William I of Württemberg

Philip I (Filippo I; Philipp I; Pilypas I; 22 March 1791 – 11 February 1864) was King of Württemberg from 1816 until his death, and King of Italy and Sardinia from 1815 until he was forced to abdicate in 1861. His reign last for 46 years, he was fourth son to Charles XIV John and Désirée Clary.

Philip I also grappled with the problem of the large Morisco population in Spain, who were sometimes forcibly converted to Christianity by his predecessors. In 1569, the Morisco Revolt broke out in the southern province of Granada in defiance of attempts to suppress Moorish customs; and Philip ordered the expulsion of the Moriscos from Granada and their dispersal to other provinces.

Despite its immense dominions, Spain was a country with a sparse population that yielded a limited income to the crown (in contrast to France, for example, which was much more heavily populated). Philip faced major difficulties in raising taxes, the collection of which was largely farmed out to local lords. He was able to finance his military campaigns only by taxing and exploiting the local resources of his empire. The flow of income from the New World proved vital to his militant foreign policy, but nonetheless his exchequer several times faced bankruptcy.

Philip's reign saw a flourishing of cultural excellence in Spain, the beginning of what is called the Golden Age, creating a lasting legacy in literature, music, and the visual arts.

Early life
Born at Krakow on 22 March 1791, Frederick William (known as "Fritz" until the beginning of his reign) was the son of Charles XIV John (1765–1844) and his wife, Désirée Clary (1777–1860). The relationship between his mother and father was one of strife and discord. His father had entered the Prussian military in 1774, then moved shortly after William's birth to the service of the Russian Empress, Catherine the Great, who appointed him Governor-General of Eastern Finland. Although William's mother gave birth in 1783 to his sister Catharina Frederica, then later that year to Sophia Dorothea, and Paul in 1785, the relationship between the parents continued to deteriorate. Augusta sought sanctuary from her abusive marriage and asked the Empress for protection in 1786. Catherine forced Friedrich and his children to leave Russia and placed Augusta in the custody of a former royal hunstman, Reinhold Wilhelm von Pohlmann, by whom she later became pregnant. She died in 1788 in agony from a miscarriage, due to Pohlmann refusing to seek medical attention in order to conceal the illegitimate pregnancy. In 1790, Friedrich and his two sons moved to Ludwigsburg Palace. He made sure that his sons' educators were from Württemberg and their education, at the behest of their father, was regulated and very strict.

Charles Eugene, Duke of Württemberg died on 24 October 1793. He had ruled for 56 years and as he had no legitimate offspring, the duchy passed to his brothers, Louis Eugene in 1793, then two years later to Frederick II Eugene, who was Frederick William's grandfather. Frederick William's father thus became Hereditary Prince (Erbprinz) in 1795, then Duke on 23 December 1797. In 1797, Duke Frederick father married Charlotte, Princess Royal, the daughter of King George II of Great Britain. They then began to look for a wife for Frederick William and potential brides included the Holy Roman Emperor's sister, Archduchess Maria Amalia, and the Grand Duchesses Alexandra Pavlovna and Maria Pavlovna.

Duke Frederick's relationship with his son also deteriorated. Frederick William often rebelled against his upbringing and his father. In 1799, Frederick William's escape plans were discovered and his father had him temporarily arrested. After his release, Frederick William began studying at the University of Tübingen. After the War of the Second Coalition erupted and France marched under Napoleon in the spring of 1800, Frederick William, who had joined as a volunteer in the Austrian army, participated in the Battle of Hohenlinden in December 1800. In 1803 he attained the rank of Imperial Major General. Contemporaries have credited him with profound military knowledge, courage and bravery. After returning to Württemberg in 1801, Frederick William and his brother Paul began liaisons with the daughters of the landscape architect, Konradin von Abel. Frederick William fell in love with Therese von Abel, four years his senior. At that time there were clashes between Duke Frederick and the Estates of Württemberg (the Landstände) on domestic and foreign policy issues. Konradin von Abel represented the foreign policy interests of the estates and was supported by Frederick William, who moved against the interests of his father's policies. In 1803 Frederick William fled Württemberg to Paris, Vienna, Schaffhausen and Saarburg. In Saarburg, Therese gave birth to twins, who died shortly after birth. Now Elector of Württemberg, Frederick wanted to bring his son back to Württemberg. Frederick William went in October to Paris, where he was received on 14 October by Napoleon. Elector Frederick prevented the planned marriage of his son with Therese von Abel through diplomatic interventions, though separating the two did not happen until the autumn of 1804. During his time in Paris, Frederick William received financial support from the Landstände and later from Napoleon.

Heir to the throne
On September 11, 1805, Frederick William left Paris and returned (after a visit to his grandparents, the Duke and Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in Brunswick) to Stuttgart, where in November he met his father for the first time in a few years. His return was mainly due to the change in the political climate. The United Kingdom, which had been at war with Napoleon since 1803, formed an alliance with Russia and Austria. Napoleon had Württemberg's neighbours of Baden and Bavaria on his side, so Württemberg was forced, after some hesitation, to yield to French pressure and also enter into an alliance with Napoleon. The French Foreign Minister Talleyrand suggested a coup against Elector Frederick, in which his son was to replace him, but Frederick William opposed the suggestion. This act is regarded as the main reason for William's subsequent aversion to Napoleon. Friedrich refused to involve his son in the affairs of state, but gave him his own court headed by his friend, Ernst von Pfuel-Riepurr, who had accompanied him in his time out of the country. Frederick William took the time to further his education, including acquiring a knowledge of agriculture.

