CHRONOLOGY - Spain and Portugal: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present - page 425

1563
Philip begins construction of the massive
palace-monastery El Escorial, which will
serve as the royal residence and nerve-
center of the Spanish Empire.

1580
Philip II of Spain, claiming the Portuguese
inheritance through his mother, occupies
Lisbon against weak resistance. He is pro-
claimed king of Portugal under the name
Philip I. Between 1580 and 1640 Spain
and Portugal share a common sovereign,
and Portugal's empire is exploited for
Spanish benefit.

1567
Outbreak of revolt in the Netherlands. Ten-
sion had been building in this northern
dependency ever since the accession of
Philip II, who lacked his father's tact in
dealing with the religious and ethnic sen-
sibilities of the inhabitants. An ongoing
war will drain Spanish resources for some
80 years, ending with the independence
of the Dutch-speaking, mainly Protestant
provinces and confirmation of Spanish
rule in what will later become Belgium.

1587
English attack on Cádiz marks the first direct
clash between Philip II and Elizabeth I of
England. Hostility had been building for
some years due to England's support of
the Dutch rebels and European Protes-
tantism in general, as well as her country-
men's attacks on Spanish shipping in the
West Indies. The Anglo-Spanish rivalry is
thus a part of the Counter-Reformation
struggle and of the growing imperial com-
petition between the Iberian kingdoms
and northern European countries.

1569-71
The Moriscos, converted Muslims who were
long suspected of allegiance to Islam,
rebel against Philip's oppressive regime.
Their resistance is harshly repressed, and
many flee to Muslim territory in the
Mediterranean. The last remnant of this
population is expelled in 1609.

1588
The “Invincible Armada,” sent to conquer
England, is defeated in the Channel. De-
spite further threats to the British Isles,
nothing more is accomplished, and peace
is concluded in 1604.

1571
Battle of Lepanto (off the western coast of
Greece) marks a decisive Spanish victory
over the Turkish fleet and confirms Span-
ish ascendancy in the Mediterranean.

1589
Spanish intervention in the civil-religious
war being waged in France. Like his cam-
paigns against the English and the Dutch,
this is part of Philip II's grand strategy
against his northern European rivals;
however, Spain's French allies are de-
feated, and peace is concluded in 1598.

1578
Battle of Alcazarquivir. Sebastian, the king
of Portugal, and most of his followers are
killed in the North African desert.

1578-80
Henrique I, great-uncle of the slain Portu-
guese king, cardinal and grand inquisitor,
is the last ruler of the House of Aviz.

1598-1621
King Philip III of Spain, after a brief attempt
to continue his father's policies, concludes