Philip II of Spain

Philip II of Spain

The son of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Queen Isabella of Portugal, Philip II was a strong catholic King of Spain who led the inquisition against the protestants, and attempted to take over England with his great fleet of ships called the Spanish Armada.

Philip II was born on May 21, 1526 and was the only legitimate son of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (2). He ruled from 1556 up until his death in 1598. Philip tried to keep Spain as the leading power in Europe and the rest of the world (1).

One of the most important things that happened during Philip's rule was the Spanish Inquisition. Philip, being a very devout Catholic did all possible things to stop the spread of Protestantism. This included deaths of many people he considered to be heretics because of their loyalty to other religions besides Catholicism. He also fought many wars as a leader of the counter-reformation. One was when he attempted to invade England with his Great Spanish Armada and overthrow the Protestant Queen, Elizabeth I. Philip was formerly married to Elizabeth's half sister, Mary Tudor while she was Queen of England. However, she was unpopular to the people because she was also Catholic and killed many Protestants which is how she received the name Bloody Mary (2). After and attempt to wed Elizabeth was failed, Philip conspired with Mary Queen of Scots who was also catholic to overthrow Elizabeth and restore a Catholic Monarchy back to England. However, Elizabeth found out about the plans and captured Mary, and had her executed (1). The execution of Mary is what finally made the decision for Philip to send the Armada to Spain. So in 1588, Philip sent the great Spanish Armada to invade England and attempt to conquer it (3). Again England found out about the move and was ready for the Spanish Ships. Disabled by the remnants of a hurricane, the big bulky ships were easily out maneuvered by the small fleet of agile British ships that also had superior gunnery. Due those two facts the Spanish Armada was sent back to Spain sporting a bad loss to the British Navy, and Marking the decline of the great Spanish Empire. After this little war, the British were never threatened by the Spanish again (1).

Another of Philips wars against Protestantism was when he tried to put down the rebellions in the Netherlands which were led by William of Orange. The method of defense by William