Philip II of Spain

King of Spain (r. 1556-1598)

• Born: May 21, 1527
• Birthplace: Valladolid, Spain
• Died: September 13, 1598
• Place of death: El Escorial Palace, Spain

Philip II was one of the most dominant monarchs in Europe during the late sixteenth century. Guided by his deep religious faith, Philip was involved in virtually every major European historical event in the last half of the sixteenth century.

Early Life

Philip was born into the most influential family in sixteenth century Europe the Habsburgs. His father, Charles V (Charles I of Spain), was the most powerful Holy Roman Emperor to that date. Philip’s first years were spent under the guidance of his mother, Isabel of Portugal, as Charles traveled on imperial business. Isabel’s religious and serious nature had a pronounced effect on her son. In 1535, Charles established a separate household for Philip, who was taught such arts as riding and hunting. In addition, Philip received a formal education, excelling in language skills. He could speak and write Latin, understand French and Italian, and speak French, but he was most comfortable with the language of his homeland.

Philip’s physical appearance was similar to that of his ancestors. Having the famous Habsburg jaw, a large protruding under jaw and lip, he wore a short and pointed beard early in life and allowed it to grow longer and wider as he grew older.

Philip had an unusual married life. He had four wives, and he outlived each of them. At age eighteen, he married Maria of Portugal, the mother of a son who died later under questionable circumstances. Philip’s next wife was the English queen Mary I . In 1558, Mary died without heirs, and that broke all connections Philip had with England. His third wife was Elizabeth of Valois, who bore him two daughters before dying in 1568. His last marriage was to Anne of Austria, the daughter of his cousin, Emperor Maximilian II. Anne bore Philip four sons and one daughter before she died in 1580.

Life’s Work

Philip ruled many lands. Although Charles V gave the Austrian lands to his brother, Ferdinand, he reserved for Philip the Spanish lands in the New World and Europe. The New World lands were most important as sources of revenue. Among his holdings, however, Philip loved Spain best. Indeed, he never left his homeland after his return from Northern Europe in 1559. He built for himself a palace, El Escorial, which became a monument to his reign; some called it a monastery.

One of the most disturbing problems Philip faced throughout his rule was the Protestant Reformation. Indeed, the fight against the heretics colored almost every aspect of his reign. He had been reared as a Catholic and was devoted to the Church. When the Council of Trent finished its work, he attempted to enforce its decisions. He believed that it was his duty to restore Europe to the true Church. He did not always agree, however, with the popes and often fought with them over authority in church-state issues. In turn, the popes resented Philip’s control over the Spanish church. The Spanish clergy, however, supported Philip.

Philip’s reign was usually dominated by affairs outside the Iberian Peninsula. The situation in the Netherlands created much difficulty. The Dutch were growing wealthy and were gaining a sizable Protestant population. Although they had been restless under Charles V, they did not create major problems for him; they paid their taxes and, as a result, were low in funds when Philip assumed control. Philip expected the Dutch not only to pay their taxes but also to maintain a defense against his northern enemies, while promoting the Roman Catholic Church.

Philip attempted several different approaches to the Netherlands. He first tried to rule through a regent, his half sister Margaret, and a close adviser, Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle, bishop of Arras (after 1561, Cardinal Granvelle). The cardinal actually controlled the government and attempted to carry out Philip’s orders. The Dutch Protestants, led by William the Silent , insisted that they had certain privileges that had to be respected. William finally forced Philip’s recall of Granvelle, only to discover that Granvelle had been following orders. When the Protestant militants began to destroy churches and other property, Philip sent troops to end the rebellion. Several thousand people were executed for heresy. Taking control of the northern provinces, William demanded religious freedom, along with the removal of troops and restoration of rights. Philip could never allow religious freedom, so this civil war continued throughout his reign. While there were a few periods of Spanish success, the northern provinces gained their independence, although Spain refused to recognize the loss until 1648.

England prevented Philip from pursuing the revolt in the Netherlands as actively as he might have wished. Throughout the sixteenth century, Anglo-Spanish relations had seen peaks and valleys. When Philip married Mary in 1554, it had only been after careful consideration. Many in the English Parliament opposed the marriage and relented only after ensuring that Philip would have little to do with English government. Philip was unhappy about the situation but accepted his father’s advice to rule England through Mary. Unfortunately for this goal, Mary died soon after the marriage.

Problems constantly beset the two countries during the Elizabethan years. One of the most vexing was the English Sea Dogs (privateers), who preyed on Spanish New World trade. Although Philip beseeched Elizabeth to control her sea captains, she never did. She also angered Philip by providing English troops to aid the Protestant cause in the Netherlands.

Convinced that diplomacy was not going to control the English, Philip plotted an invasion. His plans originally called for assembling a large armada and sending it to the Netherlands, where it would board troops and cross the Channel to capture England. This Spanish Armada quickly ran into problems. In 1587, an English sea captain, Francis Drake, surprised the Spanish fleet in port and inflicted considerable damage. Determined, even at great financial costs and administrative difficulties, Philip repaired the Armada and sent it to sea in 1588. As it arrived in the Channel, a combination of English ships and Channel weather seriously crippled the fleet, and only a small portion managed to limp back to Spain. While Philip never gave up the idea of conquering England, the idea remained only a dream.

