: Philip II and Sixteenth-Century Warfare"
''War in History'', vol. 4, no. 3 (1997): 339–347. * Williams, Patrick. ''Philip II'' (Macmillan International Higher Education, 2017), a scholarly biography
excerpt


Economic and cultural history

* Fernand Braudel, Braudel, Fernand. ''The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II'' (2 vols., 1976
vol. 1 free to borrow
* Clouse, Michele L. ''Medicine, Government and Public Health in Philip II's Spain: Shared Interests, Competing Authorities'' (Ashgate, 2013). * Conklin, James
"The Theory of Sovereign Debt and Spain under Philip II"
''Journal of Political Economy'' 106.3 (1998): 483–513, statistical * Drelichman, Mauricio, and Hans-Joachim Voth. ''Lending to the Borrower from Hell: Debt, Taxes, and Default in the Age of Philip II'' (Princeton University Press, 2016). * Goodman, David. "Philip II's Patronage of Science and Engineering". ''British Journal for the History of Science'' 16.1 (1983): 49–66. * Henriques, Antonio, and Nuno Pedro G. Palma
"Comparative European Institutions and the Little Divergence, 1385–1800"
. (2019), economics * Kagan, Richard L
"Philip II and the Art of the Cityscape"
''Journal of Interdisciplinary History'' 17.1 (1986): 115–135. * Lazure, Guy
"Possessing the Sacred: Monarchy and Identity in Philip II's Relic Collection at the Escorial"
''Renaissance Quarterly'' 60.1 (2007): 58–93. * Matthews, P. G
"Portraits of Philip II of Spain as King of England"
''Burlington Magazine'' 142.1162 (2000): 13–19. * Miller, Stephanie R. "A Tale of Two Portraits: Titian's Seated Portraits of Philip II". ''Visual Resources'' 28.1 (2012): 103–116. * Samson, Alexander
"Changing Places: The Marriage and Royal Entry of Philip, Prince of Austria, and Mary Tudor, July-August 1554"
''Sixteenth Century Journal'' (2005): 761–784. * Scully, Robert E
In the Confident Hope of a Miracle': The Spanish Armada and Religious Mentalities in the Late Sixteenth Century"
''Catholic Historical Review'' 89.4 (2003): 643–670. * Wilkinson-Zerner, Catherine. ''Juan de Herrera: Architect to Philip II of Spain'' (Yale University Press, 1993).


External links


Letters of Philip II, King of Spain 1592–1597, online edition at Brigham Young University
* , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Philip 02 Of Spain Philip II of Spain, 1527 births 1598 deaths 16th-century Aragonese monarchs 16th-century Castilian monarchs 16th-century English monarchs 16th-century House of Habsburg 16th-century Irish monarchs 16th-century Kings of Sicily 16th-century monarchs of Naples 16th-century Navarrese monarchs 16th-century Portuguese monarchs 16th-century Spanish monarchs British monarchs buried abroad Burials in the Pantheon of Kings at El Escorial Counter-Reformation Dukes of Milan Dukes of Montblanc English pretenders to the French throne Grand Masters of the Order of Montesa Grand Masters of the Order of the Golden Fleece Jure uxoris kings Knights of Santiago Garter Knights appointed by Mary I Mary I of England People from Valladolid People of the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) People of the French Wars of Religion Philippine dynasty Princes of Asturias Regents of Spain Remarried royal consorts Rulers of the Habsburg Netherlands Spanish art patrons Spanish infantes Spanish people of the Eighty Years' War Spanish Renaissance people Sons of emperors Children of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor