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suggested that his wife's mental unpredict-
ability required that he be fully in control of
her kingdom. Philip, who had spent an
increasing amount of time in Castile, had
built up a considerable following among
those nobles who wished to reverse the
centralizing program of Isabella and Ferdi-
nand. In return for their recognition of his
title as King Philip I the Habsburg heir
regranted to them most of the privileges
they had lost during the previous reign. By
early 1500 Ferdinand seemed prepared to
abandon his claim on the regency, but the
sudden death of Philip while celebrating his
triumph in Burgos reversed the situation in
favor of the Aragonese monarch, who
henceforth oversaw Joanna's inheritance.
revolt among crypto-Muslims in Aragon
(1569-79) and annihilated the Ottoman
fleet at L
EPANTO
(1571). Throughout this
period he employed the full rigors of the
S
PANISH
I
NQUISITION
to “cleanse” Spain and
its dependencies of what he regarded as a
“Protestant infestation.”
Philip was less successful in dealing with
the revolt within his hereditary dominions
in the Netherlands. Beginning in 1564 and
provoked by the spread of Calvinism as well
as high-handed Spanish administration,
this resistance movement gained in strength
over several decades. Philip alternated con-
ciliation with military force but, by the end
of his reign, retained only the southern
provinces (present-day Belgium), the
Philip II (Felipe II)
(1527-1598)
king of Spain
Son of C
HARLES
I (Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V) and Isabella of Portugal, he was
greatly influenced by his clerical tutors and
by his father's guidance in the duties and
responsibilities of a monarch. He obtained
experience in the business of waging war
and ruling the various Spanish dependen-
cies but never became (as his father had) a
commander in the field or a cosmopolitan
at home in all parts of Europe. After ascend-
ing the throne of Spain in 1556, he rarely
left that country and identified almost
exclusively with the Castilian heritage. His
reign would be devoted to preserving his
inheritance and restoring the dominance of
the Catholic faith. Among Philip's most
notable achievements were his victory over
the perennial enemy, France, and his defeat
of the Turkish threat in the Mediterranean.
After forcing the king of France to abandon
his claims in Italy (1559), Philip crushed a
King Philip II
(Library of Congress)
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