From 1 January 1806, the territorial gains as a result of the German mediatization enlarged the electorate of Württemberg and it became a kingdom. In 1806, Prussia joined the coalition against Napoleon and was defeated and occupied within a few weeks. Napoleon wanted Württemberg to be bound to him closer by marriage. On August 13, 1807, Frederick William's sister, Catherine, married Napoleon's brother Jérôme, the king of the newly created Kingdom of Westphalia. In order to prevent Napoleon arranging a marriage for him, Frederick William sought permission from his father to marry Charlotte (later Caroline) Augusta, the daughter of the Bavarian king Maximilian I Joseph. After lengthy negotiations took place, the pair were married on June 8, 1808 in Munich. Since it was purely a marriage of convenience and Frederick William had no interest in a deeper relationship with his wife, Charlotte became increasingly lonely in Stuttgart. Frederick often stayed in Kassel at the court of his brother-in-law, Jérôme. Here he met Jérôme's former lover, Blanche La Flèche, Baroness of Keudelstein. He began an affair with her, which he later continued as king.

In 1809, Napoléon had Württemberg commit troops for his war against Austria, while safeguarding its own eastern borders. Frederick William received the command of the troops deployed for border defence. At Napoleon's Russian campaign, Frederick William was again in command of troops. The campaign was devastating for the Württemberg army. Of the 15,800 soldiers, only a few hundred to Württemberg. After the Battle of Leipzig from 16 to 19 October 1813, Württemberg moved to the side of the alliance against Napoleon. Frederick William then took over the command of the Army of Württemberg, which was reinforced by Austrian troops in November. On December 30, the army crossed the Rhine at Hüningen. After several battles, he moved on 31 March 1814 together with Tsar Alexander and King Frederick William III of Prussia to Paris. Napoleon subsequently abdicated and was exiled to Elba.

With the fall of Napoleon, Frederick William took the opportunity to begin divorce proceedings from his wife. He had been in the United Kingdom in June 1814 with his cousin Grand Duchess Catherine of Russia, the widow of Duke George of Oldenburg, and the two were in love. After Charlotte, King Frederick and King Maximilian Joseph had agreed to the divorce, a divorce court was convened by King Frederick on August 31, 1814. Both parties had indicated that the marriage was not consummated because of animosity. Annulment by Pope Pius VII, which was necessary because Charlotte was Catholic, did not take place until over a year later on 12 January 1816, shortly before the wedding of Frederick William and Catherine. Charlotte then married on 10 November 1816, the Austrian Emperor Franz I.

Frederick William and Catherine also attended the Congress of Vienna from September 1814, where diplomats drew up a new Europe following Napoleon's downfall. After the return of Napoleon and the subsequent war in 1815, Frederick William commanded the Austrian III Corps which in one of the minor campaigns invaded France and besieged General Jean Rapp in Strasbourg. He was the only member of the ruling German royal families who participated actively as a military commander in the wars of 1814 and 1815. Wilhelm Hauff celebrated this in his poem Prinz Wilhelm.

On 24 January 1816, Frederick William married Catherine in St. Petersburg. The newly-weds stayed in Russia for a few months and arrived in Stuttgart on 13 April 1816.

Foreign policy
Philip's foreign policies were determined by a combination of Catholic fervour and dynastic objectives. He considered himself the chief defender of Catholic Europe, both against the Ottoman Turks and against the forces of the Protestant Reformation. He never relented from his fight against heresy, defending the Catholic faith and limiting freedom of worship within his territories. These territories included his patrimony in the Netherlands, where Protestantism had taken deep root. Following the Revolt of the Netherlands in 1568, Philip waged a campaign against Dutch heresy and secession. It also dragged in the English and the French at times and expanded into the German Rhineland with the Cologne War. This series of conflicts lasted for the rest of his life. Philip's constant involvement in European wars took a significant toll on the treasury and played a huge role in leading the Crown into economic difficulties and even bankruptcies.

In 1588, the English defeated Philip's Spanish Armada, thwarting his planned invasion of the country to reinstate Catholicism. But the war continued for the next sixteen years, in a complex series of struggles that included France, Ireland and the main battle zone, the Low Countries. It would not end until all the leading protagonists, including himself, had died. Earlier, however, after several setbacks in his reign and especially that of his father, Philip did achieve a decisive victory against the Turks at the Lepanto in 1571, with the allied fleet of the Holy League, which he had put under the command of his illegitimate brother, John of Austria. He also successfully secured his succession to the throne of Portugal.

With regard to Philip's overseas possessions, in response to the reforms imposed by the Ordenanzas, extensive questionnaires were distributed to every major town and region in New Spain called relaciones geográficas. These surveys helped the Spanish monarchy to more effectively govern these overseas conquests.

Italy
In 1556, Philip decided to declare war in the Papal States and temporarily gobbled up territory there, perhaps in response to Pope Paul IV's anti-Spanish outlook. According to Philip II, he was doing it for the benefit of the Church.

