King philip ii spain biography

King Philip II ruled at a critical turning point in European history toward modernity 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 that he had built ina 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 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. 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 Empire and against the forces of the Protestant Reformation. He never relented from his fight against heresydefending the Catholic king philip ii spain biography and limiting freedom of worship within his territories. Following the Revolt of the Netherlands inPhilip waged a campaign against Dutch heresy and secession.

This series of conflicts lasted for the rest of his life. Philip's constant involvement and focus in European wars took a significant toll on the treasury and caused economic difficulties for the Crown and even bankruptcies. Inthe English defeated Philip's Spanish Armadathwarting 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. 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 inwith the allied fleet of the Holy Leaguewhich he had put under the command of his illegitimate brother, John of Austria.

He also successfully secured his succession to the throne of Portugal. The administration of overseas conquests was reformed. These surveys helped the Spanish monarchy to govern Philip's overseas possessions more effectively. The date of Charles' abdication of the throne of Sicily is uncertain, but Philip was invested with this kingdom on 18 November by Julius.

According to Philip II, he was doing it for the benefit of the Church. I have reported to your Highness what has been happening here, and how far the Pope is going in his fury and vain imaginings. His Majesty could not do otherwise than have a care for his reputation and dominions. I am sure your Highness will have had more recent news from the Duke of Alva, who has taken the field with an excellent army and has penetrated so far into the Pope's territory that his cavalry is raiding up to ten miles from Rome, where there is such panic that the population would have run away had not the gates been closed.

The Pope has fallen ill with rage, and was struggling with a fever on the 16th of this month. The two Carafa brothers, the Cardinal and Count Montorio, do not agree, and they and Piero Strozzi are not on as good terms as they were in the past. They would like to discuss peace. The best thing would be for the Pope to die, for he is the poison at the root of all this trouble and more which may occur.

His Majesty's intention is only to wrest the knife from this madman's hand and make him return to a sense of his dignity, acting like the protector of the Apostolic Seein whose name, and that of the College of Cardinalshis Majesty has publicly proclaimed that he has seized all he is occupying. The Pope is now sending again to the potentates of Italy for help.

I hope he will gain as little thereby as he has done in the past, and that the French will calm down. May God give us peace in the end, as their Majesties desire and deserve! Philip led the Spanish kingdoms into the final phase of the Italian Wars. Quentin The French were defeated again at the Battle of Gravelines 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.

Therefore, all of southern Italy was under Spanish rule as part of the Crown of Aragon. Attached to the Kingdom of Naples, the State of Presidi in Tuscany gave Philip the possibility to monitor maritime traffic to southern Italy, whilst the grant of the Duchy of Siena to the new Grand Duchy of Tuscanyensured it would remain a Spanish ally.

The Council of Italy 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 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 inHabsburg 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 year-old son Francis IIwho in turn soon died. The French monarchy was thrown into turmoil, which increased further with the outbreak of the French Wars of Religion that would last for several decades.

The states of Italy were reduced to second-rate powers, with Spain dominating the peninsula. Mary Tudor's death in enabled Philip to seal the treaty by marrying Henry II's daughter, Elisabeth of Valoislater giving him a claim to the throne of France on behalf of his daughter by Elisabeth, Isabella Clara Eugenia. The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guiseand both sides received assistance from foreign sources.

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. Victory in Azores completed the incorporation of Portugal into the Spanish Empire. He directly intervened in the final phases of the wars —ordering Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma into France in an effort to unseat Henry IVand perhaps dreaming of placing his favourite daughter, Isabella Clara Eugeniaon the French throne.

Elisabeth of ValoisPhilip's third wife and Isabella's mother, had already ceded any claim to the French Crown with her marriage to Philip and in France the Salic law remained in effect. However, the Parlement of Parisin 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 in and the siege of Rouen in —contributed in saving the French Catholic Leagues's cause against a Protestant monarchy.

InHenry 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 certain League members were still working against Henry across the country, but all relied on the support of the Spanish Crown.

In Januarytherefore, 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.

