| Philip II |
| King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily and England |
 |
| Reign |
January 16, 1556–September
13, 1598 |
| Born |
May 21 1527(1527--) |
|
Valladolid, Spain |
| Died |
September 13 1598 (aged 71) |
|
Madrid, Spain |
| Predecessor |
Charles I of Spain (Spain)
Cardinal Henry of Portugal (Portugal)
Anthony, Prior of Crato (Portugal, disputed) |
| Successor |
Philip III of Spain |
| Consort |
Maria of Portugal
Mary I of England
Elisabeth of Valois
Anna of Austria |
| Issue |
Don Carlos, Prince of Asturias
Isabella Clara Eugenia
Catherine Micaela
Philip III of Spain |
| Royal House |
House of Habsburg |
| Father |
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor |
| Mother |
Isabella of Portugal |
Philip II (Spanish: Felipe II de Habsburgo; Portuguese: Filipe I) (May 21, 1527 – September 13 1598) was King of Spain from 1556 until 1598,
King of Naples and Sicily from 1554
until 1598, king consort of England (as husband of Mary I) from 1554 to 1558, Lord of the
Seventeen Provinces (holding various titles for the individual territories, such as
Duke or Count) from 1556 until 1581, King of Portugal and the Algarves (as
Philip I) from 1580 until 1598 and King of Chile from 1554 until 1556. He was
born in Valladolid and was the only legitimate son of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
Revolt in the Netherlands
-
The States-General of the Dutch provinces, united in the 1579
Union of Utrecht, passed an Oath of
Abjuration of their Spanish-based king, who was also Sovereign over the Netherlands, in 1581. The Netherlands at this time
had been a personal union under King Philip since the Pragmatic Sanction of
1549; he was lord of each separate Dutch Province (e.g., Duke of Guelre and Count of Holland). The rebel leader,
William I, Prince of Orange (William the Silent) was outlawed by Philip, and
assassinated in 1584 by a Catholic fanatic after Philip had offered a reward of 25,000 crowns to anyone who killed William the
Silent, calling him a 'pest on the whole of Christianity and the enemy of the human race'. Nevertheless, the Dutch forces
continued to fight on, and increasingly used their substantial naval resources to plunder Spanish ships and blockade the
Spanish-controlled southern provinces.
Economic troubles
Aside from draining state revenues for failed overseas adventurism, the domestic policies of Philip II further burdened Spain,
and would, in the following century, contribute to its decline. For one, far too much power was concentrated in Philip's hands.
Spain was subject to separate assemblies: the Cortes in Castile along with the assembly in Navarre and three for each of the
three regions of Aragon, each of which jealously guarded their traditional rights and laws
inherited from the time they were separate kingdoms. This made Spain and its possessions cumbersome to rule. While France was
divided by regional states, it had a single Estates-General. The lack of a viable
supreme assembly would lead to a great deal of power being concentrated in Philip's hands, but this was made necessary by the
constant conflict between different authorities that required his direct intervention as the final arbiter. To deal with the
difficulties arising from this situation authority was administered by local agents appointed by the crown and viceroys carried
out instructions of the crown. Philip, a compulsive micro-manager, presided over specialized councils for state affairs, finance,
war, and the Inquisition. A distrustful sovereign, Philip played royal bureaucrats against each other, leading to a system of
checks and balances that would manage state affairs in a very inefficient manner, sometimes damaging state business (leading to
the Perez affair - see Antonio Perez). Calls to move the capital to Lisbon from the Castilian stronghold of Madrid — the new capital Philip
established following the move from Valladolid — could have perhaps led to a degree of
decentralization, but Philip adamantly opposed such efforts.
Philip's regime severely neglected farming in favor of sheep ranching, thus forcing
Spain to import large amounts of grain and other foods by the mid-1560s. Presiding over a sharply divided conservative class
structure, the Church and the upper classes were exempt from taxation (to be expected, considering their lack of parliamentary
powers) while the tax burden fell disproportionately on the classes engaged in trade, commerce, and industry.
Due to the inefficiencies of the Spanish state structure, industry was also greatly over-burdened by government regulations,
though this was the common defect of all governments of the times. The dispersal of the Moriscos
from Granada (motivated by the fear they might support a Muslim invasion) had serious negative
economic effects, particularly in the region it affected.
Inflation throughout Europe in the sixteenth century was a broad and complex phenomenon,
but the flood of bullion from the Americas was the main cause of it in Spain. Under Philip's reign, Spain saw a fivefold increase
in prices. Due to inflation and a high tax burden for Spanish manufacturers and merchants Spanish industry was harmed and Spain’s
riches were frittered away on imported manufactured goods by an opulent, status-obsessed aristocracy and Philip's wars.
