Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 18.djvu/778

 744 PHILIP II. band, who exercised a moderating influence over the queen s zeal for the re-establishment of Catholicism. Charles V. wished to secure England as an ally, and subordinated religious to political considerations. Philip was not natur ally fitted for conciliatory action, and was not happy in England. He found that his wife was destined to be childless and that he had no prospect of succeeding to the English crown. At the end of 1555 he joyfully obeyed his father s summons to go to Brussels. Charles V., worn out by the fatigue of a long reign, resolved to abdicate in favour of his son, and this he did on 16th January 1556. Philip II. was now king of Spain, Naples, and Sicily, duke of Milan, lord of Tranche Comte and the Nether lands, ruler of Tunis and the Barbary coast, the Canaries and Cape de Verd Islands, the Philippines and Spice Islands, large colonies in the West Indies, and the vast territories of Mexico and Peru. These great dominions had fallen into his father s hands and were united only by their dependence on their ruler. It was Philip s task to give them an organic unity and combine them into a system. First he had to face a threatening league against his power. Pope Paul IV., a Neapolitan, was imbued with hatred of the Spanish rule, and formed an alliance with Henry II. of France. Philip sent the duke of Alva, who speedily reduced the intractable pope. But Philip was too good a Catholic to press his victory. He was content to leave the pope powerless, and Alva on his knees asked pardon for bearing arms against the church. The war against France was pursued Avith equal success and greater results. Philip s army, led by Philibert of Savoy, entered Picardy and besieged St Quentin. The French were defeated in an attempt to relieve the city, and St Quentin was stormed. The French retaliated by seizing Calais from England, and thence advanced into Flanders, where they were again defeated in the bloody battle of Grave- lines. Both Philip II. and Henry II. were destitute of resources and wished for peace; but Philip II. was the better diplomatist. The treaty of Cateau Cambresis in 1559 restored to him all that France had won by its long war fare against Charles V. in Italy and the Netherlands. Thus Philip began his reign with glory, and Europe saw that Charles V. had no unworthy successor. Yet Philip was not anxious for military glory. His finances were embarrassed and he felt the need of a period of peace. For the purpose of maintaining his political supremacy he proposed to continue his English alliance by marrying Elizabeth when she succeeded Mary on the English throne. Elizabeth did not at once reject the proposal ; but she gradually entered upon a religious policy which made marriage with Philip impossible. The Spanish king rapidly changed his plans and cemented his alliance with France by a union (24th June 1559) with Isabella, daughter of Henry II. He made arrangements for the government of the Netherlands, and at the end of 1559 returned to Spain, where he remained for the rest of his life. The policy of Philip was steadily directed towards welding his dominions together in dependence on himself and extending his influence over Europe. The power of Charles V. had had no definite centre. The emperor had recognized the claims of his separate dominions upon him, and had striven to be neither German, Spanish, Flemish, nor Italian. Philip identified himself entirely with Spain. Castile was to be the seat of his monarchy, and that monarchy was to be absolute. He was devoted to Catholicism, and during his reign superseded the pope as the head of the Catholic party in Europe. But the interests of Catholicism were in his mind identified with his own personal interests, and under the cover of zeal for the church he pursued the aggrandizement of Spain. In Spain itself his care for the maintenance of the Catholic faith accorded with the temper of the people. The long continuance of war against the Moors had identified ortho doxy with purity of race, and heresy was regarded as a taint in the blood. The rigour of the Inquisition preserved the national honour ; the auto-da-fe was a means of ridding the land of dangerous elements. This uncompromising spirit of Spain in religious matters its king wished to extend to the rest of his dominions. Philip had none of his father s personal activity. Though his mind was always engaged in the business of the state, he did not care for the excitement of personal conflict. He was no warrior, and never took the field. He felt himself best qualified to direct his policy from afar. He was resolved to make the fullest use of others, yet to keep the guidance of affairs in his own hands. He increased the number of councils for the management of the business of the different provinces of his realm, and in the.se councils natives of the various provinces had seats. But the general direction of affairs was in the hands of a privy council, entirely composed of Spaniards. At first this council consisted chiefly of the members of Philip s house hold, the men whom he had known in early days. Fore most amongst them were the duke of Alva and Euy Gomez do Silva, prince of Eboli. Alva was a general, Gomez a courtier, and the two men were in permanent opposition. This exactly suited Philip s views. He was never present in person at the sittings of the council. All questions on which he wished for its opinion were reduced to writing and laid before it. Its recommenda tions were similarly submitted to the king in writing. There was no initiative except by his pleasure, no decision which was not due to his personal approval. He gained all the advantages of opposing views amongst his ministers without identifying himself with any. No minister could become a necessity to him, and he could withdraw hi.s favour at will. Philip s regents and ministers in the several provinces had large authority, but were never allowed to forget their dependence on the central power. Every land was submissive except the Netherlands, where the nobles resented their exclusion from the government, and saw with alarm the steady advance of Philip s system. A new ecclesiastical organization increased the number of bishops, who were all dependent on the king, and dimin ished the revenues of the monasteries, which furnished provisions for the younger members of the noble families. The introduction of the Spanish Inquisition threatened to destroy entirely the political importance of the nobles. In the general discontent the Protestant feeling of the towns made common cause with the national jealousy of the nobles. A strong opposition was formed, and in 1560 the Netherlands were in revolt. For a time Philip wavered between a policy of conciliation and a policy of repression. At last he listened to the advice of the duke of Alva, and sent him to reduce the rebels. Alva treated the revolted provinces with merciless severity; he crushed, but he could not subdue. The Netherlands were still unpacificd, while Alva s cruelty destroyed their commerce. Their wealth had been the chief source of revenue to Charles V.; Philip II. no longer found it flow into his coffers. For seven years Alva resolutely tried his policy of repression ; but the spirit of the Netherlands remained unbroken, and round their slumbering revolt all the enemies of the Spanish monarchy began to gather. Alva was recalled and fell into disgrace. A more pacific successor, Don Luis de Requesens, was sent to try a more conciliatory policy. In domestic life, meanwhile, Philip was unhappy. His son Don Carlos developed an ungovernable temper, and did not hesitate to condemn his father s caution as un worthy of the traditions of his house. He wished to distinguish himself, and was on the point of quitting