Domestic Policy:Charles II

 

DOMESTIC POLICY OF CHARLES II

Carlos II named Felipe, Duke of Anjou, as his successor to the Spanish throne. He belonged to the Bourbon dynasty and was the grandson of King Louis XIV of France.

In all other countries this decision caused great fear This would mean that the thrones of Spain and France would be united under a single ruler.

Therefore, an anti-Bourbon alliance was formed and Charles, Archduke of Austria, was proposed as a candidate for the throne. This provoked the War of the Spanish Succession.

The candidates and their supporters were the following:

o   Felipe was proclaimed King of Spain (as Felipe V) in Madrid in 1700. It was supported by Castile and France

o      Archduke Carlos was proclaimed King of Spain in Barcelona in 1705, and was recognized by the courts of Aragon, Valencia and Catalonia. He also had the military support of a coalition made up of Austria, Great Britain, the United Provinces, Portugal, Savoy, and Prussia.

After Felipe's victory at the Battle of Almansa in 1707 he conquered  and Aragón, However the coalition also gained victories and the war continued

In 1711 Archduke Charles inhented the throne of Austria, which caused fear of a possible union between Spain and Austna among his allies Consequently, the Treaty of Utrecht was signed in 1713 between France and the coalition, with the exception of Austra In 1714, Felipe V took control of Barcelona and ended the war (the Treaty of Rastatt) 

The consequences of the War of the Spanish Succession were the following:

    o   France imposed Felipe V as King of Spain Both kingdoms were governed by the Bourbon dynasty However, Felipe had to renounce his right to the French throne.

    o      Austria gained the Spanish Low Countries, Naples, Sardinia and Milan Savoy acquired Sicily

    o     Great Britain gained Gibraltar. Minorca and the French colonies in North America. It also obtained trade concessions with the Spanish colonies (a monopoly on slaves)

    o   Spain lost its European teritores but maintained the ones it held in the Americas This was the lowest point in Spains decline From then onwards, it began to recover slowly

o   The Kingdom of Spain became a centralised state based on the French model Felipe V passed the 'Nueva Planta' decrees (1707-1716), which abolished the fueros and the institutions of the Crown of Aragon (Aragón, Valencia, Catalonia and Mallorca) These were replaced by Castilian laws

 

Domestic Policy:Philip IV

 

  DOMESTIC POLICY OF PHILIP IV

Philip had inherited a great empire from his father, which was world renowned, but many of his toughest challenges as king would stem from domestic issues.

Philip had inherited a great empire from his father, who was world renowned, but many of his toughest challenges as king would stem from domestic issues.

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Spain at the beginning of the 17th century was a set of possessions: the kingdoms of Castile, Aragon, Valencia and Portugal, the autonomous provinces of Catalonia and Andalusia, in the wider provinces of Naples and the Netherlands. 

Each political party had different taxes, privileges, and military arrangements, the level of taxes in many provinces was lower than in Castile, but the privileged position of the Castilian nobility was a contentious issue for the less favored provinces

In the early years of his reign, influenced by his royal favourite, Olivares, Felipe focused on efforts to reform the more chaotic aspects of this system. Frustrated by the system of royal councils, Philip supported the establishment of Olivares juntas, small committees designed to circumvent the more formal system and quickly enact policies. Although successful, these meetings excluded many of the traditional greats and caused resentment.

o   UNION OF ARMS

One of these reforms was the Union of Arms, wich proposed that all the kingdoms rules by the Spanish monarchy provide soldiers and funds to cover the cost of the European wars. In the Crown of Aragón, the cortes opposed this idea and the proposal failied.

Foreign Policy:Philip IV

 

  FOREIGN POLICY OF PHILIP IV

During this stage, politics focused on maintaining the reputation of the Monarchy in Europe. We find a time of conflicts in Europe in which Spain will be influenced.

After the fall of Olivares, the Spanish were defeated by the French at the Battle of Rocroi in 1643. By the Treaty of Westphalia.

                                                           The Thirty Years war

The Thirty Years' War took place between 1618 and 1648 and was caused by the conflicts between Catholics and Protestants in the Holy Roman Empire However, it gradually developed into a more general conflict among the great powers in Europe for European political domination. The main phases of this war were the following 

1.Protestant uprising in Bohemia. A group of Protestant nobles from Bohemia expelled the Catholics and appointed a Protestant king. The Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire , who was also King of Bohemia, fought against them.

2.The intervention of Denmark

At the same time, the United Provinces resumed their fight against Spain. The Protestants were defeated and signed the Surrender of Breda in 1626

3.Swedish participation. After this defeat, the German Catholics seized the opportunity to take the Protestants' possessions. As a result, a peace treaty was signed, Protestant property would be returned and Sweden would gain more power.

4.France joined the conflict

This preoccupied France: Although it was a Catholic state, it formed an alliance with the Protestants against the Catholic side in1643, the French army defeated the Spanish troops at the Battle of Rocroi.

The toll the war was taking led the powers involved to sign the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, ending the Thirty Years' War.

