Philip's foreign policies were determined by a combination of Catholic fervour and dynastic objectives. He considered himself the chief defender of Catholic Europe, both against the
Ottoman Empire and against the forces of the
Protestant Reformation. He never relented from his fight against
heresy, defending the Catholic faith and limiting freedom of worship within his territories. These territories included his patrimony in the Netherlands, where Protestantism had taken deep root. Following the
Revolt of the Netherlands in 1568, Philip waged a campaign against Dutch heresy and secession. It also dragged in the English and the French at times and expanded into the German Rhineland with the
Cologne War. This series of conflicts lasted for the rest of his life. Philip's constant involvement and focus in European wars took a significant toll on the treasury and caused economic difficulties for the Crown and even bankruptcies. In 1588, the English defeated Philip's
Spanish Armada, thwarting his planned invasion of the country to reinstate Catholicism, while he in turn defeated the
English Armada sent in 1589 to capitalize on the chance. But
war with England continued for the next sixteen years, in a complex series of struggles that included France, Ireland and the main battle zone, the
Low Countries. It would not end until all the leading protagonists, including himself, had died. Earlier, however, after several setbacks in his reign and especially that of his father, Philip did achieve a decisive victory against the Turks at
Lepanto in 1571, with the allied fleet of the
Holy League, which he had put under the command of his illegitimate brother,
John of Austria. He also successfully secured his succession to the throne of
Portugal. The administration of overseas conquests was reformed. Extensive questionnaires were distributed to every major town and region in New Spain called
relaciones geográficas. These surveys helped the Spanish monarchy to govern Philip's overseas possessions more effectively.
Italy Charles V abdicated the
throne of Naples to Philip on 25 July 1554, and the young king was invested with the kingdom (officially a Papal fief) on 2 October by
Pope Julius III. The date of Charles' abdication of the
throne of Sicily is uncertain, but Philip was invested with this kingdom on 18 November 1554 by Julius. In 1556, Philip decided to invade the
Papal States and temporarily held territory there, perhaps in response to
Pope Paul IV's anti-Spanish outlook. According to Philip II, he was doing it for the benefit of the
Church. In a letter to the Princess Dowager of Portugal, Regent of the Spanish kingdoms, dated 22 September 1556,
Francisco de Vargas wrote: In response to the invasion,
Pope Paul IV called for a French military intervention. After minor fights in Lazio and near Rome,
Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba, Viceroy of Naples met Cardinal
Carlo Carafa and signed the Treaty of
Cave as a compromise: French and Spanish forces left the
Papal States and the Pope declared a neutral position between France and the Spanish kingdoms. Philip led the Spanish kingdoms into the final phase of the
Italian Wars. A Spanish advance into France from the Low Countries led to their important victory at the
Battle of St. Quentin (1557). The French were defeated again at the
Battle of Gravelines (1558). The resulting
Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559 secured
Piedmont to the
Duchy of Savoy, and
Corsica to the
Republic of Genoa. Both Genoa and Savoy were allies of Spain and, although Savoy subsequently declared its neutrality between France and Spain, Genoa remained a crucial financial ally for Philip during his entire reign. The treaty also confirmed Philip's control over
Milan, Naples, Sicily, and
Sardinia. Therefore, all of southern Italy was under Spanish rule as part of the
Crown of Aragon. In the north, Milan was a duchy of the
Holy Roman Empire held by Philip. Attached to the Kingdom of Naples, the
State of Presidi in Tuscany gave Philip the possibility to monitor maritime traffic to southern Italy, whilst the grant of the Duchy of Siena to the new
Grand Duchy of Tuscany, ensured it would remain a Spanish ally. The
Council of Italy was set up by Philip in order to co-ordinate his rule over the states of Milan, Naples and Sicily. Ultimately, the treaty ended the 60-year
Franco-Habsburg wars for supremacy in Italy. It marked also the beginning of a period of peace between the Pope and Philip, as their European interests converged, although political differences remained and diplomatic contrasts eventually re-emerged. By the end of the wars in 1559,
Habsburg Spain had been established as the premier power of Europe, to the detriment of France. In France,
Henry II was fatally wounded in a joust held during the celebrations of the peace. His death led to the accession of his 15-year-old son
Francis II, who in turn soon died. The French monarchy was thrown into turmoil, which increased further with the outbreak of the
French Wars of Religion that would last for several decades. The states of Italy were reduced to second-rate powers, with Spain dominating the peninsula.