The French also made some progress during an invasion of the Spanish Netherlands. They captured Ham and massacred the small Spanish garrison, provoking anger among the Spanish ranks. Following the Spanish capture of Amiens in Marchthe French Crown laid siege to it until it managed to reconquer Amiens from the overstretched Spanish forces in September Henry then negotiated a peace with the Spanish Crown.

The war was only drawn to an official close, however, king philip ii spain biography the Peace of Vervins in May 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.

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. InTurkish admiral Piyale Pasha captured the Balearic Islandsespecially 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 threat. Since his father's losses against the Ottomans and against Hayreddin Barbarossa inthe major European sea powers in the Mediterranean, namely the Spanish Crown and Venicebecame hesitant in confronting the Ottomans. The myth of "Turkish invincibility" was becoming a popular story, causing fear and panic among the people.

The joint fleet was assembled at Messina and consisted of ships 60 galleys and other vessels carrying a total of 30, soldiers under the command of Giovanni Andrea Dorianephew of the famous Genoese admiral Andrea Doria. On 12 Marchthe Holy League captured the island of Djerbawhich had a strategic location and could control the sea routes between Algiers and Tripoli.

As a response, Suleiman sent an Ottoman fleet of ships under the command of Piyale Pasha, which arrived at Djerba on 9 May The battle lasted until 14 Mayand 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, men, and Giovanni Andrea Doria was barely able to escape with a small vessel.

The Ottomans sent a large expedition to Maltawhich laid siege to several forts on the island and took some of them, but the Spanish sent a relief force under D. 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 a peace treaty was signed with the Ottomans. During Philip's reign Spain considered the Pacific Ocean a mare clausum —a sea closed to king philip ii spain biography 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.

The latter was established north of the strait with settlers. Most of the settlers had died from cold or starvation. Philip's rule in the Seventeen Provinces known collectively as the Netherlands faced many difficulties, leading to open warfare in He appointed his half-sister Margaret of Parma as Governor of the Netherlands, when he left the low countries for the Spanish kingdoms inbut forced her to adjust policy to the advice of Cardinal Granvellewho 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 persecution of Protestants. InProtestant preachers sparked anti-clerical riots known as the Iconoclast Fury ; in response to growing Protestant influence, the army of the Duke of Alba went on the offensive. There were massacres of civilians in Mechelen[ 35 ] Naarden[ 36 ] Zutphen [ 35 ] and Haarlem.

InAlba 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 ; it was modelled on medieval images of the Spanish patron Saint James "the Moorslayer" riding down Muslims and caused such outrage that Philip had it removed and destroyed.

Ina prominent exiled member of the Dutch aristocracy, William the SilentPrince of Orangeinvaded the Netherlands with a Protestant army, but he only succeeded in holding two provinces, Holland and Zeeland. Alba boasted that he had burned or executed 18, persons in the Netherlands, [ 38 ] in addition to the far greater number he massacred during the war, many of them women and children; 8, persons were burned or hanged in one year, and the total number of Alba's Flemish victims can not have fallen short of 50, Rampant inflation and the loss of treasure fleets from the New World prevented Philip from paying his soldiers consistently, leading to the so-called Spanish Fury at Antwerp inwhere soldiers ran amok through the streets, burning more than 1, homes and killing 6, citizens.

Farnese defeated the rebels at the Battle of Gembloux[ 41 ] and he captured many rebel towns in the south: MaastrichtTournaiOudenaardeDunkirkBrugesGhentand Antwerp The States General of the northern provinces, united in the Union of Utrechtpassed an Act of Abjuration in declaring that they no longer recognised Philip as their king. The southern Netherlands what is now Belgium and Luxembourg remained under Spanish rule.

The Dutch forces continued to fight on under Orange's son Maurice of Nassauwho received modest help from the Queen of England in 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 inwhen the Dutch Republic was recognised by the Spanish Crown as independent.

The eight decades of war came at a massive human cost, with an estimatedtovictims, of whichtowere civilians killed by disease and what would later be considered war crimes. His granduncle, the elderly Cardinal Henrysucceeded him as king, but Henry had no descendants either, having taken holy orders. The Portuguese suffered 4, killed, wounded, or captured, while the Spanish sustained only casualties.

This gave Philip control of the extensive Portuguese Empire. 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 followed on the well-established pattern of rule by councils.