Increasingly the country became dependent on the revenues flowing in from the mercantile empire in the Americas, leading to
Spain's first bankruptcy (moratorium) in
1557 due to the rising costs of military efforts. Dependent on sales taxes from Castile and the
Netherlands, Spain's tax base, which excluded the nobility and the wealthy church, was far too narrow to support Philip's grand
plans. Philip became increasingly dependent on loans from foreign bankers, particularly in Genoa
and Augsburg. By the end of his reign, interest payments on these loans alone accounted for 40%
of state revenue.
Philip becomes King of Portugal
Spanish and Portuguese Royalty
House of Habsburg
|
|
|
Charles I
(Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor) |
| Children |
| Philip II of Spain |
| Maria, Holy Roman Empress |
| Juana, Crown Princess of Portugal |
| Infante Juan (natural son) |
| Margarita, Duchess of Parma (natural daughter) |
Philip II
(Philip I of Portugal) |
| Children include |
| Carlos, Prince of Asturias |
| Isabella, Archduchess of Austria |
| Catalina, Duchess of Savoy |
| Philip III of Spain |
Philip III
(Philip II of Portugal) |
| Children include |
| Anne, Queen of France |
| Philip IV of Spain |
| Maria Ana, Holy Roman Empress |
| Infante Carlos |
| Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand |
Philip IV
(Philip III of Portugal) |
| Children include |
| Balthasar Charles, Prince of Asturias |
| Maria Theresa, Queen of France |
| Margarita, Holy Roman Empress |
| Charles II of Spain |
|
Charles II |
|
Philip became King of Portugal, and the success of colonization in
America improved his financial position, enabling him to show greater aggression towards his
enemies. In 1580, the direct line of the Portuguese royal family ended when Sebastian of Portugal died following a disastrous campaign in Morocco. His death gave Philip, his uncle, the pretext for claiming the throne through his mother, who was also
a Portuguese princess (see 1580 Portuguese succession crisis). As a
matter of fact, Philip had been brought up by Portuguese courtiers during his early life and spoke Portuguese as his native
tongue until the death of his mother. His power helped him to seize the throne, which would be kept a personal union for sixty years. Philip famously remarked upon his acquisition of the Portuguese throne:
"I inherited, I bought, I conquered", a variation on Julius Caesar and Veni, Vidi, Vici. Thus, Philip added to his possessions a vast colonial empire in Africa, Brazil, and the East Indies, seeing a
flood of new revenues coming to the Habsburg crown. In the ruling of Portugal however, Philip
showed tact, trimming his beard and wearing clothes in the Portuguese style, and ruling from
Lisbon for the next couple of years, leaving Portuguese privileges and forals alone.
Turkish threat in the Mediterranean
In the early part of his reign, Philip was concerned with the rising power of the Ottoman Empire under Suleyman 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 Minorca 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 threat. Since his father's losses against the Ottomans and against Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha in 1541, the major European sea powers in
the Mediterranean, namely Spain 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 organized a Holy League between Spain
and the Republic of Venice, the Republic of
Genoa, the Papal States, the Duchy of Savoy
and the 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 who had lost three major battles against the Turks in 1538, 1541 and 1552.
On March 12, 1560, the Holy League captured the island of
Djerba which had a strategic location and could control the sea routes between Algiers and Tripoli. As a response, Suleiman the Magnificent sent an Ottoman fleet of 120 ships under the command of
Piyale Pasha, which arrived at Djerba on May 9,
1560. The battle lasted until May 14, 1560, and the forces of Piyale Pasha and Turgut Reis (who joined Piyale Pasha
on the third day of the battle) had an overwhelming victory at the Battle of Djerba.
The Holy League lost 60 ships (30 galleys) and 20,000 men, and Giovanni Andrea Doria could barely escape with a small vessel. The
Ottomans retook the Fortress of Djerba, whose Spanish commander, D. Alvaro de Sande, attempted to escape with a ship but was
followed and eventually captured by Turgut Reis. In 1596 Ottoman forces took control of
Tunis that had been nominally a Spanish protectorate since its conquest by Charles I in
1535 at the behest of Mulay Hassan.
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,
Don John of Austria. A fleet sent by Philip, again commanded by Don John, reconquered
Tunis from the Ottomans in 1573. However, the Turks soon rebuilt their fleet and in 1574
Uluç Ali Reis managed to recapture Tunis with a force of
250 galleys and a siege which lasted 40 days. However Lepanto marked a permanent reversal in the balance of naval power in the
Mediterranean and the end of the threat of complete Ottoman control of that sea.