Spain was in the middle of a war with France when Philip assumed the mantle of leadership from his father in 1555-1556. It was not until 1559 that the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis was negotiated with the king of France, Henry II, ending the conflict. After the death of Henry II, there was a struggle for control of the French throne. The French Huguenots demanded their religious rights as well as certain political ones. Wars frequently raged between the Catholic and Huguenot factions. Philip carefully watched the situation and in December, 1584, signed the secret Treaty of Joinville with the Catholic League. The goals of the treaty were to keep a Huguenot off the throne and to suppress heresy in France. When the next in line to the throne seemed to be Henry of Navarre, a Huguenot, Philip forced the reigning King Henry III to proclaim an elderly uncle, Charles, cardinal of Bourbon, as his successor. When Charles died in 1591, Philip advanced his daughter, Isabella Clara Eugenia, by Elizabeth of Valois, the eldest daughter of Henry II’s eldest daughter. These claims failed, and Henry of Navarre assumed his place on the French throne; Philip could not dislodge him.

During the last few years of his life, Philip suffered from crippling arthritis and usually had to be carried from place to place. He accepted what comfort he could from his religion. He had faith, and his religious beliefs, which carried him throughout his life, were with him when he died.

Significance

Philip II was one of the most dominant forces in the second half of the sixteenth century. He touched the lives of many both in the New World and in Europe. In his own fashion, he established a Spanish colonial governance that lasted well into the nineteenth century. In Europe, he fought with his fellow monarchs for control, even seizing the Portuguese crown when it became vacant in 1580. He rarely retreated from any position because he was usually convinced that God had ordained him to undertake a mission.

Philip would not make decisions quickly. Some argue that he was being prudent, while others say that he was timid. Perhaps his procrastination was caused by his lack of funds. Despite the riches of the New World, Philip had such staggering debts that his reign was bankrupt in 1557, 1575, and 1596. He collected money from every possible source to meet his needs. Another reason for his procrastination could have been his habit of employing ministers with widely varying views, even ones opposed to his own, and then demanding that they express themselves. Council meetings, such as the Council of State, often became battlegrounds for rival factions.

Because of his absolute faith and strong convictions, Philip became part of the Black Legend, or anti-Spanish view, that surfaced in the English-speaking world. Philip’s connection with the legend began when William the Silent, deep in battle over the Netherlands, branded Philip a murderer. Two major contributions to the Black Legend’s growth were books by Antonio Pérez and John Lothrop Motley . Perez, who had been close to Philip and had fallen from power, tried to destroy Philip’s name to avenge himself. Motley, a noted Protestant historian, used the distorted documents of Perez and others to paint Philip as evil. More balanced accounts have since emerged, and Philip has been placed in a more appropriate perspective.

Bibliography

Kamen, Henry. Philip of Spain. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1997. A massive and detailed biography of Philip, documenting almost every aspect of his life, but somewhat light on his legacy and influence on future events. Includes photographic plates, illustrations, maps, bibliographic references, and index.

Mattingly, Garrett. The Armada. 1959. Reprint. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1987. A readable book about one of the major issues of Philip’s reign the defeat of the Spanish Armada. Contains a good, but outdated, bibliography. This work is considered a classic.

Merriman, Roger Bigelow. Philip the Prudent. Vol. 4 in The Rise of the Spanish Empire in the Old World and the New. New York: Macmillan, 1918. Reprint. New York: Cooper Square, 1962. While Merriman’s work might be considered an old source, it is still excellent for information on Philip’s life. This is a balanced account and a good starting point for a serious study of Philip. Contains bibliographic information.

Parker, Geoffrey. The Grand Strategy of Philip II. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1998. Contests the traditional view of Philip as conducting his empire by reacting to events as they occurred without any grand plan to guide him. Uses correspondence and other historical documents to delineate a “strategic culture” informing Philip’s decisions and his reign. Includes illustrations, maps, bibliographic references, and index.

Parker, Geoffrey. Philip II. 4th ed. Chicago: Open Court, 2002. A good overview of Philip’s reign, this edition is updated with a new bibliographic essay. Also includes a map, portraits, genealogical table, bibliography, and an index.

Parker, Geoffrey. “Philip II of Spain: A Reappraisal.” History Today 19 (1979): 800-847. Parker provides the reader with a close examination of Philip in this article. Contains comments on the physical problems that Philip had toward the end of his life and addresses the problem of the Black Legend, briefly explaining Philip’s role in it.

Pierson, Peter. Philip II of Spain. London: Thames and Hudson, 1975. A superb short biography. Pierson covers each major section of Philip’s life and work. He tries to make the point that Philip thought in terms of dynasty and religion and not of nation state.

Rule, John C., and John J. TePaske, eds. The Character of Philip II. Boston: D. C. Heath, 1963. An excellent source for trying to determine what Philip was really like. Includes selections from authors representing several nationalities.

Williams, Patrick. Armada. Charleston, S.C.: Tempus, 2000. Monograph on the English defeat of the Spanish Armada. Details the causes of the attempted invasion, the battle itself, and its aftermath. Includes illustrations, maps, bibliographic references, and index.

Williams, Patrick. Philip II. New York: Palgrave, 2001. Biography that attempts to capture the complexities of Philip’s public and private lives and of the evolution of both his private persona and his royal career over time. Includes maps, bibliographic references, and index.