Philip's father arranged his marriage to year-old Queen Mary I of EnglandCharles' maternal first cousin. His father ceded the crown of Naples, as well as his claim to the Kingdom of Jerusalemto him. Their marriage at Winchester Cathedral on 25 July took place just two days after their first meeting. Philip's view of the affair was entirely political.

Under the terms of the Act for the Marriage of Queen Mary to Philip of SpainPhilip was to enjoy Mary I's titles and honours for as long as their marriage should last. All official documents, including Acts of Parliamentwere 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 Acts making it high treason to deny Philip's royal authority were passed by the Parliament of Ireland [ 53 ] and England.

The Great Seal shows Philip and Mary seated on thrones, holding the crown together. Philip's wife had succeeded to the Kingdom of Irelandbut the title of King of Ireland had been created in by Mary's father, Henry VIIIafter he was excommunicated, and so it was not recognised by Catholic monarchs. However, the couple had no children. Mary died in 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. Upon Mary's death, the throne went to 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 Valois alliance. 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 Scotsthe Catholic great-granddaughter of Henry VIIwas 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 privateering against Spain's merchant shipping and started threatening the Spanish treasure ships coming from the New World.

In one instance, English ships attacked a Spanish port. The last straw for Philip was the Treaty of Nonsuch signed by Elizabeth in —promising troops and supplies to the anti-Spanish rebels in the Netherlands. Although it can be argued this English action was the result of Philip's Treaty of Joinville with the Catholic League of FrancePhilip considered it an act of war by England.

He turned instead to more direct plans to invade England and return the country to Catholicism. Inhe sent a fleet, the Spanish Armadato rendezvous with the Army of Flanders 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 Channelalready 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 [ 58 ] and the Spanish were forced into a retreat, and the overwhelming majority of the Armada was destroyed by the harsh weather.

Although the English Royal Navy did not destroy the Armada at the Battle of Gravelines, they prevented it from linking up with the army it was supposed to convey across the channel. Thus, while the English Royal Navy only won a slight tactical victory over the Spanish, it had delivered a major strategic victory—preventing the invasion of England. Through a week of fighting the Spanish had expendedcannonballs, but no English ship was seriously damaged.

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. 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 with 40 ships sunk and 15, men lost.

The Habsburgs also struck back with the Dunkirkerswho took an increasing toll on Dutch and English shipping. Eventually, the Spanish attempted two further Armadas, in October and October The Armada was destroyed in a storm off northern Spain; it had lost as many as 72 of its ships and suffered 3, deaths. The Armada was frustrated by adverse weather as it approached the English coast undetected.

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. 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-Reformationhe 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, [ citation needed ] but his devotion to Catholicism would not permit him to do so. Though Philip had territorial motives for planning an invasion, he also acted on the belief that God wished him to free England from Protestant heresy.

He came to believe that this goal was justified by any means, no matter how brutal. As early as he began to consider joining conspiracies to assassinate Elizabeth and replace her with her Catholic cousin, Mary Stuart Queen of Scots; —; see entry. Mary, the queen of Scotland, had been forced out of power there by Protestant lords and had sought refuge in England in Elizabeth allowed her cousin to remain in England, but suspected her of conspiring to seize power and kept her under close guard.

Desperate to regain her freedom and convinced that, as a great-granddaughter of Henry VII —she had a more legitimate claim to rule England than Elizabeth did, Mary sought Catholic support for her cause. Philip did not at first approve of Mary or her schemes. If she became queen of England, the French, who strongly supported her, would gain considerable influence in England, which would work to Spain's disadvantage.

But by the s Philip was willing to consider any means of removing Elizabeth from power. In Spain agreed to join a plot led by Roberto di Ridolfi —an Italian banker who conspired with nobles in northern England to overthrow Elizabeth and make Mary queen. Mary would then marry one of the chief conspirators, Thomas Howard Duke of Norfolk; — This plot, however, was discovered and Howard was executed for treason in Another plot in the early s involved Spain's ambassador to England, who agreed to assist in a conspiracy headed by Francis Throckmorton — This young English Catholic nobleman had, through Mary, convinced the Spanish ambassador in England to join a plot to assassinate Elizabeth and launch a French invasion that would place Mary on the throne.

