PHILIP II. 



511 



Persians, he was assassinated, in the forty-seventh 

 year of his age, by Pausanias, a young Macedonian, 

 who was hired to commit this act by the Persians. 

 This prince, the inventor of the Macedonian phalanx 

 united, with the highest talents of a commander, the 

 intrepidity of the bravest soldier. But ambition and 

 love of power were the most prominent features in 

 his character, which often led him to the most un- 

 warrantable actions. 



PHILIP II., king of Spain, son of the emperor 

 Charles V. and of Eleonora of Portugal, called, by 

 the Spanish writers, the Prudent, and by the Pro- 

 testants, the Demon of the South, was born at Valla- 

 dolid, in 1527. Naturally cold, grave, and reserved, 

 but sagacious and active, he was educated with care 

 by Spanish ecclesiastics, by whom he was early im- 

 bued with bigoted sentiments. At the age of six- 

 teen years, he married the Portuguese princess Mary, 

 and was intrusted by his father with tlie administra- 

 tion of Spain, under the direction, however, of the 

 duke of Alva. In 1547, Charles sent for him to 

 come to Brussels, and Philip was received with every 

 demonstration of joy by the Netherlandish estates ; 

 but his austerity and his preference of his Spanish 

 courtiers soon rendered him an object of dislike. His 

 father was desirous of having iiim declared his suc- 

 cessor on the imperial throne, by the diet assembled 

 at Ratisbon, in 1550, but his cold and proud manners 

 were so unfavourable to his cause, that he was sent 

 back to Spain. Having lost his first wife, Philip 

 soon after married Mary I. of England (1554), who 

 was much older than himself (see Mary) ; but his 

 unpopularity among the English rendered his resi- 

 dence there so disagreeable, that he soon left the 

 country and retired to Flanders. In 1555, Charles 

 V. abdicated his crown in favour of his son, who thus 

 became the first sovereign of Europe. Veteran 

 troops, able generals and statesmen, a yearly revenue 

 of 30,000,000 ducats, rich colonies arid industrious 

 provinces had raised Spain to an unexampled degree 

 of power. Philip received from his father, in the 

 presence of the states-general, and with the most im- 

 pressive solemnities, the sovereignty of the Low 

 Countries, and, a few weeks afterwards, assumed that 

 of Spain. Charles retired to a monastery, on a mo- 

 derate allowance, which, through the neglect of his 

 son, was irregularly transmitted to him. In 1556, 

 Philip concluded a truce with France, which was 

 broken by the French, at the instigation of pope 

 Paul IV., the same year. Paul having declared that 

 Philip had forfeited the kingdom of Naples, a fief of 

 the holy see, the latter found himself obliged to send 

 the duke of Alva against the head of the church, who 

 was forced to accede to an armistice. Philip then 

 went to England, and prevailed on Mary, by the 

 threat that he would otherwise never again set foot 

 in her dominions, to declare war against France. A 

 considerable English force, accordingly, joined the 

 army under Philibert, duke of Savoy, and the count 

 of Egmont, which was besieging St Quentin. The 

 French, under Montmorency, were entirely defeated, 

 August 10, 1557. Philip, who, during the battle, 

 was occupied in prayer, joined the army after it was 

 over. (See Escurial) Instead of taking advantage 

 of this victory to march to Paris, Philip was satisfied 

 with occupying St Quentin, Ham, anil Chatelet, and 

 soon after, under the impulse of superstitious fears, 

 concluded a disadvantageous peace with the pope. 

 On the death of Mary ( 1 558), which was hastened 

 by the neglect of her husband and the loss of Calais, 

 Philip sued for the hand of Elizabeth, who was too 

 well acquainted with his temper and the aversion of 

 her subjects against him, to listen to his addresses. 

 The peace of Cambray (1559), finally terminated the 

 long struggle of the French and Spanish monarchies, 



under conditions favourable to the latter. The mar- 

 riage of Philip with the daughter of Henry II., king 

 of France, who had been previously designed for 

 don Charles, son of Philip, was stipulated by one of 

 the articles of this peace. In the course of the year, 

 Philip returned to Spain, leaving the government of 

 the Low Countries in the hands of his natural sister, 

 Margaret, duchess of Parma. His arrival was cele- 

 brated by the inquisition, with an auto dafi, and his 

 reverential conduct during the burning of his sub- 

 jects is highly praised by the Spanish writers. 



Soon after this, the troubles in the Low Countries 

 broke out. (See Netherlands, and Granvella.) 

 Philip established the inquisition there for the sup- 

 pression of heresy, and refused to mitigate its rigours, 

 declaring that it was better to be without subjects 

 than to be the ruler of heretics. The blood-thirsty 

 Alva was sent (1567) to execute the cruel policy of 

 the Spanish court. The counts of Egmont and 

 Hoorn, with a great number of less distinguished 

 sufferers, perished on the scaffold. Philip remained 

 a cold and unmoved spectator of the horrors caused 

 by his own rigorous policy. At the same period, a 

 tragic event in his family tended to strengthen the 

 gloom of his character. His son, don Carlos, died in 

 prison (1568), where he had been thrown on a charge 

 of treason, and two months after, died Elizabeth, the 

 beautiful and virtuous wife of Philip. The beautiful 

 Anna de Mendoza, the wife of his favourite and 

 minister Ruy Gomez de Silva, was at this time his 

 mistress. An insurrection of the Moors in Granada 

 was quelled in 1570, and Philip married the arch- 

 duchess Anne of Austria, his fourth wife. In the 

 following year, his fleet assisted at the battle of 

 Lepanto, gained by don John of Austria over the 

 Turks. The duke of Alva was recalled from the 

 Netherlands in 1573. His successor, Requesens, 

 died in 1576, and was followed by don John of 

 Austria, who was empowered to make some conces- 

 sions ; but, soon after his death (1578), the union of 

 Utrecht was formed (January 23, 1579). The Bel- 

 gic Netherlands, however, were reduced by the 

 prince, Alexander Farnese, who next commanded 

 the Spanish forces in that quarter. The throne of 

 Portugal, having become vacant by the death of 

 Sebastian, was claimed by Philip, who sent the duke 

 of Alva to take possession of that kingdom. Philip 

 himself soon followed him thither (1581), and re- 

 ceived the homage of the Portuguese estates. The 

 assassination of William, prince of Orange, in 1584, 

 was received with the most indecent expressions of 

 joy at the Spanish court, but William's son, Maurice, 

 was a still more formidable enemy. A rupture with 

 England (see Elizabeth) soon followed, and the Ar- 

 mada was fitted out for the conquest of that king- 

 dom. (See Armada.} When the duke of Medina 

 Sidonia, who had the command of the expedition, 

 appeared before Philip with the information of its 

 destruction, the king thanked him, because he had 

 not despaired of his country. " The will of God be 

 done," he added, coldly; " I sent my ships to fight 

 with the Ei'glish, not with the elements." This 

 event was a death-blow to the Spanish monarchy. 

 Philip sent assistance to the leaguers in France (see 

 League), and commanded the duke of Parma to in- 

 vade the kingdom, Even after Henry IV.'s conver- 

 sion to the Catholic faith, he continued his hostility 

 to that prince, who, in consequence, declared war 

 against him. The war with England was meanwhile 

 continued, and Spain not only suffered much by losses 

 in her American colonies, but was compelled to wit- 

 ness the capture of Cadiz, and the destruction of the 

 shipping in that port by Howard and the earl of 

 Essex. (See Devereux.) Prince Maurice of Nas- 

 sau had also gained the ascendency in the Low 