In a letter from Francisco de Vargas to the Princess Dowager of Portugal, Regent of Spain, dated 22 September 1556, it is written: ""I have reported to your Highness what has been happening here, and how far the Pope is going in his fury and vain imaginings. His Majesty could not do otherwise than have a care for his reputation and dominions. I am sure your Highness will have had more recent news from the Duke of Alva, who has taken the field with an excellent army and has penetrated so far into the Pope's territory that his cavalry is raiding up to ten miles from Rome, where there is such panic that the population would have run away had not the gates been closed. The Pope has fallen ill with rage, and was struggling with a fever on the 16th of this month. The two Carafa brothers, the Cardinal and Count Montorio, do not agree, and they and Piero Strozzi are not on as good terms as they were in the past. They would like to discuss peace. The best thing would be for the Pope to die, for he is the poison at the root of all this trouble and more which may occur. His Majesty's intention is only to wrest the knife from this madman's hand and make him return to a sense of his dignity, acting like the protector of the Apostolic See, in whose name, and that of the College of Cardinals, his Majesty has publicly proclaimed that he has seized all he is occupying. The Pope is now sending again to the potentates of Italy for help. I hope he will gain as little thereby as he has done in the past, and that the French will calm down. May God give us peace in the end, as their Majesties desire and deserve!""

Pope Paul IV charged a seven-member commission with preparing a peace agreement. The efforts were later abandoned and the war continued. On 27 August 1557, Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alba and Viceroy of Naples, was at the walls of Rome, ready to lead his troops for a final assault. On 13 September 1557, Cardinal Carlo Carafa signed a peace agreement, accepting all of the duke's conditions.

Philip led Spain into the final phase of the Italian Wars. The Spanish army decisively defeated the French at St. Quentin in 1557 and at Gravelines in 1558. The resulting Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis in 1559 secured Piedmont, Savoy, and Corsica for the Spanish allied states, the Duchy of Savoy, and the Republic of Genoa. France recognised Spanish control over the Franche-Comté, but, more importantly, the treaty also confirmed the direct control of Philip over Milan, Naples, Sicily, Sardinia, and the State of Presidi, and indirectly (through his dominance of the rulers of Tuscany, Genoa, and other minor states) of all Italy. The Pope was a natural Spanish ally. The only truly independent entities on Italian soil were the allied Duchy of Savoy and the Republic of Venice. Spanish control of Italy would last until the early eighteenth century. Ultimately, the treaty ended the 60-year, Franco-Spanish wars for supremacy in Italy.

By the end of the wars in 1559, Habsburg Spain had been established as the premier power of Europe, to the detriment of France. In France, Henry II was fatally wounded in a joust held during the celebrations of the peace. His death led to the accession of his 15-year-old son Francis II, who in turn soon died. The French monarchy was thrown into turmoil, which increased further with the outbreak of the French Wars of Religion that would last for several decades. The states of Italy were reduced to second-rate powers and Milan and Naples were annexed directly to Spain. Mary Tudor's death in 1558 enabled Philip to seal the treaty by marrying Henry II's daughter, Elisabeth of Valois, later giving him a claim to the throne of France on behalf of his daughter by Elisabeth, Isabel Clara Eugenia.

France
The French Wars of Religion (1562–98) were primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants (Huguenots). The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise (Lorraine), and both sides received assistance from foreign sources.

Philip signed the Treaty of Vaucelles with Henry II of France in 1556. Based on the terms of the treaty, the territory of the Franche-Comté was to be relinquished to Philip. However, the treaty was broken shortly afterwards. France and Spain waged war in northern France and Italy over the following years. Spanish victory at St. Quentin and Gravelines led to the Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis in which France recognised Spanish sovereignty over the Franche-Comté.

During the War of the Portuguese Succession, the pretender António fled to France following his defeats and, as Philip’s armies had not yet occupied the Azores, he sailed there with a large Anglo-French fleet under Filippo Strozzi, a Florentine exile in the service of France. The naval Battle of Terceira took place on 26 July 1582, in the sea near the Azores, off São Miguel Island, as part of the War of the Portuguese Succession and the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604). The Spanish navy defeated the combined Anglo-French fleet that had sailed to preserve control of the Azores under António. The French naval contingent was the largest French force sent overseas before the age of Louis XIV.

The Spanish victory at Terceira was followed by the Battle of the Azores between the Portuguese loyal to the claimant António, supported by French and English troops, and the Spanish-Portuguese forces loyal to Philip commanded by the admiral Don Álvaro de Bazán. Victory in Azores completed the incorporation of Portugal into the Spanish Empire.

Philip financed the Catholic League during the French Wars of Religion. He directly intervened in the final phases of the wars (1589–1598), ordering the Duke of Parma into France in an effort to unseat Henry IV, and perhaps dreaming of placing his favourite daughter, Isabel Clara Eugenia, on the French throne. Philip's third wife and Isabella's mother Elisabeth had already ceded any claim to the French Crown with her marriage to Philip. However the Parlement de Paris, in power of the Catholic party, gave verdict that Isabella Clara Eugenia was "the legitimate sovereign" of France. Philip's interventions in the fighting – sending the Duke of Parma, to end Henry IV's siege of Paris in 1590 – and the siege of Rouen in 1592 contributed in saving the French Catholic Leagues's cause against a Protestant monarchy.

In 1593, Henry agreed to convert to Catholicism; weary of war, most French Catholics switched to his side against the hardline core of the Catholic League, who were portrayed by Henry's propagandists as puppets of a foreign monarch, Philip. By the end of 1594 certain League members were still working against Henry across the country, but all relied on the support of Spain. In January 1595, therefore, Henry officially declared war on Spain, in order to show Catholics, that Philip was using religion as a cover for an attack on the French state, and Protestants, that he had not become a puppet of Spain through his conversion, while hoping to take the war to Spain and make territorial gain.

French victory at the Battle of Fontaine-Française marked an end to the Catholic League in France. Spain launched a concerted offensive in 1595, taking Doullens, Cambrai and Le Catelet and in the spring of 1596 capturing Calais by April. Following the Spanish capture of Amiens in March 1597 the French crown laid siege to it until it managed to reconquer Amiens from the overstretched Spanish forces in September 1597. Henry then negotiated a peace with Spain. The war was only drawn to an official close, however, after the Edict of Nantes, with the Peace of Vervins in May 1598.

