Philip, the only son of Emperor Charles V, was born in Valladolid in 1527. In
1543 he married Mary of Portugal but she died in 1546 giving birth to their son,
Don Carlos.
Mary Tudor became Queen of England in 1553. There were several attempts by
Protestant to overthrow Mary. To protect her position, Mary decided to form an
alliance with the Catholic monarchy in Spain. In 1554 Philip married Mary. The
marriage was unpopular with the English people. They disliked the idea of having
a foreign king. At that time the English particularly disliked the Spanish as they
were seen as England's main rivals in Europe.
In 1555 Charles V abdicated and Philip became king of Spain, the Netherlands,
and all Spanish dominions in Italy and America. Once in power Philip reactivated
the Spanish Inquisition in an attempt to deal with the growth of Protestantism in
Europe.
In 1558 Mary Tudor began to get pains in her stomach and thought she was
pregnant. This was important to Mary as she wanted to ensure that a Catholic
monarchy would continue after her death. It was not to be. Mary had stomach
cancer. When Mary died later that year. Henry VIII's other daughter, Elizabeth, a
Protestant, became Queen of England.
Philip attempted to arrange a marriage with Elizabeth but she rejected the idea
and he therefore married Isabella, the daughter of King Henri II of France in
1559.
In 1568 Muslims living in Granda rebelled against his rule. This revolt was
eventually put down in 1570 but three years later a more serious rebellion took
place in the Netherlands.
Philip became king of Portugal in 1580. With Spain's wealth increasing as a
result of its dominions in the Americas, Philip developed a more expansionist
foreign policy. This included a fresh attempt to regain control over the northern
Netherlands.
When Philip began persecuting Protestants living in the Netherlands, Elizabeth
sent English soldiers to help protect them. In February 1587 Elizabeth agreed to
the execution of Mary Stuart. Philip had hoped that Mary would eventually
become the Catholic queen of England. Philip now decided to conquer England
and bring an end to Elizabeth and her Protestant government.
The invasion took a lot of preparation and it was not until July 1588 that the 131
ships in the Spanish Armada left for England. The large Spanish galleons were
filled with 17,000 well-armed soldiers and 180 Catholic priests. The plan was to
sail to Dunkirk in France where the Armada would pick up another 16,000
Spanish soldiers.
On 6 August the Armada anchored at Calais Harbour. The English now filled
eight old ships with materials that would burn fiercely. At midnight, the fire-ships
were lighted and left to sail by themselves towards the Spanish ships in Calais
Harbour. The plan worked and the Spanish ships fled to the open sea.
With their formation broken, the Spanish ships were easy targets for the English
ships loaded with guns that could fire very large cannon balls. The Spanish
captains tried to get their ships in close so that their soldiers could board the
English ships. However, the English ships were quicker than the Spanish
galleons and were able to keep their distance.
The English bombardment sank many Spanish galleons. Those that survived
headed north. The English ships did not follow as they had run out of gunpowder.
After the Armada rounded Scotland it headed south for home. However, a strong
gale drove many of the ships onto the Irish rocks. Thousands of Spaniards
drowned and even those that reached land were often killed by English soldiers
and settlers. Of the 25,000 men that had set out in the Armada, less than 10,000
arrived home safely.
In 1591 there was a revolt in Aragon against Philip's rule. Philip's military
campaigns created severe financial problems and by 1596 his country was
bankrupt. When Philip died in 1598 his empire was divided and economically
depressed.
(1) Letter from Philip II to Count Feria, the Spanish ambassador in England
(12 February, 1559)
Tell her (Elizabeth) from me that... I must warn her to consider deeply the evils
which may result in England from a change in religion... if this change is made all
idea of my marriage with her must be broken off.
2) Letter from Count Feria to Philip II (19 March, 1559)
Queen Elizabeth... said that so much money was taken out of the country for the
Pope every year that she must put an end to it... she kept repeating to me that
she was a heretic and consequently could not marry your Majesty.
5) Philip II talking to the survivors of the Armada (1588)
I sent you to fight with men, and not with the weather.