Elizabeth's councilors discovered the plot and tortured Throckmorton to obtain a confession. He revealed details that implicated Spain. Throckmorton was executed for treason, and the Spanish ambassador, one of his chief contacts, was expelled from England. The most serious of the conspiracies that Philip supported, the Babington plot, resulted in Mary Stuart 's execution for treason in Sir Anthony Babington — obtained Philip's promise to send troops to England to support a planned Catholic rebellion that would assassinate Elizabeth and give the crown to Mary.

Again, Elizabeth's agents discovered the scheme and executed the leaders. Finally realizing the seriousness of Mary's designs against her, Elizabeth was forced to sign Mary's death warrant, and the queen of Scots was beheaded. With no hope that any further conspiracies could succeed, Philip went ahead with plans to launch a full invasion of England.

He took many years to draw up careful military plans. He would use his mighty navy, the Armada, to launch a naval attack in the English Channelthe body of water separating England from France. The ships would carry about eight thousand sailors as well as nineteen thousand troops. Philip had every reason to believe that his plan would succeed. His Armada was the most powerful navy in the world; indeed, many believed it to be incapable of defeat.

King philip ii spain biography: Philip II, sometimes known in Spain

But England's many spies kept Elizabeth's government well informed regarding Spain's preparations for war, and Elizabeth was able to plan a good defense. She appointed Charles Howard — to head the English fleet, with Francis Drake as his second-in command. The Armada sailed from Lisbon, Portugal—by that time part of Philip's empire—in May with about ships.

But heavy winds forced it back to Spain for repairs. There the Armada waited for land troops from the Netherlands to join the battle. This, however, took several days, and in the meantime England was able to launch its defense. At midnight on August 7 die English set fire to eight ships and aimed them at the Spanish fleet. The Armada was forced to cut its anchor cables in order to escape quickly, thus breaking formation.

The English fleet, with lighter and more maneuverable ships, then inflicted serious damage on the Armada. The English drove the Spanish out of the Channel and northward, and then the English ships retreated to guard the southern coast. The Armada was forced to sail around the northern coast of Scotland to return to. Philip II had every reason to believe that his naval assault on England would succeed.

His fleet, which his subjects called "the Invincible Armada," was the largest and mightiest in the world. An inventory that Philip requested while he was drawing up battle plans listed ships that could carry 30, men, including about 19, soldiers and 8, sailors. About 3, others—noblemen, volunteers, priests, surgeons, and officials, as well as all their servants—were also part of the Armada.

Spain's ships had 2, cannons,cannonballs, 22, pounds of shot, and 2, pounds of gunpowder. There were also more than 2, galley slaves, some of whom were English prisoners taken during raids between English and Spanish ships. These galley slaves, who propelled the ships with oars when sails alone provided insufficient speed, were chained to their seats and were often compelled to sleep and eat there.

If a ship was sunk or wrecked, galley slaves drowned unless someone on board thought to unlock their chains. Despite all this, the English navy possessed several unexpected advantages. England's navy, by contrast, was lighter and more streamlined than the Armada. According to Neil Hanson's The Confident Hope of a Miracleits commander's flagship, for example, weighed tons and carried sailors and soldiers.

The Spanish flagship, weighing 1, tons, carried soldiers but only seamen. The superior maneuverability of the English ships played a large part in the Armada's defeat. England also had an advantage in seamanship. While Spanish captains had gained most of their experience in the relatively calm Mediterranean Sea or in the transatlantic trade, where trade winds eased navigation, England was surrounded by treacherous rocky shores and violent storms.

By necessity, English sailors developed exceptional seafaring skills and were used to difficult conditions. When the Armada was chased out of the English Channel into the northern waters near Scotland and Ireland, it encountered daunting weather for which it was not well prepared. All these factors contributed to the Armada's defeat.

Though Spain rebuilt its navy, it never recovered the absolute dominance it had once enjoyed at sea. However, it encountered devastating storms that wrecked more than half of the fleet. Only sixty ships returned to Spain, and many of these were too badly damaged to repair. As many as fifteen thousand Spanish died. Though England lost between several hundred and a few thousand men to disease, it sustained relatively little damage to its fleet.

