Kaiser Maximilian II

Maximilian II, Kaiser (Vienna, 1527-76, Regensburg), son of Ferdinand I, was brought up in Spain, and from 1548 to 1550 was the deputy there of his uncle, the Emperor Karl V. Despite his Catholic upbringing, Maximilian maintained cordial relations with Protestant princes, and was believed by some to be a secret sympathizer with the Protestant cause. It is now thought that he may rather have been a Christian humanist of the Erasmian tradition with little interest in the dogmas of either faction. In 1562 he was elected German King, and in 1564 he succeeded his father as emperor. At a Diet at Augsburg in 1566 he maintained a neutral position in religious matters, opposing concessions to the Protestants, yet declining to support action against them. He engaged in war against the Turks, who threatened his eastern frontiers, but after indecisive fighting made a compromise treaty in 1568. In 1573 he was elected king of Poland, but was unable to establish himself on the throne in the face of opposition from the estates of the Empire.