In 1585 a peace treaty was signed with the Ottomans.
War with England
Spanish hegemony and the Counter-Reformation achieved a clear boost in
1554, when Philip married Queen Mary, a Catholic, the
older daughter of Henry VIII, and his father's first cousin). However, they had no
children; Queen Mary, or "Bloody Mary" as she came to be known in English Protestant
lore, died in 1558 before the union could revitalize the Catholic Church in England.
The throne went to the formidable Elizabeth, the Protestant daughter of Henry
VIII and Anne Boleyn. This union was deemed illegitimate by English Catholics, who did not
recognize divorce and who claimed that Mary, Queen of Scots, the Catholic
great-granddaughter of Henry VII, was the legitimate heir to the throne.
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 return England to
Catholicism by invasion. His opportunity came when England provided support for the Dutch rebels. In 1588 he sent a fleet of vessels, the Spanish Armada, to lead an invasion.
The fact that the Spanish fleet had no deep bay in which it could deploy its main fleet meant that it was unable to land and was
vulnerable to the smaller English ships. The absence of a backup from the troop carrying ships that were unable to link up with
the Armada meant that they were isolated and open to the English fire ships and close range artillery. It was by no means a
slaughter; it was a tightly fought battle, but the Spanish were caught in an awkward position and were forced back into retreat.
Nonetheless, the operation had little chance of success from the beginning with huge delays, lack of communication between Philip
II and his two commanders and of course the obvious lack of a deep bay. Eventually, three more Armadas were deployed; two were
sent to England (1596 and 1597), both of which also failed; the third
(1599) was diverted to the Azores and Canary Islands to fend off raids there. 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.
The stunning defeat of the Spanish Armada gave great heart to the Protestant cause
across Europe. The storm that smashed the retreating 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 little over a year later, in a chat with a monk working in his garden,
Philip remarked that:
| “ |
"It is impiety, and almost blasphemy to presume to know the will of God. It comes
from the sin of pride, Even kings, Brother Nicholas, must submit to being used by God's will without knowing what it is. They
must never seek to use it." |
” |
The Spanish navy was rebuilt, and intelligence networks were improved. An example of the character of Philip II can be given
by the fact that he personally saw that the wounded of the Armada were treated and received a pension, which was 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 counter armada the following year failed disastrously. Likewise,
English buccaneering and attempts to seize territories in the Caribbean were defeated by Spain's rebuilt navy and her
intelligence networks (although Cadiz was destroyed by an Anglo-Dutch force after a failed attempt to seize the treasure
fleet.)
Even though Philip was bankrupt by 1596 (for the fourth time, after France had declared war on
Spain), in the last decade of his life more silver and gold were shipped safely to Spain than ever before. This allowed Spain to
continue her military efforts, but led to an increased dependency on the precious metals.
War with France
From 1590 to 1598 Philip was also at war against Henry IV of France, joining with the Papacy and the Duke of Guise in
the Catholic League during the French
Wars of Religion. Philip's interventions in the fighting - sending Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma to relieve the
siege of Paris in 1590, and again into
Rouen in 1592 - to aid the Catholic faction, was refortify their
defenses. Henry IV of France was also able to use his propagandists to identify the Catholic
faction with a foreign enemy (Philip and Spain). In 1593, Henry
agreed to convert to Catholicism; this caused most French Catholics to rally to his side against the Spanish forces. In June 1595
the redoubtable French king defeated the Spanish-supported Holy League in
Fontaine-Francaise in Burgundy and reconquered Amiens from the overstretched Spanish forces in September 1597. The 1598
Treaty of Vervins was largely a restatement of the 1559 Peace of Câteau-Cambrésis;
meanwhile, Henry issued the Edict of Nantes, which offered a high degree of religious
toleration for French Protestants. The military intervention in France thus ended in a disappointing fashion for Philip, as it
failed to either oust Henry from the throne or suppress Protestantism in France. However, the conversion of Henry ensured that
Catholicism would remain France's majority faith.
Legacy
Under Philip II Spain reached the peak of its power but also met its limits. Having nearly reconquered the rebellious
Netherlands, Philip's unyielding attitude led to their loss, this time permanently, as his wars expanded in scope and complexity.
So 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 Roman Catholicism and the principle of
cuius regio, eius religio, as laid down by his father, would not permit him.
He was a fervent Roman Catholic, and exhibited the typical 16th century disdain for religious heterodoxy.