Mary Tudor's death in 1558 enabled Philip to seal the treaty by marrying Henry II's daughter,
Elisabeth of Valois, later giving him a claim to the throne of France on behalf of his daughter by Elisabeth,
Isabella Clara Eugenia.
France The French Wars of Religion (1562–1598) were primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants (Huguenots). The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the
House of Bourbon and
House of Guise, and both sides received assistance from foreign sources. Philip claimed descent from
Constantine I and
Charlemagne, justifying his intervention in French Wars of Religion and his continuing efforts to depose
Henry IV of France. Philip signed the
Treaty of Vaucelles with Henry II of France in 1556. Based on the terms of the treaty, the territory of
Franche-Comté in
Burgundy was to be relinquished to Philip. However, the treaty was broken shortly afterwards. France and the Spanish kingdoms waged war in northern France and Italy over the following years. Spanish victories at St. Quentin and Gravelines led to the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis, in which France recognised Spanish sovereignty over Franche-Comté. During the
War of the Portuguese Succession, the pretender
António fled to France following his defeats and, as Philip's armies had not yet occupied the
Azores, he sailed there with a large Anglo-French fleet under
Filippo Strozzi, a
Florentine exile in the service of France. The naval
Battle of Terceira took place on 26 July 1582, in the sea near the Azores, off
São Miguel Island, as part of the War of the Portuguese Succession and the
Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604). The Spanish navy defeated the combined Anglo-French fleet that had sailed to preserve control of the Azores under António. The French naval contingent was the largest French force sent overseas before the age of
Louis XIV.
bust of Philip II of Spain by
Pompeo Leoni,
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Spanish victory at Terceira was followed by the
Battle of the Azores between the Portuguese loyal to the claimant António, supported by French and English troops, and the Spanish-Portuguese forces loyal to Philip commanded by the admiral Don
Álvaro de Bazán. Victory in Azores completed the incorporation of
Portugal into the Spanish Empire. Philip financed the
Catholic League during the French Wars of Religion. He directly intervened in the final phases of the wars (1589–1598), ordering
Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma into France in an effort to unseat
Henry IV, and perhaps dreaming of placing his favourite daughter,
Isabella Clara Eugenia, on the French throne.
Elisabeth of Valois, Philip's third wife and Isabella's mother, had already ceded any claim to the French Crown with her marriage to Philip and in France the
Salic law remained in effect. However, the
Parlement of Paris, in power of the Catholic party, gave verdict that Isabella Clara Eugenia was "the legitimate sovereign" of France. Philip's interventions in the fighting—sending the Duke of Parma to end Henry IV's
siege of Paris in 1590 and the
siege of Rouen in 1592—contributed in saving the French Catholic Leagues's cause against a Protestant monarchy. In 1593, Henry agreed to convert to Catholicism; weary of war, most French Catholics switched to his side against the hardline core of the Catholic League, who were portrayed by Henry's propagandists as puppets of a foreign monarch, Philip. By the end of 1594 certain League members were still working against Henry across the country, but all relied on the support of the Spanish Crown. In January 1595, therefore, Henry officially declared war on the Spanish Crown, to show Catholics that Philip was using religion as a cover for an attack on the French state, and Protestants that he had not become a puppet of the Spanish Crown through his conversion, while hoping to reconquer large parts of northern France from the Franco-Spanish Catholic forces. French victory at the
Battle of Fontaine-Française in Burgundy, 5 June 1595, marked an end to the Catholic League in France. The French also made some progress during an invasion of the
Spanish Netherlands. They captured
Ham and massacred the small Spanish garrison, provoking anger among the Spanish ranks. The Spanish launched a concerted offensive that year, taking
Doullens,
Cambrai, and
Le Catelet; at Doullens, they massacred 4,000 of its citizens. On 24 April 1596, the Spanish also
conquered Calais. Following the Spanish capture of
Amiens in March 1597, the French Crown laid siege to it until it managed to
reconquer Amiens from the overstretched Spanish forces in September 1597. Henry then negotiated a peace with the Spanish Crown. The war was only drawn to an official close, however, with the
Peace of Vervins in May 1598. The 1598 Treaty of Vervins was largely a restatement of the 1559 Peace of Câteau-Cambrésis and Spanish forces and subsidies were withdrawn; meanwhile, Henry issued the
Edict of Nantes, which offered a high degree of religious toleration for French Protestants. The military interventions in France thus failed to oust Henry from the throne or suppress Protestantism in France, and yet they had played a decisive part in helping the French Catholic cause gain the conversion of Henry, ensuring that Catholicism would remain France's official and majority faith—matters of paramount importance for the devoutly Catholic Spanish king.