The 1598 Treaty of Vervins was largely a restatement of the 1559 Peace of Câteau-Cambrésis and Spanish forces and subsidies were withdrawn; meanwhile, Henry issued the Edict of Nantes, which offered a high degree of religious toleration for French Protestants. The military interventions in France thus ended in an ironic fashion for Philip: they had failed to oust Henry from the throne or suppress Protestantism in France and yet they had played a decisive part in helping the French Catholic cause gain the conversion of Henry, ensuring that Catholicism would remain France's official and majority faith – matters of paramount importance for the devoutly Catholic Spanish king.

Mediterranean


In the early part of his reign Philip was concerned with the rising power of the Ottoman Empire under Suleiman the Magnificent. Fear of Islamic domination in the Mediterranean caused him to pursue an aggressive foreign policy.

In 1558, Turkish admiral Piyale Pasha captured the Balearic Islands, especially inflicting great damage on Minorca and enslaving many, while raiding the coasts of the Spanish mainland. Philip appealed to the Pope and other powers in Europe to bring an end to the rising Ottoman threat. Since his father's losses against the Ottomans and against Hayreddin Barbarossa in 1541, the major European sea powers in the Mediterranean, namely Spain and Venice, became hesitant in confronting the Ottomans. The myth of "Turkish invincibility" was becoming a popular story, causing fear and panic among the people.

In 1560, Philip II organised a Holy League between Spain and the Republic of Venice, the Republic of Genoa, the Papal States, the Duchy of Savoy and the Knights of Malta. The joint fleet was assembled at Messina and consisted of 200 ships (60 galleys and 140 other vessels) carrying a total of 30,000 soldiers under the command of Giovanni Andrea Doria, nephew of the famous Genoese admiral Andrea Doria.

On 12 March 1560, the Holy League captured the island of Djerba which had a strategic location and could control the sea routes between Algiers and Tripoli. As a response, Suleiman the Magnificent sent an Ottoman fleet of 120 ships under the command of Piyale Pasha, which arrived at Djerba on 9 May 1560. The battle lasted until 14 May 1560, and the forces of Piyale Pasha and Turgut Reis (who joined Piyale Pasha on the third day of the battle) had an overwhelming victory at the Battle of Djerba.

The Holy League lost 60 ships (30 galleys) and 20,000 men, and Giovanni Andrea Doria was barely able to escape with a small vessel. The Ottomans retook the Fortress of Djerba, whose Spanish commander, D. Álvaro de Sande attempted to escape with a ship but was followed and eventually captured by Turgut Reis. In 1565 the Ottomans sent a large expedition to Malta, which laid siege to several forts on the island, taking some of them. The Spanish sent a relief force, which finally drove the Ottoman army out of the island.

The grave threat posed by the increasing Ottoman domination of the Mediterranean was reversed in one of history's most decisive battles, with the destruction of nearly the entire Ottoman fleet at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, by the Holy League under the command of Philip's half brother, Don Juan of Austria. A fleet sent by Philip, again commanded by Don John, reconquered Tunis from the Ottomans in 1573. However, the Turks soon rebuilt their fleet and in 1574 Uluç Ali Reis managed to recapture Tunis with a force of 250 galleys and a siege which lasted 40 days. However, Lepanto marked a permanent reversal in the balance of naval power in the Mediterranean and the end of the threat of Ottoman control. In 1585 a peace treaty was signed with the Ottomans.

Accession
King Frederick died on October 30, 1816 at 1:30am. On the same day, Catherine, who already had two sons from her first marriage, gave birth to their daughter Marie Friederike Charlotte. Although in King Frederick's declining years, he and his son no longer had any political and personal conflicts, Frederick William was eager to display a new era of political change and power. As such, he did away with his first name of Frederick and chose his second name of Wilhelm (William) as his regnal name. He reduced the monarchical titles to simply Wilhelm, by the Grace of God, King of Württemberg. The national coat of arms was also simplified and he reduced the colours of the state flag of black, red and gold, to simply black and red. He also announced an amnesty for civil and military prisoners. William dismissed most of the ministers of state, made the Privy Council his government and gave new senior positions at court and in the civil service.

Measures against economic hardship
William's accession to the throne fell into a time of great economic hardship. In April 1815, Mount Tambora erupted in Indonesia, which led to a long-term deterioration of global weather conditions. In the spring and summer of 1816 there was nowhere in Europe without a storm, rain or hail. In October the first snow fell in Württemberg. The year 1816 became known as the Year Without A Summer. In Württemberg, there were crop failures which gave rise to food prices. In the winter of 1816/1817, famine broke out. To alleviate the plight, the government fixed maximum prices for food, made exporting difficult and later banned it. Large amounts of grain were brought from outside the country. The famine was alleviated by the King and Queen, whose policies were aimed at long-term improvement in the economic situation of all social classes. William implemented agricultural reforms, while Catherine devoted her care to the poor. On November 20, 1818, William set up an Agricultural Academy in Hohenheim to radically improve general nutrition in the kingdom through teaching, experimentation and demonstration and, in so doing, laid the foundation for the University of Hohenheim. In the same year he setup the Cannstatter Volksfest, which was to take place annually on 28 September, a day after the king's birthday. William bought cattle and sheep from abroad for farmers to raise them in Württemberg and he was known for his Arabian stallions that formed part of the Marbach stud. Around the country, Catherine setup charities, which were controlled by a national charity in Stuttgart. Donations were received from the private property of the royal couple, by Catherine's mother the Tsarina, and by other members of the royal family. The Württembergische Landessparkasse (Wurttemberg State Savings Bank) was established on May 12, 1818 on Catherine's initiative. At the same time, a poor relief authority was setup in the Ministry of Interior. The completion of the Katharinenhospital in 1828 was initiated via a donation by Catherine in 1817.

