Philip,
the only son of Emperor Charles V, was born in Valladolid in 1527.
In 1543 he married Mary of Portugal but she died in 1546 giving birth
to their son, Don Carlos.
Mary
Tudor became Queen of England in 1553. There were several attempts
by Protestant to overthrow Mary. To protect her position, Mary decided
to form an alliance with the Catholic monarchy in Spain. In 1554 Philip
married Mary. The
marriage was unpopular with the English people. They disliked the
idea of having a foreign king. At that time the English particularly
disliked the Spanish as they were seen as England's main rivals in
Europe.
In 1555 Charles V abdicated
and Philip became king of Spain, the Netherlands, and all Spanish
dominions in Italy and America. Once in power Philip reactivated the
Spanish Inquisition in an attempt to deal with the growth of Protestantism
in Europe.
In 1558 Mary
Tudor began to get pains in her stomach and thought she was pregnant.
This was important to Mary as she wanted to ensure that a Catholic
monarchy would continue after her death. It was not to be. Mary had
stomach cancer. When Mary died later
that year. Henry VIII's other daughter, Elizabeth,
a Protestant, became Queen of England.
Philip attempted to arrange
a marriage with Elizabeth but she rejected the idea and he therefore
married Isabella, the daughter of King Henri II of France in 1559.
In 1568 Muslims living
in Granda rebelled against his rule. This revolt was eventually put
down in 1570 but three years later a more serious rebellion took place
in the Netherlands.
Philip became king of Portugal
in 1580. With Spain's wealth increasing as a result of its dominions
in the Americas, Philip developed a more expansionist foreign policy.
This included a fresh attempt to regain control over the northern
Netherlands.
When Philip began persecuting
Protestants living in the Netherlands, Elizabeth
sent English soldiers to help protect them. In February 1587 Elizabeth
agreed to the execution of Mary Stuart.
Philip had hoped that Mary would eventually become the Catholic queen
of England. Philip now decided to conquer England and bring an end
to Elizabeth and her Protestant government.
The invasion took a lot
of preparation and it was not until July 1588 that the 131 ships in
the Spanish Armada left for England. The
large Spanish galleons were filled with 17,000 well-armed soldiers
and 180 Catholic priests. The plan was to sail to Dunkirk in France
where the Armada would pick up another 16,000 Spanish soldiers.
On 6 August the Armada
anchored at Calais Harbour. The English now filled eight old ships
with materials that would burn fiercely. At midnight, the fire-ships
were lighted and left to sail by themselves towards the Spanish ships
in Calais Harbour. The plan worked and the Spanish ships fled to the
open sea.
With their formation broken,
the Spanish ships were easy targets for the English ships loaded with
guns that could fire very large cannon balls. The Spanish captains
tried to get their ships in close so that their soldiers could board
the English ships. However, the English ships were quicker than the
Spanish galleons and were able to
keep their distance.
The English bombardment
sank many Spanish galleons. Those that survived headed north. The
English ships did not follow as they had run out of gunpowder. After
the Armada rounded Scotland it headed south for home. However, a strong
gale drove many of the ships onto the Irish rocks. Thousands of Spaniards
drowned and even those that reached land were often killed by English
soldiers and settlers. Of the 25,000 men that had set out in the Armada,
less than 10,000 arrived home safely.
In 1591 there was a revolt
in Aragon against Philip's rule. Philip's military campaigns created
severe financial problems and by 1596 his country was bankrupt. When
Philip died in 1598 his empire was divided and economically depressed.
(1)
Letter from Philip II to Count Feria, the Spanish ambassador in England
(12 February, 1559)
Tell her (Elizabeth) from me that... I must warn her to consider
deeply the evils which may result in England from a change in religion...
if this change is made all idea of my marriage with her must be broken
off.
(2)
Letter from Count Feria to Philip II (19 March, 1559)
Queen Elizabeth... said that so much money was taken out
of the country for the Pope every year that she must put an end to
it... she kept repeating to me that she was a heretic and consequently
could not marry your Majesty.
(5)
Philip II talking to the survivors of the Armada (1588)
I sent you to fight with men, and not with the weather.
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