Mediterranean ; after the
Battle of Lepanto in 1571, Philip offers his short-lived heir
Fernando to Glory in this
allegory. of the of the Spanish army under Philip II In the early part of his reign Philip was concerned with the rising power of the
Ottoman Empire under
Suleiman the Magnificent. Fear of Islamic domination in the Mediterranean caused him to pursue an aggressive foreign policy. In 1558, Turkish admiral
Piyale Pasha captured the
Balearic Islands, especially inflicting great damage on
Menorca and enslaving many, while raiding the coasts of the Spanish mainland. Philip appealed to the Pope and other powers in Europe to bring an end to the rising Ottoman threat. Since his father's losses against the Ottomans and against
Hayreddin Barbarossa in 1541, the major European sea powers in the Mediterranean, namely the Spanish Crown and
Venice, became hesitant in confronting the Ottomans. The myth of "Turkish invincibility" was becoming a popular story, causing fear and panic among the people. In 1560, Philip II organised a
Holy League between the Spanish kingdoms and the Republic of Venice, the
Republic of Genoa, the
Papal States, the
Duchy of Savoy and the
Knights of Malta. The joint fleet was assembled at
Messina and consisted of 200 ships (60 galleys and 140 other vessels) carrying a total of 30,000 soldiers under the command of
Giovanni Andrea Doria, nephew of the famous Genoese admiral
Andrea Doria. On 12 March 1560, the Holy League captured the island of
Djerba, which had a strategic location and could control the sea routes between
Algiers and
Tripoli. As a response, Suleiman sent an Ottoman fleet of 120 ships under the command of Piyale Pasha, which arrived at Djerba on 9 May 1560. The battle lasted until 14 May 1560, and the forces of Piyale Pasha and
Turgut Reis (who joined Piyale Pasha on the third day of the battle) won an overwhelming victory at the
Battle of Djerba. The Holy League lost 60 ships (30 galleys) and 20,000 men, and Giovanni Andrea Doria was barely able to escape with a small vessel. The Ottomans retook the Fortress of Djerba, whose Spanish commander, D.
Álvaro de Sande, attempted to escape with a ship but was followed and eventually captured by Turgut Reis. In 1563, capitalizing on the political climate, the
Regency of Algiers launched the
sieges of Oran and Mers El Kébir in a large scale attempt to dislodge the major Spanish positions in Northern Africa, but the attempt met failure. Philip's rebuilt navy then
conquered Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera the following year. The Ottomans sent a
large expedition to Malta, which laid siege to several forts on the island and took some of them, but the Spanish sent a relief force under D.
García de Toledo and a rescued Álvaro de Sande, which finally drove the Ottoman army out of the island. The grave threat posed by the increasing Ottoman domination of the Mediterranean was finally reversed in one of history's most decisive battles, with the destruction of nearly the entire Ottoman fleet at the
Battle of Lepanto in 1571, by the
Holy League under the command of Philip's half brother, Don
John of Austria, and Don
Álvaro de Bazán. A fleet sent by Philip, again commanded by Don John,
reconquered Tunis from the Ottomans in 1573. The Turks soon rebuilt their fleet, and in 1574
Uluç Ali Reis managed to
recapture Tunis with a force of 250 galleys and a siege that lasted 40 days, with thousands of Spanish and Italian soldiers became prisoners. Nevertheless, Lepanto marked a permanent reversal in the balance of naval power in the Mediterranean and the end of the threat of Ottoman control. In 1585 a peace treaty was signed with the Ottomans.