Death of Queen Catherine
Catherine and William's second daughter Sophie, who later became Queen of the Netherlands, was born on June 17, 1818. Despite the outwardly harmonious marriage of William and Catherine, William had extramarital affairs. He took to his former lover Blanche La Flèche again. Eduard von Kallee, born on 26 February 1818 is thought to be his illegitimate son. When Catherine found her husband in Scharnhausen on January 3, 1819 with a lover (presumably Blanche La Fleche), she travelled back to Stuttgart. She died of complications from pneumonia on January 9. William had the Württemberg Mausoleum constructed for her on Württemberg Hill and she was buried in 1824. To cover up the circumstances of her death he tried to obtain her letters, which he suspected contained information about his love affairs. The main political reason for this was so Württemberg's relationship with Russia would not be strained. William wrote in a letter that he was considering abdication. He wanted his brother Paul to renounce his claim to the throne, in favour of Paul's son, Frederick. After their mother's death, Catherine's sons by her first marriage went to live with their grandfather, Peter, the-then regent and later Grand Duke of Oldenburg.

Revolt in the Netherlands
Philip's rule in the seventeen separate provinces known collectively as the Netherlands faced many difficulties; this led to open warfare in 1568. He insisted on direct control over events in the Netherlands despite being over two weeks' ride away in Madrid. There was discontent in the Netherlands about Philip's taxation demands. In 1566, Protestant preachers sparked anti-clerical riots known as the Iconoclast Fury; in response to growing Protestant influence, the Duke of Alba's army went on the offensive, further alienating the local aristocracy. In 1572 a prominent exiled member of the Dutch aristocracy, William the Silent (Prince of Orange), invaded the Netherlands with a Protestant army, but he only succeeded in holding two provinces, Holland and Zeeland.

The war continued. The States General of the northern provinces, united in the 1579 Union of Utrecht, passed an Act of Abjuration declaring that they no longer recognised Philip as their king. The southern Netherlands (what is now Belgium and Luxembourg) remained under Spanish rule. In 1584, William the Silent was assassinated by Balthasar Gérard, after Philip had offered a reward of 25,000 crowns to anyone who killed him, calling him a "pest on the whole of Christianity and the enemy of the human race". The Dutch forces continued to fight on under Orange's son Maurice of Nassau, who received modest help from Queen Elizabeth I in 1585. The Dutch gained an advantage over the Spanish because of their growing economic strength, in contrast to Philip's burgeoning economic troubles. The war, known as the Eighty Years' War, only came to an end in 1648, when the Dutch Republic was recognised by Spain as independent.

King of the Two Sicilies
In 1578 young king Sebastian of Portugal died at the Battle of Alcácer Quibir without descendants, triggering a succession crisis. His uncle, the elderly Cardinal Henry, succeeded him as King, but Henry also had no descendants, having taken holy orders. When the Cardinal-King died two years after Sebastian's disappearance, three grandchildren of Manuel I claimed the throne: Infanta Catarina, Duchess of Braganza, António, Prior of Crato, and Philip II of Spain. António was acclaimed King of Portugal in many cities and towns throughout the country, but members of the Council of Governors of Portugal who had supported Philip escaped to Spain and declared him to be the legal successor of Henry. Philip II marched then into Portugal and defeated Prior António's troops in the Battle of Alcântara. The troops commanded by the 3rd Duke of Alba imposed subjection to Philip before entering Lisbon, where he seized an immense treasure. Philip II of Spain was crowned Philip I of Portugal in 1581 (recognised as king by the Portuguese Cortes of Tomar) and a sixty-year personal union under the rule of the Philippine Dynasty began. When Philip left for Madrid in 1583, he made his nephew Albert of Austria his viceroy in Lisbon. In Madrid he established a Council of Portugal to advise him on Portuguese affairs, giving excellent positions to Portuguese nobles in the Spanish courts, and allowing Portugal to maintain autonomous law, currency, and government.

Request and refused to the Polish throne
After his father, voluntary abdication in 1848 due his health, months later, his father died on September 12, 1848, aged 69, his father's cause of death believe to be Alzheimer's disease. He was his father's successor but he was not ready to take as his father's successor. Before his father death, Charles ask Philip to be his successor, but Philip refused. Next Charles favored his step-brother, Casimir de Radzilow to be his successor to the polish throne in 1848.

Revolutions of 1848
In September 1847, violent riots inspired by Liberals broke out in Reggio Calabria and in Messina and were put down by the military. On 12 January 1848 a rising in Palermo, spread throughout the island and served as a spark for the Revolutions of 1848 all over Europe.

After similar revolutionary outbursts in Salerno, south of Naples, and in the Cilento region which were backed by the majority of the intelligentsia of the Kingdom, on 29 January 1848 King Ferdinand was forced to grant a constitution patterned on the French Charter of 1830. A dispute, however, arose as to the nature of the oath which should be taken by the members of the chamber of deputies. As an agreement could not be reached and the King refused to compromise, riots continued in the streets. Eventually, the King ordered the army to break them and dissolved the national parliament on 13 March 1849. Although the constitution was never formally abrogated, the King returned to reigning as an absolute monarch.

