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Dromo's Den
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[Up] [Dromo's Den] Philip II Biography PHILIP II (1527-98). King of Spain from 1556 to 1598. He was born at Valladolid on May 21, 1527, the only son of the Emperor Charles V (q.v.). His education was chiefly in the hands of the clergy and he grew up a cold and bigoted man. In 1543 he was married to Maria of Portugal, and upon her death he espoused in 1554 Mary I of England (q.v.). In 1555 Charles V surrendered the government of the Netherlands to Philip, and in the following year resigned also the crown of Spain to his son, who had been previously invested with the sovereignty of Naples, Sicily, and Milan. The possessions of Spain in the New World included the West Indies, Mexico, and a great part of South America. The early part of the reign of Philip proved very successful. He defeated a coalition formed against him by the Pope and France, his armies winning several battles, notably that of Saint-Quentin (1557), and France was compelled to sign on April 2-3, 1559 the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis (q.v.), which marked the abandonment of her role as an aggressive power on the side of Italy. Philip determined to stamp out opposition to Roman Catholicism in all his dominions, and this caused the revolt of the Netherlands (q.v.), This successful rebellion and the enormous expenses it entailed upon Spain ruined the prosperity of Philip's dominions. The naval supremacy of Spain, moreover, was shattered by the defeat of the Armada (q.v.), which Philip had sent against England in 1588. Besides the war against England Philip was led by the affairs in the Netherlands to interfere also in the concerns of France. He has been sometimes accused of having instigated the Massacre of St. Bartholomew, and he supported the Guises against Henry of Navarre (later Henry IV), but all in vain. On May 2, 1598, the Treaty of Vervins (q.v.) was concluded with France. Against the Turks Philip was more successful. They were decisively defeated in 1571 by his half brother, John of Austria, commanding the fleet of the Holy League (Spain, Venice, the Papal States), at Lepanto (q.v.). Portugal was conquered by Philip's general, the Duke of Alva (q.v.), after the direct male line of that country had become extinct in 1580. But these successes were unable to outweigh the ruin of Spanish commerce and industry. Philip died after a lingering illness on Sept. 13, 1598. After the death of Mary of England in 1558, Philip married in 1559 Elizabeth, the daughter of Henry II of France, and when she died in 1568 he married Anna, a daughter of the Emperor Maximilian II. By his first wife Philip had a son, the celebrated Don Carlos (q.v.), and by his fourth wife, his successor, Philip III (q.v.). Philip II's character has been the subject of considerable historical controversy. There can be little doubt that he was bigoted and morose, but, on the other hand, the popular view, which represents him as a cruel monster, is a false one. He seems to have been an idealist and a visionary, who believed firmly that he was benefiting humanity by his drastic measure. He was often open to appeals for mercy and leniency, but the Inquisition was not only permitted a free sway in Spain, but was carefully developed by Philip as a powerful means of support in his various quarrels with the Church, and all liberty was crushed. The New International Encyclopaedia, Vol XVIII (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1920) 483. |