Spain's defeat greatly boosted English morale, and gave Elizabeth's government cause to authorize continued raids against Spanish ships and possessions. The defeat of the Armada was a shattering blow to Philip. He rebuilt his fleet as best he could, but from then on his efforts to conquer England failed. War dragged on for fifteen years with neither side able to win a clear advantage.

Philip sent a larger Armada to the English Channel in andbut bad weather once again forced the ships to scatter. War with England remained essentially at a stalemate, and neither Philip nor Elizabeth lived to see peace, which was finally declared in under Elizabeth's successor, James I —; see entry. From to Philip involved Spain openly in France's wars of religion.

He gave financial and military support to the Catholic Leaguewhich fought against the French Protestants called Huguenots king philip ii spain biography Henry of Navarre — The conflict, which drew Spanish troops away from the Netherlands and thus indirectly helped the Dutch rebel cause, ended with Philip's adversary, Henry of Navarre, becoming king of France.

Philip died of cancer that same year at his palace, El Escorial. Though he had preserved much of his realm from attacks on many fronts, Spain at the time of Philip's death had entered a period of decline. Hanson, Neil. New York : Knopf, Hilliam, David. Philip IT. King of Spain and Leader of the Counter-Reformation.

King philip ii spain biography: The son of Emperor Charles V

New York : Rosen Publishing Group, Wernick, Robert. Philip II was king of Spain from to During his reign the Spanish empire was severely challenged, and its economic, social, and political institutions strained almost to the breaking point. Philip was born in Valladolid, Spain, on May 21, Inat age sixteen, Philip married his cousin, Maria of Portugal.

She lived only two years, leaving a son, Don Carlos. Charles then arranged for Philip to marry Mary I called Bloody Mary; —; ruled —58 of England, the Catholic queen of a basically Protestant country. Charles did this to consolidate his empire. Philip moved to England, but his stay was not a happy one. Mary died in and was succeeded by her half-sister, Elizabeth I —; see entrywho was committed to keeping England a Protestant nation.

The rest of Charles's dominions was the Holy Roman Empire Austria and parts of Germanywhich he left to his brother Ferdinand —; ruled —64who succeeded him as emperor. Philip returned to Spain in The war ended mainly because both Spain and France had run out of money, not as the result of a resolution of differences. Elizabeth proved to be Philip's favorite wife.

Unlike Charles V, Philip did not travel extensively. Instead, he preferred to rule the country from his palaces. Philip was fair, soft-spoken, and had an icy self-mastery. In the words of one of his ministers, he had a smile that cut like a sword. He immersed himself in an ocean of paperwork, studying dispatches and documents and adding marginal comments on them while scores of other documents and dispatches piled up on tables.

With the problems of communication in Philip's far-reaching empire, once a decision was made it could not be undone. As king, he preferred to reserve all final decisions for himself. He mistrusted powerful and independent personalities and rarely placed much confidence in aides. Philip devoted his private life to collecting art, cultivating flowers, and reading religious works.

His main interest, however, was designing and building El Escorial, the royal palace outside Madrid. He was overjoyed when the huge complex was finally completed. A combination palace, monastery religious house for menand mausoleum building that holds tombsEscorial was Philip's preferred place for working. During the first twenty years of his reign, Philip was confronted with many problems.

Charles had left him in charge of an unresolved war with the Muslim Turks, which had begun in over control of the Mediterranean Sea. For many centuries, the Muslims were viewed as an archenemy to the Europeans, who saw them as a threat to Christian dominance of Europe. In the Spanish attempted unsuccessfully to take Tripoli, a port city in northwest Lebanon, from the Turks.

In andPhilip's troops managed to repulse Turkish attacks on Oran, a port city in Algeria, and the island of Malta, a Spanish stronghold in the Mediterranean near Sicily. The conflict ended inwhen Philip's illegitimate born out of wedlock half-brother, John of Austria —led a Catholic armada fleet of armored ships against the Turks in the great naval battle of Lepanto Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea off the coast of Greece.

