philip ii overview
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Philip II of Spain
1527-1598
Richard FitzsimmonsStrathallan School
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Overview …
• Philip II of Spain has had a chequered reputation among historians, many of them polarised over his character, his policies and his legacy
• For some, Philip’s reign was a ‘golden age’, and he was Spain’s greatest monarch
• For others, Philip personified everything that was most sinister about Counter-Reformation Catholicism
• But, it is not only the man who invites controversy – the rest of this course concentrates on the policies he pursued and the consequences of his actions – equally controversial and the subject of historical debate
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Philip’s early life
• Born in 1527, brought up in a large household of 191 – rarely alone – raised strictly by his mother (Isabel of Portugal) until her death in 1539 – father, Charles V rarely there (away 1529-33, 1535-6, 1539-41, 1543-57)
• From 1535 he had his own household under his ‘governor’, Don Juan de Zuniga
• A sickly child –very ill in 1535 with gastric problems – dogged him for the rest of his life – became obsessed with his health
• Brought up a very devout Roman Catholic – legacy of his mother -to play an important role in later life – sometimes he confused what was for God’s cause with his own … partic. in foreign policy
• Given a sense of duty and responsibility as Charles’ heir – dynastic concerns – attended Council meetings from age 12 – Regent of Spain at 16
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Philip’s upbringing … 1
• Educated by tutor Juan Martinez de Siliceo – governor Juan de Zuniga – skilful at hiding his feelings
• Primarily a Spanish emphasis in his learning – maths, architecture, geography, history, classical langs, but no contemporary langs – lack of skill in foreign langs plagued him throughout his reign.
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Philip’s upbringing … 2
• He preferred hunting to study.
• At age 14, given his own secretary – Gonzalo Perez
• 1542 – made his first ‘progress’ – travelling round Castile and Aragon
• 1543 – Charles left for Germany, leaving Philip behind as Regent, aided by a group of highly experienced men including the Duke of Alva, Cardinal Juan de Tavera and Francisco de Los Cobos
• 1543 - Philip married Maria of Portugal (she died in July 1545 in childbirth)
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Philip’s character …
• Assessments of Philip’s character have often been influenced by historians’ own prejudices– J. L. Motley – ‘grossly licentious, cruel … a
consummate tyrant’
– Henry Kamen – ‘Philip was by temperament tranquil, subdued and always in control of himself … as a person he was more gentle. He disliked war and violence…’
• They have concentrated on alleged character defects - cruelty, ambition, war-mongering, his religious obsession, his indecision etc, and rarely have achieved a balanced summary
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Philip’s character … ‘zero-defects mentality’ or procrastinator?
• One area that has been most raked over has been Philip’s seeming inability to make decisions, particularly in foreign policy.
• Geoffrey Parker advances one potential explanation for this – what he calls Philip’s ‘Zero-defects mentality’
• i.e. an obsessive drive not to make mistakes, and a fear of failure – may help explain why he had an almost pathological desire to control decisions
• wanted to prove himself worthy of his father Charles V, and to avoid the disgrace of failure
• this could lead to periods of deep depression e.g. over the Netherlands in 1574-5, and Armada 1588.
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Philip’s character …
• How far did he depend slavishly on the advice of his father ?
• He tended to withhold information from his ministers – led to confusion and perhaps competing advice
• Not good at delegation – tended to be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of government business
• BUT, did work very long hours conscientiously, sometimes at the expense of his own health
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Philip’s inheritance …
• Philip was King of Spain, but also separately King of Aragon and Castile
• Duke of Milan• King of Naples and Sicily• Ruler of Sardinia• Ruler of Franche-comte• Netherlands – multiple titles depending
on each province (17)• Philip’s dominions were huge and,
essentially, ungovernable as a unitary state.
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Philip’s inheritance … problems
• Philip’s dominions were huge and, essentially, ungovernable as a unitary state.
• He had different titles in each state, and consequently different powers
• He had to deal with a number of representative assemblies – Cortes in Castile and Aragon, States-General in the Netherlands
• Each territory guarded its ‘privileges’ jealously – made collection of taxation and use of military force difficult in his many wars
• The size of his empire, and the distances involved, made direct governance basically impossible and communication was extremely slow
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Charles V’s legacy …• Charles gave Philip four sets of instructions,
advising him in the art of government– Nov 1539– May 1543– Jan 1548– 1556
• Of these, the 1543 instructions were probably the most important and certainly the most comprehensive
• Laid down precise rules for government• Gave advice on anticipated problems• He discussed in detail the strengths/weaknesses of
individual councillors• He urged Philip to avoid being identified with, or reliant
on, any particular faction at court, or any individual
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State of the Empire, 1556 …
• In 1556 Charles V left an on-going war with Valois France under Henry II – not going well on the Netherlands border
• War in the Mediterranean against the Turks – in uneasy abeyance in 1550s
• An imperial treasury strained by almost 40 years of continuous warfare – bankruptcy was declared in 1557 (national debt 25.5 million ducats – annual income 3 million)
• Military forces stretched throughout the Empire
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Further reading …• J. Casey, ‘Philip II of Spain, the prudent King’ Teaching History 1997
• H. Kamen, Spain 1469-1714: A Society of Conflict.
• H. Kamen, Philip II of Spain.
• J. Kilsby, Spain: Rise and Decline, 1474 - 1643.
• P. Limm, The Dutch Revolt.
• A. W. Lovett, Early Habsburg Spain, 1517-1598.
• J. Lynch, Spain 1516 - 98; From Nation State to World Empire.
• M. Mallett, The Struggle for the Mediterranean in the 16th Century. Warwick History Videos,
• D. McKinnon-Bell, Philip II.
• D. McKinnon-Bell, ‘Philip II: the champion of Catholicism.’ History Review
• N. G. Parker, The Dutch Revolt.
• N. G. Parker, ‘Philip II of Spain – a reappraisal.’ History Today 1979
• N. G. Parker, The Grand Strategy of Philip II.
• M. Rady, The Netherlands: Revolt and Independence, 1550 - 1650.