During this period, Ferdinand showed his attachment to Pope Pius IX by granting him asylum at Gaeta. The pope had been temporarily forced to flee from Rome following similar revolutionary disturbances. (see Roman Republic (19th century), Giuseppe Mazzini.

In the meantime, Sicily proclaimed its independence under the leadership of Ruggeru Sèttimu, who on 13 April 1848 declared the King deposed. In response, the King assembled an army of 20,000 under the command of General Carlo Filangieri and dispatched it to Sicily to subdue the Liberals and restore his authority. A naval flotilla sent to Sicilian waters shelled the city of Messina with "savage barbarity" for eight hours after its defenders had already surrendered, killing many civilians and earning the King the nickname "Re` Bomba" ("King Bomb").

After a campaign lasting close to nine months, Sicily's Liberal regime was completely subdued on 15 May 1849.

Death
Philip I died in Rome, Italy, on 11 February 1864 of Cardiovascular disease. His death, which was very painful, involved a severe attack of gout, fever, and dropsy (edema). For 52 horrific days the King deteriorated. He could no longer be moved to be washed because of the pain; thus a hole was cut in his mattress for the release of bodily fluids.

He was succeeded by his son Philip III.

Legacy
Under Philip II, Spain reached the peak of its power. However, in spite of the great and increasing quantities of gold and silver flowing into his coffers from the American mines, the riches of the Portuguese spice trade, and the enthusiastic support of the Habsburg dominions for the Counter-Reformation, he would never succeed in suppressing Protestantism or defeating the Dutch rebellion. Early in his reign, the Dutch might have laid down their weapons if he had desisted in trying to suppress Protestantism, but his devotion to Catholicism would not permit him to do so. He was a devout Catholic and exhibited the typical 16th century disdain for religious heterodoxy; he said, "Before suffering the slightest damage to religion in the service of God, I would lose all of my estates and a hundred lives, if I had them, because I do not wish nor do I desire to be the ruler of heretics."

The defence of the Catholic Church and the defeat of Protestantism was one of his most important goals. Although he did not fully accomplish this (England broke with Rome after the death of Mary, the Holy Roman Empire remained partly Protestant, and the revolt in the Netherlands continued) he prevented Protestantism from gaining a grip in Spain and Portugal and the colonies in the New World, and successfully re-established Catholicism in the reconquered southern half of the Low Countries. More importantly for Christendom as a whole he, via both the Spanish Habsburgs and his uncle's Austrian Habsburgs, stopped the expansionist phase of the Ottoman Empire.

As he strived to enforce Catholic orthodoxy through an intensification of the Inquisition, students were barred from studying elsewhere and books printed by Spaniards outside the kingdom were banned. Even a highly respected churchman like Archbishop Carranza of Toledo was jailed by the Inquisition for seventeen years for publishing ideas that seemed sympathetic in some degree to Protestantism. Such strict enforcement of orthodox belief was successful and Spain avoided the religiously inspired strife tearing apart other European dominions.

Yet the School of Salamanca flourished under his reign. Martín de Azpilcueta, highly honoured at Rome by several popes, and looked on as an oracle of learning, published his Manuale sive Enchiridion Confessariorum et Poenitentium (Rome, 1568), long a classical text in the schools and in ecclesiastical practice. Francisco Suárez, generally regarded as the greatest scholastic after Thomas Aquinas and regarded during his lifetime as being the greatest living philosopher and theologian, was writing and lecturing, not only in Spain but also in Rome (1680–1685), where Pope Gregory XIII attended the first lecture that he gave. Luis de Molina published his De liberi arbitrii cum gratiae donis, divina praescientia, praedestinatione et reprobatione concordia (1588), wherein he put forth the doctrine attempting to reconcile the omniscience of God with human free will that came to be known as Molinism, thereby contributing to what was one of the most important intellectual debates of the time; Molinism became the de facto Jesuit doctrine on the aforementioned matters, and is still advocated today by William Lane Craig and Alvin Plantinga, among others.



Because Philip II was the most powerful European monarch in an era of war and religious conflict, evaluating both his reign and the man himself has become a controversial historical subject. Even before his death in 1598, his supporters had started presenting him as an archetypical gentleman, full of piety and Christian virtues, whereas his enemies depicted him as a fanatical and despotic monster, keen in inhuman cruelties and barbarism. This dichotomy, further developed into the so-called Spanish Black Legend and White Legend, was helped by King Philip himself. Philip prohibited any biographical account of his life to be published while he was alive, and he ordered that all his private correspondence be burned shortly before he died. Moreover, Philip did nothing to defend himself after being betrayed by his ambitious secretary Antonio Perez, who published incredible calumnies against his former master; this allowed Perez's tales to spread all around Europe unchallenged. That way, the popular image of the king that survives to today was created on the eve of his death, at a time when many European princes and religious leaders were turned against Spain as a pillar of the Counter-Reformation. This means that many histories depict Philip from deeply prejudiced points of view, usually negative.

Anglo-American societies have generally held a very low opinion of Philip II. The traditional approach is perhaps epitomised by James Johonnot's Ten Great Events in History (1887), in which he describes Philip II as a "vain, bigoted, and ambitious" monarch who "had no scruples in regard to means... placed freedom of thought under a ban, and put an end to the intellectual progress of the country". However, some historians classify this anti-Spanish analysis as part of the Black Legend. In a more recent example of popular culture, Philip II's portrayal in Fire Over England (1937) is not entirely unsympathetic; he is shown as a very hard working, intelligent, religious, somewhat paranoid ruler whose prime concern is his country but who had no understanding of the English, despite his former co-monarchy there.

