King Philip II Of Spain Research Paper

King Philip II of Spain an Absolute Monarch Philip II of Spain was born May 21, 1527 in Valladolid Spain , he was the son of The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Isabella of Portugal. Philip II became king before his father died in 1556 and inherited Naples, the Netherlands, Sicily and Milan from his father. He ruled one of the most powerful empires that shaped him into an absolute monarch. During his reign Spain began their Golden Age. They had notable advances in literature, music and art(Goodman). Philip II was a devoted Catholic king. During his reign he wanted greatly to make England a Catholic country again. In 1588, Philip II in an attempt to show his absolute power sent the Spanish Armada to invade England and overthrow protestant …show more content…
His first marriage was with Maria Manuela his cousin, Princess of Portugal they were married 1543-1545. His second marriage with Mary Tudor made him King of England. His marriage to Mary Tudor Queen of England during 1554-1558 made Spain an even Stronger Empire. Both Catholic, Together King philip and Queen mary fought hard on hershey and restoring catholicism with Cardinal Pole, reconciling to rome and King Philip’ Continuing his father's war with France, he drew England into the conflict’( Parker). Protestants suffered very harsh persecution during this time due to King Philip nickname being “The most catholic king” and Mary’s harsh parliaments in …show more content…
Many of the towns and cities in the Netherlands resented Habsburg attempts to centralize the administration of the Netherlands(Ker). By the 1560s, Protestantism and Calvinism had become popular in parts of the Netherlands,the Habsburgs attempting to restore Roman Catholicism was one of the reasons why the Netherlands wanted independence from Spain. Philip II needed the Netherlands for its wealth. He would impose taxes on the Netherlands to help pay for wars, citizens of the netherlands greatly resented this. In an attempt to show how strong his power was he ordered duque de Alba to replace his half-sister, Margaret of Parma, as governor, Alba's harsh methods failed to end the Netherlands revolt(Parker). So he began the heresy laws and persecutions of protestants King Philip II would do whatever it would take to keep the Netherlands under his empire and thats what made him an absolute