One of the long term consequence of his striving to enforce Catholic orthodoxy through an intensification of the Inquisition
was the gradual smothering of Spain's intellectual life. Students were barred from studying elsewhere and books printed by
Spaniards outside the kingdom were banned. Even a highly respected churchman like Archbishop Carranza, was jailed by the
Inquisition for seventeen years merely for ideas that seemed sympathetic in some degree to Protestant reformism. Such strict
enforcement of orthodox belief was successful and Spain avoided the religiously inspired strife tearing apart other European
dominions, but this came at a heavy price in the long run, as her great academic institutions were reduced to third rate status
under Philip's successors.
Philip's wars against what he perceived to be heresies led not only to the persecution of Protestants, but also to the harsh
treatment of the Moriscos, causing a massive local uprising in 1568. The damage of these endless
wars would ultimately undermine the Spanish Habsburg empire after his passing. His endless meddling in details, his inability to
prioritise, and his failure to effectively delegate authority hamstrung his government and led to the creation of a cumbersome
and overly centralised bureaucracy. Under the weak leadership of his successors the Spanish ship of state would drift towards
disaster. Yet such was the strength of the system he and his father had built that this did not start to become clearly apparent
until a generation after his death.
However, Philip II's reign can hardly be characterized as a failure. He consolidated Spain's
overseas empire, succeeded in massively increasing the importation of silver in the face of English, Dutch and French
privateering, and ended the major threat posed to Europe by the Ottoman navy (though peripheral clashes would be ongoing). He
succeeded in uniting Portugal and Spain through personal union. He dealt successfully
with a crisis that could have led to the secession of Aragon. His efforts also contributed
substantially to the success of the Catholic Counter-Reformation in checking the religious tide of Protestantism in Northern
Europe. Philip was a complex man, and though given to suspicion of members of his court, was not the cruel tyrant that he has
been painted by his opponents. Philip was known to intervene personally on behalf of the humblest of his subjects. Above all a
man of duty, he was also trapped by it.
Anglo-American societies have generally held a very low opinion of Philip II. The traditional approach is perhaps epitomized
by James Johonnot's Ten Great Events in History, in which he describes Philip II
as a "vain, bigoted, and ambitious" monarch who "had no scruples in regard to means... placed freedom of thought under a ban, and
put an end to the intellectual progress of the country" [1] Spanish apologists generally classify this analysis as part of the
Black Legend.
The defense of the Roman Catholic Church and the defeat and destruction of the Protestantism was one of his most important
goals. He didn't totally accomplish this; England broke with Rome after the death of Mary, the Holy Roman Empire remained partly
Protestant and the revolt in Holland continued. Nevertheless, he prevented Protestantism from gaining a grip in Spain and
Portugal and the colonies in the New World, successfully reimposed Catholicism in the reconquered southern half of the
Low Countries and forced the French monarchy to abandon Protestantism.
Philip II died in 1598 (El Escorial, near Madrid) and was succeeded by his son, King
Philip III.
Family
Marriage and issue
- Philip sought an alliance with the Kingdom of England, marrying the
Catholic Queen Mary I of England in 1554. On occasion of the marriage, he received the Kingdom of Naples and
the title of King of Jerusalem which came with it, from him. Under the terms of the
marriage, Philip became king consort during the lifetime of his spouse. The marriage was
unpopular with her subjects, and was a purely political alliance as far as Philip was concerned, though the aging Mary believed
it to be a passionate love-match. On January 16 1556, Philip
succeeded to the throne of Spain, as a result of his father's abdication, but he did not choose to reside in the country until
his father's death two years later. After Mary died childless in 1558, Philip showed an interest in marrying her Protestant younger
half-sister, Queen Elizabeth I of England, but this plan fell through, for a
number of reasons.
- In 1559 the 60-year war with France ended with the signing of the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis. A key element in the peace negotiations was Philip's marriage to
Princess Elisabeth of Valois, daughter of Henry
II of France, who had originally been promised to Philip's son, Carlos. Philip and Carlos were never particularly close,
and when Philip suspected his son of conspiring against him, he had him imprisoned in his room. When the prince died shortly
thereafter, from starving himself to death in protest, Philip's enemies accused him of having ordered Carlos's murder. Elisabeth
(1545-1568) did not provide Philip with a son, but did give him two
daughters, Isabella Clara Eugenia and Catalina Micaela.
Ancestors
Trivia
- The Philippines, a former Spanish colony for 333 years, is named after King Philip II of
Spain.
- Philip never left the Iberian peninsula after 1559.
- All Philip's personal secretaries were Letrados.
Philip in fiction
Philip II is a central character in Friedrich Schiller's play Don Carlos and Giuseppe Verdi's operatic adaption of the same.