Strait of Magellan During Philip's reign Spain considered the
Pacific Ocean a
mare clausum—a sea closed to other naval powers— as the only known entrance from the Atlantic, the
Strait of Magellan was at times patrolled by fleets sent to prevent entrance of non-Spanish ships. To end navigation by rival powers in the Strait of Magellan Spanish viceroy
Francisco de Toledo ordered
Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa to explore the strait and found settlements on its shores. In 1584, Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa founded two colonies in the strait:
Nombre de Jesús, and
Ciudad del Rey Don Felipe. The latter was established north of the strait with 300 settlers. The new colonies suffered from high death rates, likely as a consequence of executions, brawls, violent encounters with indigenous peoples and diseases which were rife. A contributing cause for failure of the settlement may have been poor morale, an issue that plagued the venture almost from the beginning. This can in part be explained by a series of difficulties the expedition had to go through between the departure from Spain and the arrival to the strait. Philip II's inaction despite repeated pleas by Sarmiento to aid the ailing colony has been attributed to the strain on Spain's resources that resulted from wars with England and Dutch rebels. In 1587, English corsairs renamed Ciudad del Rey Don Felipe, Puerto del Hambre, or "Port Famine". Most of the settlers had died from cold or starvation. When Sir
Thomas Cavendish landed at the site of Rey Don Felipe in 1587, he found only ruins of the settlement. The Spanish failure at colonizing the Strait of Magellan caused
Chiloé Archipelago to assume the role of protecting western Patagonia from foreign intrusions.
Valdivia and Chiloé acted as sentries, being hubs where the Spanish collected intelligence from all over Patagonia.
Revolt in the Netherlands Philip's rule in the
Seventeen Provinces known collectively as the
Netherlands faced many difficulties, leading to
open warfare in 1568. He appointed his half-sister
Margaret of Parma as Governor of the Netherlands, when he left the low countries for the Spanish kingdoms in 1559, but forced her to adjust policy to the advice of
Cardinal Granvelle, who was greatly disliked in the Netherlands, after he insisted on direct control over events in the Netherlands despite being over two weeks' ride away in Madrid. There was discontent in the Netherlands about Philip's taxation demands and the incessant
persecution of Protestants. In 1566, Protestant preachers sparked anti-clerical riots known as the
Iconoclast Fury; in response to growing Protestant influence, the army of the
Duke of Alba went on the offensive. In 1568, Alba had
Lamoral, Count of Egmont and
Philip de Montmorency, Count of Horn executed in
Brussels'
central square, further alienating the local aristocracy. There were massacres of civilians in
Mechelen,
Naarden,
Zutphen In 1572, a prominent exiled member of the Dutch aristocracy,
William the Silent,
Prince of Orange, invaded the Netherlands with a Protestant army, but he only succeeded in holding two provinces,
Holland and
Zeeland. Because of the Spanish repulse in the
Siege of Alkmaar (1573) led by his equally brutal son
Fadrique, in addition to the far greater number he massacred during the war, many of them women and children; 8,000 persons were burned or hanged in one year, and the total number of Alba's
Flemish victims can not have fallen short of 50,000. Under Requesens, the
Army of Flanders reached a peak strength of 86,000 in 1574 and retained its battlefield superiority, destroying
Louis of Nassau's German mercenary army at the
Battle of Mookerheyde on 14 April 1574, killing both him and his brother
Henry of Nassau-Dillenburg. Rampant inflation and the loss of
treasure fleets from the
New World prevented Philip from paying his soldiers consistently, leading to the so-called
Spanish Fury at
Antwerp in 1576, where soldiers ran amok through the streets, burning more than 1,000 homes and killing 6,000 citizens. Philip sent in
Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, as Governor-General of the
Spanish Netherlands from 1578 to 1592. Farnese defeated the rebels at the
Battle of Gembloux (1578), and he captured many rebel towns in the south:
Maastricht (1579),
Tournai (1581),
Oudenaarde (1582),
Dunkirk (1583),
Bruges (1584),
Ghent (1584), and
Antwerp (1585). , assassin of
William the Silent, 1590 The
States General of the northern provinces, united in the 1579
Union of Utrecht, passed an
Act of Abjuration in 1581 declaring that they no longer recognised Philip as their king. The
southern Netherlands (what is now Belgium and Luxembourg) remained under Spanish rule. In 1584,
William the Silent was assassinated by
Balthasar Gérard, after Philip had offered a reward of 25,000 crowns to anyone who killed him, calling him a "pest on the whole of Christianity and the enemy of the human race". The Dutch forces continued to fight on under Orange's son
Maurice of Nassau, who received modest help from the Queen of England in 1585. The Dutch gained an advantage over the Spanish because of their growing economic strength, in contrast to Philip's burgeoning economic troubles. The war came to an
end in 1648, when the
Dutch Republic was recognised by the Spanish Crown as independent. The eight decades of war came at a massive human cost, with an estimated 600,000 to 700,000 victims, of which 350,000 to 400,000 were civilians killed by disease and what would later be considered
war crimes. ==King of Portugal==