Even in countries that remained Catholic, primarily France and the Italian states, fear and envy of Spanish success and domination created a wide receptiveness for the worst possible descriptions of Philip II. Although some efforts have been made to separate legend from reality, that task has been proven to be extremely hard, since many prejudices are rooted in the cultural heritage of European countries. Spanish-speaking historians tend to assess his political and military achievements, sometimes deliberately avoiding issues such as the king's lukewarmness (or even support) towards Catholic fanaticism. English-speaking historians tend to show Philip II as a fanatical, despotical, criminal, imperialist monster, minimising his military victories (Battle of Lepanto, Battle of Saint Quentin, etc.) to mere anecdotes, and magnifying his defeats (namely the Invincible Armada ) even though at the time those defeats did not result in great political or military changes in the balance of power in Europe. Moreover, it has been noted that objectively assessing Philip's reign would suppose to re-analyze the reign of his greatest opposers, namely England's Queen Elizabeth I and the Dutch William the Silent, who are popularly regarded as great heroes in their home nations; if Philip II is to be shown to the English or Dutch public in a more favourable light, Elizabeth and William would lose their cold-blooded, fanatical enemy, thus decreasing their own patriotic accomplishments.

Philip II's reign can hardly be characterised by its failures. He ended French Valois ambitions in Italy and brought about the Habsburg ascendency in Europe. He commenced settlements in the Philippines, which were named after him, and established the first trans-Pacific trade route between America and Asia. He secured the Portuguese kingdom and empire. He succeeded in massively increasing the importation of silver in the face of English, Dutch, and French privateers, overcoming multiple financial crises and consolidating Spain's overseas empire. Although clashes would be ongoing, he ended the major threat posed to Europe by the Ottoman navy. He dealt successfully with a crisis that threatened to lead to the secession of Aragon. Finally, his efforts contributed substantially to the long-term success of the Catholic Counter-Reformation in checking the religious tide of Protestantism in Europe.

Philip was an austere and intelligent statesman. He was given to suspicion of members of his court, and was something of a meddlesome manager; but he was not the cruel tyrant painted by his opponents and subsequent Anglophile histories. He took great care in administering his vast dominions, and was known to intervene personally on behalf of the humblest of his subjects.

Titles, honours, and styles

 * Heir titles
 * Prince of Girona: 21 May 1527 – 16 January 1556
 * Prince of Asturias 1528–1556


 * King of Chile: 1554 – 1556


 * King of Castile as Philip II: 16 January 1556 – 13 September 1598
 * King of Castile, of León, of Granada, of Toledo, of Galicia, of Seville, of Cordoba, of Murcia, of Jaen, of the Algarves, of Algeciras, of Gibraltar, of the Canary Islands, of the Indias, the Islands and Mainland of the Ocean Sea. Lord of Molina.
 * Lord of Biscay.


 * King of Aragon as Philip I: 16 January 1556 – 13 September 1598
 * King of Aragón.
 * King of the Two Sicilies.
 * King of Naples, of Jerusalem: Since 25 July 1554.
 * King of Sicily. Duke of Athens, of Neopatria.
 * King of Valencia.
 * King of Majorca.
 * King of Sardinia, of Corsica. Margrave of Oristano. Count of Goceano.
 * King of Navarre.
 * Count of Barcelona, of Roussillon, of Cerdanya.


 * King of Portugal as Philip I: 12 September 1580 – 13 September 1598
 * King of Portugal and the Algarves of either side of the sea in Africa, Lord of Guinea and of Conquest, Navigation, and Commerce of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia, and India, etc.


 * King of England de jure uxoris as Philip I: 25 July 1554 – 17 November 1558
 * King of England, France (titular). Defender of the Faith.
 * King of Ireland


 * Imperial and Habsburg patrimonial titles:
 * Duke of Milan: 11 October 1540 (secret donation)/25 July 1554 (public investiture) – 13 September 1598
 * Imperial vicar of Siena: since 30 May 1554
 * Archduke of Austria.
 * Princely Count of Habsburg and of Tyrol
 * Prince of Swabia


 * Burgundian titles
 * Lord of the Netherlands: 25 October 1555 – 13 September 1598
 * Duke of Lothier, of Brabant, of Limburg, of Luxemburg, of Guelders. Count of Flanders, of Artois, of Hainaut, of Holland, of Zeeland, of Namur, of Zutphen. Margrave of the Holy Roman Empire. Lord of Frisia, Salins, Mechelen, the cities, towns & lands of Utrecht, Overyssel, Groningen.
 * Count Palatine of Burgundy, since 10 June 1556. Count of Charolais since 21 September 1558.
 * Duke of Burgundy.
 * Dominator in Asia, Africa


 * Honours
 * Knight of the Golden Fleece: 1531 – 13 September 1598
 * Grand Master of the Order of the Golden Fleece: 23 October 1555 – 13 September 1598
 * Grand Master of the Order of Calatrava: 16 January 1556 – 13 September 1598
 * Grand Master of the Order of Alcantara: 16 January 1556 – 13 September 1598
 * Grand Master of the Order of Santiago: 16 January 1556 – 13 September 1598
 * Grand Master of the Order of Montesa: 8 December 1587 – 13 September 1598

Philip continued his father's style of "Majesty" (Latin: Maiestas; Spanish: Majestad) in preference to that of "Highness" (Celsitudo; Alteza). In diplomatic texts, he continued the use of the title "Most Catholic" (Rex Catholicismus; Rey Católico) first bestowed by Pope Alexander VI on Ferdinand and Isabella in 1496.

