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unstable youth, whose opposition to his
father may even have crossed the boundary
of treason. Eventually placed under
restraint, he died young, leaving only bitter
memories and lurid legends that would
inspire plays and operas in later centuries.
Philip's second marriage, arranged by his
father, was equally unhappy in its outcome.
If his wife Mary Tudor had given him a son,
England and Spain would have been united
under a Catholic monarchy. Queen Mary,
however, died childless, and Philip was left
to make another marriage of political calcu-
lation when he wed the French princess
Elisabeth of Valois in 1568. Elisabeth died
while giving birth to a stillborn son but left
Philip two daughters who were the source
of great happiness and uncharacteristic
playfulness in his paternal role. Philip's
fourth wife, the Austrian princess Anne
(who was also his niece), left only one sur-
viving child out of five whom she bore him.
Upon this younger Philip, the prudent king
lavished all his attention and training dur-
ing the last years of the reign, evidently
with little confidence that the boy would
prove a capable successor.
At his death in 1598 (a drawn-out and
painful affair) Philip II could look back on
a reign of some 40 years in which he had
achieved much, including the firm mastery
of Mediterranean Europe, what proved to
be the decisive blow against the Ottoman
Turks, and the construction of a global
empire that (for all its shortcomings)
would endure for centuries. He had never-
theless, failed to roll back the Reformation.
For a monarch so devout and dedicated
this was surely felt as a defect for which he
would have to answer to God. What Philip
may not have understood so clearly was
his failure to strengthen and stabilize his
earthly realm. In pursuing his political
vision Philip stunted the economic capac-
ity of Spain and left her a crippled giant
prey to the upsurging power of its rivals
and the weakness of the kings who would
succeed him.
Philip III (Felipe III)
(1578-1621)
king of Spain
The youngest son of P
HILIP
II, he succeeded
his father in 1598. Although well trained by
his father's councillors, he lacked energy
and ambition and soon turned over most of
the business of government to his adviser,
the duke of L
ERMA
. During the early years
of his reign peace was concluded with
England (1604) and with the Dutch rebels
(1609), and tensions with France were kept
in abeyance. Despite the opportunity thus
given to reform and energize Spain's
decayed economy and inefficient adminis-
tration, the king did virtually nothing to
improve its domestic weaknesses. His chief
initiative (urged upon him by church lead-
ers and popular sentiment) was the expul-
sion of some 500,000 Spaniards of Muslim
background who were suspected of secret
adherence to Islam or disloyalty. This purge,
which began soon after the conclusion of
hostilities with the Dutch, was more sym-
bolic than beneficial.
Shortly before his death Philip III
renewed warfare in the Netherlands and
began the series of confrontations with
France that would ultimately lead to Spain's
downfall. A pious, passive ruler, Philip III
lacked his predecessor's grand vision and
energy as well as his successor's flamboy-
ance and vanity. His reign consisted of two
decades of wasted time for a country pro-
foundly in need of salutary change.
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