Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 12.djvu/25

 PHILIP

PHILIP

these two things are the key to his whole reign. He did both by means of absolutism. His reign began unpleasantly for a Catholic sovereign. He had signed with France the Treaty of Vaucelles (5 Feb., 1556), but it was soon broken by France, which joined Paul IV against him. Like Julius II this pope longed to drive the foreigners out of Italy. Philip had two wars on his hands at the same time, in Italy and in the Low Countries. In Italy the Duke of Alva, Viceroy of Naples, defeated the Duke of Guise and reduced the jiope to such distress that he was forced to make peace. Philip granted this on the most favourable terms and the Duke of Alva was even obliged to ask the pope's pardon for having invaded the Pontifical States. In the Low Countries Philip defeated the French at Saint Quentin (1557) and Gravelines (1558) and afterwards signed the Peace of Cateau-Cambresis (3 April, 1559), which was sealed by his marriage with Elizabeth of Valois, daughter of Henry II. Peace concluded, Philip, who had been detained in the Low Countries, returned to Spain. For more than forty years he directed from his cabinet the affairs of the monarchy. He resided alternately at Madrid which he made the capital of the kingdom and in tiUcgiaturcs, the most famous of which is the Escorial, which he built in fulfillment of a vow made at the time of the battle of Saint Quentin.

In Spain, Philip continued the policy of the Catholic Ferdinand and Isabella. He was merciless in the sup- pression of the Lutheran heresy, which had appeared in various parts of the country, notably at Valladolid and Seville. "If my own son were guilty like you", he replied to a gentleman condemned to death for heresy who had reproached him for his cruelty, " I should lead him with my own hands to the stake". He succeeded in exterminating Protestantism in Spain, but encoun- tered another enemy no less dangerous. The Moris- coes of the ancient Kingdom of Granada had been conquered, but they remained the implacable enemies of their conquerors, from whom they were separated by religion, language, dress, and manners, and they plotted incessantly with the Mussulmans outside the country. Philip wished to force them to renounce their language and dress, whereupon they revolted and engaged in a bloody struggle against Spain which lasted three years (1.567-70) until ended by Don Juan, natural son of Charles V. The defeated Moriscoes were transplanted in great numbers to the interior of the country. Another event of historical importance in Philip's reign was the conquest of Portugal in 1580. After the death of the young King Sebastian at the battle of Alcazar (1578) and that of his successor the aged Cardinal Henry (1580), Philip II, who through his mother was a grandson of King Emmanuel, pleaded his title of heir and sent the Duke of Alva to occupy the country. This was the only conquest of the reign. Iberian unity, thus realized, lasted from 1580 to 1640. Other events were the troubles in Aragon, which were fomented by Antonio Perez, former secretary of the king. Being pursued for high treason he sought refuge in his native country, and appealed for jirotection to \tsfueros that he might not be delivered to the Castil- ian judges, nor to the Inquisition. The inhabitants of Saragossa defended him by force of arms and he suc- ceeded in escaping abroad, but Philip sent an army to puni.sh Aragon, infringed on ihefueros and established absolutism in the Kingdom of Aragon, hitherto proud of its freedom (1592).

In the Low Countries, where Philip had committed the government to his aunt, Margaret of Parma, the nobles, chafed because of their want of influence, plotted and trumped up grievances. They protested against the presence in the country of several thou- sands of Spanish soldiers, against Cardinal de Gran- velle's influence with the regent, and against the sever- ity of Charles V's decrees against heresy. Philip recalled the Spanish sokliers and the Cardinal de Granvelle, but he refused to mitigate the decrees and

declared that he did not wish to reign over a nation of heretics. The difficulties with the Iconoclasts having broken out he swore to punish them and sent thither the Duke of Alva with an army, whereuiion Margaret of Parma resigned. Alva behaved as though in a con- quered country, caused the arrest and execution of Count Egmont and de Homes, who were accused of complicity with the rebels, created the Council of Troubles, which was popularly styled the "Council of Blood", defeated the Prince of Orange and his brother who had invaded the country with German mercena- ries, but could not prevent the "Sea-beggars" from capturing Brille. He followed up his military suc- cesses but was recalled in 1573. His successor Reque- sens could not recover Leyden. Influenced by the Prince of Orange the provinces concluded the "Pacifi- cation of Ghent" which regulated the religious situa- tion in the Low Countries without royal intervention. The new governor, Don Juan, upset the calculations of Orange by accepting the " Pacification ", and finally the Prince of Orange decided to proclaim Philip's deposition by the revolted provinces. The king re- plied by placing the prince under the ban; shortly afterwards he was slain by an assassin (1584). Never- theless, the united provinces did not submit and were lost to Spain. Those of the South, however, were re- covered one after another by the new governor, Alex- ander Farnese, Prince of Parma. But he having died in 1592 and the war becoming more difficult against the rebels, led by the great general Maurice of Nassau, son of William of Orange, Philip II realized that he must change his policy and ceded the Low Countries to his daughter Isabella, whom he espoused to the Archduke Albert of Austria, with the provision that the provinces would be returned to Spain in case there were no children by this union (1598). (See Alva; Egmont; Granvelle; Netherlands.) The object of Philip's reign was only partly realized. He had safeguarded the religious unity of Spain and had exterminated heresy in the southern Low Countries, but the northern Low Countries were lost to him for- ever.

Philip had three enemies to contend with abroad, Islam, England, and France. Islam was master of the Mediterranean, being in possession of the Balkan Peninsula, Asia Minor, Egypt, all the coast of north- ern Africa (Tunis, Algiers, Morocco); it had just con- quered the Island of Cyprus and laid siege to the Island of Malta (1505), which had valiantly repulsed the assault. Dragut, the Ottoman admiral, was the terror of the Mediterranean. On several occasions Philip had fought against the Mussulman peril, meet- ing alternately with success and defeat. He therefore eagerly joined the Holy League organized by Pius V to resist Islam, and which Venice consented to join. The fleet of the League, commanded by Don Juan, brother of Philip II, inflicted on the Turkish fleet the terrible defeat of Lepanto (7 Oct., 1571), the results of which would have been greater had Venice not proved false and if Pius V had not died in 1572. Neverthe- less, the Turkish domination of the Mediterranean was ended and in 1578 Philip concluded a treaty with the Turks which lasted till the end of his reign. Rela- tions of intimacy with England had ceased at the death of Mary Tudor. Philip attempted to renew them by his chimerical project of marriage with Elizabeth, who had not yet become the cruel persecutor of Cathol- icism. When she constituted herself the protectress of Protestant interests throughout the world and did all in her power to encourage the revolt of the Low Coun- tries, Philipthought of contending with her in her own country by espousing the cause of Mary Stuart, but Elizabeth did away with the latter in 1587, and fur- nished relief to the Low Countries against Philip, who thereupon armed an immense fleet (the Invincible Armada) against England. But being led by an in- competent commander it accomplished nothing and