The Spaniards took Ottoman ships and thousands of soldiers and seamen. As a result of John's victory, the Ottoman Empire was no longer a threat to Spain's rich possessions in Italy and along the Mediterranean. While Spanish forces were defeating the Ottomans, Philip was contending with the Revolt of the Netherlands, which broke out in Though the revolt did not end with Dutch independence untilthe Spanish had many military victories in the Netherlands during Philip's reign.

The uprising began when Dutch Protestants staged violent riots and smashed statues of Catholic saints. In Philip introduced the Spanish Inquisition a court that sought out and punished heretics, or those who violated church laws in the Netherlands. Alba initiated an extremely repressive regime. Arresting two rebel leaders, Lamoral, count of Egmont —and Philip de Montmorency, count of Hoorn c.

Alba had Egmont and Hoorn executed along with perhaps twelve thousand other rebels. Other notable leaders fled to safety in Germany. Among them was William I Prince of Orange —the spiritual leader of the rebellion. Nevertheless, Alba's repression continued unchecked, until by Philip had seen enough. He recalled Alba and replaced him with Luis de Requesens — In Requesens was replaced by John of Austria — Inat the height of his Dutch troubles, Philip experienced several other misfortunes.

He lost his third and most beloved wife, Elizabeth of Valois, as she was delivering a baby daughter. Philip's son, Carlos, was exhibiting bouts of severe mental instability. For instance, Carlos threw a servant out of a window when the young man crossed him. He frequently attacked his father's ministers, including the duke of Alba, with a knife.

Carlos also made a shoemaker eat a pair of boots because they fit too tight. The troubled young man was finally locked away in a tower, where he went on a series of hunger strikes and died later in the year. The Dutch troubles worsened in when Philip approved the assassination of Juan de Escobedo diedJohn of Austria's dangerous and ambitious secretary.

Two years later, Philip issued a royal proclamation condemning William of Orange as an outlaw and the main source of unrest in the Netherlands. The king's announcement also offered a reward of 25, ducats an amount of Spanish money for the capture of William of Orange. Orange responded with a document that accused Philip of incest having sexual relations with family membersadultery having sexual relations outside marriageand the murders of both Carlos and Elizabeth of Valois.

Philip was convinced, however, that God had chosen him for a special mission to defend the Catholic faith. Indeed, it seemed to many Europeans that "God had turned into a Spaniard" by That year an assassin killed William of Orange in his home in the Delft region. InAlessandro Farnese —the duke of Parma, surpassed the military skill of Alba when he captured the great walled town of Antwerp a city in present-day Belgium.

The successful siege ended a five-year Spanish offensive that conquered more than thirty rebel Dutch towns and maintained Spanish and Catholic control of the southern provinces of the Netherlands until Meanwhile, inPhilip had claimed the throne of Portugal. Forced to fight for what he considered to be his hereditary rights his mother was the princess of Portugalhe had sent Alba into Portugal with twenty-two thousand troops.

The old and brutal duke was again successful, and the vast dominions of Portugal fell into Philip's hands. In the New World, Spanish conquistadors conquerors accomplished the "taming of America" by violently subduing various rival Native American groups. To many Europeans at the time, this was Philip's most impressive achievement. Just as Philip was on the verge of reclaiming the northern provinces of the Netherlands, his attention was diverted by war with England.

In she openly supported the Dutch rebels. Philip immediately began organizing the famous "Invincible Armada," a fleet of heavily armored ships that carried 30, men, for an invasion of England. Leading the king philip ii spain biography would be the experienced admiral, the marquis de Santa Cruz. The ships would stop off the coast of Flanders and pick up the 22,man army led by the duke of Parma.

The Armada would then sail on to England and stage a massive sea assault. Almost from the beginning, things went wrong with the complicated Spanish plan. Ineven before the Armada could set out, the English seaman Francis Drake c. The destruction to the Armada was so great that the invasion was delayed for a year. Medina-Sidonia was an army commander, so he protested that he was unqualified to lead a naval fleet.

Philip brushed his reservations aside, insisting that only a man of Medina-Sidonia's stature would be obeyed by the captains of the Armada ships. The ships did not set sail again until July. By this time Elizabeth had prepared the English fleet and organized a king philip ii spain biography but dedicated land army. In August, sailing against strong winds, the Armada began moving up the Channel toward Flanders.