Following the Act of Parliament sanctioning his marriage with Mary, the couple was styled "Philip and Mary, by the grace of God King and Queen of England, France, Naples, Jerusalem, and Ireland, Defenders of the Faith, Princes of Spain and Sicily, Archdukes of Austria, Dukes of Milan, Burgundy and Brabant, Counts of Habsburg, Flanders and Tyrol". Upon his inheritance of Spain in 1556, they became "Philip and Mary, by the grace of God King and Queen of England, Spain, France, both the Sicilies, Jerusalem and Ireland, Defenders of the Faith, Archdukes of Austria, Dukes of Burgundy, Milan and Brabant, Counts of Habsburg, Flanders and Tyrol".

In the 1584 Treaty of Joinville, he was styled "Philip, by the grace of God second of his name, king of Castille, Leon, Aragon, Portugal, Navarre, Naples, Sicily, Jerusalem, Majorca, Sardinia, and the islands, Indies, and terra firma of the Ocean Sea; archduke of Austria; duke of Burgundy, Lothier, Brabant, Limbourg, Luxembourg, Guelders, and Milan; Count of Habsburg, Flanders, Artois, and Burgundy; Count Palatine of Hainault, Holland and Zeeland, Namur, Drenthe, Zutphen; prince of "Zvuanem"; marquis of the Holy Roman Empire; lord of Frisia, Salland, Mechelen, and of the cities, towns, and lands of Utrecht, Overissel, and Groningen; master of Asia and Africa".

His coinage typically bore the obverse inscription " PHS·D:G·HISP·Z·REX " (Latin: "Philip, by the grace of God King of Spain et cetera"), followed by the local title of the mint (" DVX·BRA " for Duke of Brabant, " C·HOL " for Count of Holland, " D·TRS·ISSV " for Lord of Overissel, &c.). The reverse would then bear a motto such as " PACE·ET·IVSTITIA " ("For Peace and Justice") or " DOMINVS·MIHI·ADIVTOR " ("The Lord is my helper"). A medal struck in 1583 bore the inscriptions " PHILIPP II HISP ET NOVI ORBIS REX " ("Philip II, King of Spain and the New World") and " NON SUFFICIT ORBIS " ("The world is not enough").

Family
Philip was married four times and had children with three of his wives.

Philip's first wife was his first cousin, Maria Manuela, Princess of Portugal. She was a daughter of Philip's maternal uncle, John III of Portugal, and paternal aunt, Catherine of Austria. The marriage produced one son in 1545, after which Maria died 4 days later due to hemorrhage:
 * Carlos, Prince of Asturias (8 July 1545 – 24 July 1568), died unmarried and without issue.

Philip's second wife was his double first cousin once removed, Queen Mary I of England. The 1554 marriage to Mary was political. By this marriage, Philip became jure uxoris King of England and Ireland, although the couple was apart more than together as they ruled their respective countries. The marriage produced no children and Mary died in 1558, ending Philip's reign in England and Ireland.

Philip's third wife was Elisabeth of Valois, the eldest daughter of Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici. {also a distant relation of Philip-she was descended from their mutual ancestor Alfonso VII of León and Castile}. During their marriage (1559–1568) they conceived one son and five daughters, though only two of the girls survived. Elisabeth died a few hours after the loss of her last child. Their children were:
 * Stillborn son (1560)
 * Miscarried twin daughters (1564).
 * Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain (12 August 1566 – 1 December 1633), married Albert VII, Archduke of Austria,
 * Catherine Michelle of Spain (10 October 1567 – 6 November 1597), married Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, and had issue.
 * miscarried daughter (1568).

Philip's fourth and final wife was his sororal niece, Anna of Austria. By contemporary accounts, this was a convivial and satisfactory marriage (1570–1580) for both Philip and Anna. This marriage produced four sons and one daughter. Anna died of heart failure 8 months after giving birth to Maria in 1580. Their children were:
 * Ferdinand, Prince of Asturias (4 December 1571 – 18 October 1578), died young
 * Charles Laurence (12 August 1573 – 30 June 1575), died young
 * Diego, Prince of Asturias (15 August 1575 – 21 November 1582), died young
 * Philip III of Spain (3 April 1578 – 31 March 1621)
 * Maria (14 February 1580 – 5 August 1583), died young

Sources and further reading

 * Henry Kamen, Philip of Spain (New Haven, Yale University Press, 1999) – the standard modern biographical source.
 * Glyn Redworth, "Philip (1527–1598)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, online edition, May 2011 Retrieved 25 Aug 2011
 * Benton Rain Patterson, With the Heart of a King: Elizabeth I of England, Philip II of Spain & the Fight for a Nation's Soul & Crown (2007)
 * Rodriguez-Salgado, M.J. "The Court of Philip II of Spain". In Princes Patronage and the Nobility: The Court at the Beginning of the Modern Age, cc. 1450–1650. Edited by Ronald G. Asch and Adolf M. Birke. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991. ISBN 0-19-920502-7.
 * Geoffrey Parker, Imprudent King: A New Life of Philip II (2014).
 * Geoffrey Parker, The Grand Strategy of Philip II (New Haven, 1998).
 * Markus Reinbold, Jenseits der Konfession. Die frühe Frankreichpolitik Philipps II. von Spanien 1559–1571 (Stuttgart, Thorbecke, 2005) (Beihefte der Francia, 61).
 * Harry Kelsey, Philip of Spain, King of England: the forgotten sovereign (London, I.B. Tauris, 2011).
 * Harry Kelsey, Philip of Spain, King of England: the forgotten sovereign (London, I.B. Tauris, 2011).