Philip II of Spain

Philip II (Spanish: Felipe II; 21 May 1527 – 13 September 1598) was King of Spain[note 1] (1556–
1598), King of Portugal (1580–1598, as Philip I, Portuguese: Filipe I), King of
Naples and Sicily (both from 1554), and jure uxoris King of England and Ireland (during his marriage
to Queen Mary I from 1554 to 1558).[1] He was also Duke of Milan from 1540.[2] From 1555 he was
Lord of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands.

The son of Emperor Charles V and Isabella of Portugal, Philip inherited his father's Spanish Empire,
including territories on every continent then known to Europeans. The Philippines were named in his
honor by Ruy López de Villalobos. During his reign, the Spanish kingdoms reached the height of
their influence and power, sometimes called the Spanish Golden Age.

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 that created the Dutch
Republic in 1581.

Deeply devout, Philip saw himself as the defender of Catholic Europe against the Ottoman
Empire and the Protestant Reformation. In 1584 Philip signed the Treaty of Joinville funding the
French Catholic League over the following decade in its civil war against the French Calvinists. In
1588 he sent an armada to invade Protestant England, with the strategic aim of
overthrowing Elizabeth I and re-establishing Catholicism there, but his fleet was defeated in a
skirmish at Gravelines (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 into Spain.[3][4]

Under Philip, an average of about 9,000 soldiers were recruited from Spain each year, rising to as
much as 20,000 in crisis years. Between 1567 and 1574, nearly 43,000 men left Spain to fight in
Italy and the Low Countries (modern-day Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands).[5]

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."[6] Philip was married four times; all his wives predeceased him.

A member of the House of Habsburg, 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 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 tutored by Juan Martínez Siliceo, the future archbishop of Toledo. 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, Spanish, and Portuguese, he never managed to equal his father, Charles V, as
a polyglot. While Philip was also an archduke of Austria, he was seen as a foreigner in the Holy
Roman Empire. 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 tongue was Spanish, and he preferred to
live in the Spanish kingdoms. This ultimately impeded his succession to the imperial throne.[7]

In April 1528, when Philip was eleven months old, he received the oath of allegiance as heir to the
crown from the Cortes 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 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 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 during the Italian Wars. 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. 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 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".[8

After living in the Netherlands in the early years of his reign,[9] 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 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. In practice, Philip often found his
authority overruled by local assemblies and his word less effective than that of local lords.[10]

Philip carried several titles as heir to the Spanish kingdoms and empire, including Prince of Asturias.
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—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 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)
inconspicuous violation of the laws of Navarre, 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 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.