Medina-Sidonia had been ordered not to engage in battle with the English until he had made contact with Parma. This gave the advantage to the English main fleet, which departed from Plymouth and was sailing with the wind. Once within range of the Armada, the English ships were able to fire their weapons at the Spanish vessels from a relatively safe distance.

The light and quick English ships also had the advantage of being able to outmaneuver the bulky Spanish galleons ships powered by oars. The English made three assaults on the Spanish, but they did not inflict any serious damage. But Medina-Sidonia made a fatal mistake on the night of August 7. He had not secured all of the anchors, so some ships drifted in the water and left an opening for a squadron of English fire ships to move in and set the Armada ablaze.

One by one the Spanish ships broke their cables and headed for open water. The smaller English ships darted in and out of the flames, pouncing on stragglers. 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 mids. 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. Increasingly the country became dependent on the revenues flowing in from the mercantile empire in the Americas, leading to Spain's first bankruptcy moratorium indue 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 percent of state revenue.

Inthe direct line of the Portuguese royal family had ended when Sebastian of Portugal died following a disastrous campaign against the Moors in Morocco. His power helped him to seize the throne, which would be kept as a personal union for sixty years.

King philip ii spain biography: Philip II was a

Thus, Philip added to his possessions a vast colonial empire in AfricaBraziland the East Indies, seeing a flood of new revenues coming to the Habsburg crown; and the success of colonization all around his empire improved his financial position, enabling him to show greater aggression towards his kings philip ii spain biography. 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. InTurkish 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 inthe major European sea powers in the Mediterranean, namely Spain and Venicebecame hesitant in confronting the Ottomans. The myth of "Turkish invincibility" was becoming a popular story, causing fear and panic among the people. The joint fleet was assembled at Messina and consisted of ships 60 galleys and other vessels carrying a total of 30, 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, and On March 12,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 ships under the command of Piyale Pasha, which arrived at Djerba on May 9, The battle lasted until May 14,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, men, and Giovanni Andrea Doria could barely escape with a small vessel.

Alvaro de Sande, attempted to escape with a ship but was followed and eventually captured by Turgut Reis. Inthe Ottomans sent 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 drove the Ottomans, exhausted from a long siege, away from 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 inby the Holy League under the command of Philip's half brother, Don Juan of Austria.

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. However, they had no children; Queen Mary, or "Bloody Mary" as she came to be known in English Protestant lore, died inbefore the union could revitalize the Catholic Church in England.

This union was deemed illegitimate by English Catholics, who did not recognize divorce and who claimed that Mary, Queen of Scotsthe Catholic great-granddaughter of Henry VII, was the legitimate heir to the throne. His opportunity came when England provided support for the Dutch rebels. Inhe sent a fleet of vessels, the Spanish Armadato lead an invasion.

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.

Eventually, three more Armadas were deployed; two were sent to England andboth of which also failed; the third was diverted to the Azores and Canary Islands to fend off raids there. 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. 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. Earl Rivers Anthony Woodville, 2.

Duke Somerset Edmund Beaufort, 2. Duke Somerset Henry Beaufort, 3. Duke of Somerset Edmund Beaufort, 4. Duke of Norfolk John Mowbray, 4. Northumberland Henry Percy, 3. Northumberland Henry Percy, 4. Baron Clifford John de Clifford, 9. Shrewsbury John Talbot, 3. Shrewsbury John de la Pole, 2. Duke of Suffolk John de la Pole, E. Marquis of Dorset Henry Grey, D.

Shrewsbury Francis Talbot, 5. Westmorland Henry Neville, 5. Earl of Essex Robert Radcliffe, 1. Earl of Sussex Henry Radcliffe, 2. Earl of Sussex Henry Radcliffe, 4. Earl of Sussex Robert Radcliffe, 5. Southampton Henry Wriothesley, 3. Southampton Charles Neville, 6. Westmorland Thomas Percy, 7. Northumberland Henry Percy, 8. Northumberland Henry Percy, 9.

Nothumberland William Herbert, 1. Earl of Northampton Thomas Howard, 1. Earl of Suffolk Henry Hastings, 3.