                                    Consequences of The Thirty Years War

1.The Spanish monarchy lost their dominance over Europe. The independence of the northern Low Countries was recognised. This new country became a great trading and naval power, controlling the trade routes to Asia

2.The sovereignty of the German states was recognised. Religious tolerance and limits on the power held by the emperor were established

3.Sweden became the dominant state on the Baltic coast

4.France obtained territories in the Holy Roman Empire and became the leading power in Europe.

Following the Peace of Westphalia. In 1652, the royal army took control of Barcelona and ended the revolt in Catalonia. Philip trops were defated by the French army. In 1659 they made the Treaty of the Pyrenees.

o       Consequences of the Treaty of the Pyrenees

1.France renounced Catalonia but gained the Catalonian territories of Roussillon and Cerdanya, as well as territories in Flanders.

2. A marriage was arranged between Louis XIV, King of France, and Maria Theresa, the war against Portugal continued with the support of England and France. In 1668, Spain recognised Portugal's independence. The war in France continued due to the demand of Flanders.

England and France agreed in 1657 to divide the Spanish zone of Flanders, to  began strong to the attacks against the Hispanic Monarchy. The marriage of the Infanta María Teresa, with Louis XIV of France was also stipulated. The fight against the Portuguese continued, who won led by Alfonso VI of Portugal in 1665 in the Battle of Villaviciosa.

                                                                 

    PHILIP IV

       A) BIOGRAPHY

Great or the King of the Planet.(Valladolid, April 8, 1605-Madrid, September 17, 1665), was King of Spain from March 31, 1621 until his death, and of Portugal from the same date until December 1640. 

On January 13, 1608, prince and heir. After a brief reign marked by truces and diplomatic maneuvers, the death of Felipe III in 1621 gave way to the throne.

Who are the parents of Philip IV? Philip IV is the son of Philip the III and Margarita of Austria

      - MARRIAGE AND CHILDREN

Married in 1615 with Isabel de Borbón, daughter of the King of France, with whom he had been promised at the age of six. As a result of this marriage, seven children were born, of which only two reached adulthood. One of these was Prince Baltasar Carlos (1629), who swore heir to the throne before the Castilian Cortes, before dying at the age of seventeen.  Maria Theresa of Austria and Bourbon, was Queen consort of King Louis XIV of France.

In 1644 his wife died and he remarried four years later with his niece, Archduchess Mariana of Austria, fiancée of his late son. The marriage of Felipe IV with his twelve-year-old niece produced five children, but only two reached adulthood: the Infanta Margarita (1651) and Carlos II "El Hechizado" (1661), whose death triggered the War of Succession.

Nobody knows the exact number of children he had outside of his two marriages, he was the King who had the most descendants in the history of Spain, 13 legitimate, he died without being able to give more male heirs than the Sick Carlos II.

He was the father of Carlos II of Spain, Margarita Teresa of Austria, María Teresa of Austria, Baltasar Carlos of Austria, Felipe Próspero of Austria, Juan José of Austria.

  - TERRITORIES HE INHEREDIT

King Felipe IV was the son of Felipe III and Margarita of Austria, and grandson on his father's side of Felipe II and Ana of Austria and on his mother's side of Archduke Carlos II of Styria and María Ana de Baviera. The new monarch inherited the universal hegemony of Spain, with an extensive Empire with territories in the five continents: Europe, America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. Felipe IV consolidated the tradition of delegating the political power of the monarchy to the valid one.        

                                             

Philip III

 BIOGRAPHY 

Felipe III de España, llamado «el Piadoso» (Madrid, 14 de abril de 1578-Madrid, 31 de marzo de 1621), fue rey de España y de Portugal​ desde el 13 de septiembre de 1598 hasta su muerte.

Era hijo de Felipe II y Ana de Austria(1549-1580). El 18 de abril de 1599 contrajo matrimonio en la catedral de Santa María de     Valencia con la archiduquesa Margarita de Austria hija del archiduque Carlos II de Estiria y María Ana de Baviera, y por tanto nieta del tío-abuelo paterno de Felipe, el emperador Fernando ​ Bajo su reinado España alcanzó su máxima expansión territorial.​

Aficionado al teatro, a la pintura y, sobre todo, a la caza, delegó los asuntos de gobierno en manos de su valido, el duque de Lerma, el cual, a su vez, delegó en su valido personal Rodrigo Calderón.

Domestic Policy:Philip III

                               DOMESTIC POLICY OF PHILP III

As soon as he acceded to the throne, the monarch let Francisco de Sandoval, Marquis of Denia, exercise power and named Duke of Lerma in 1599. This was not exercised by virtue of an official position, but through the friendship and trust granted to him by the king.

• Economy: Economically there were several problems. The adoption of the fleece coin (an alloy of silver and copper) on a large scale for transactions in the interior of the country faced the problem that since 1599 manipulations were carried out that consisted of removing silver from the fleece coin, and even removing weight from the currency, to speculate later with that metal. The fleece coin would not stop devaluing against the silver real. This evil would last until the 1680s. On the other hand, the avalanche of precious metals coming from America was such that there was an inflation that in the first half of the seventeenth century would reach 107%. On the other hand, Philip III had found almost empty coffers because of the enormous cost of wars. 
• Expulsion of the Moriscos (1609 to 1610):  In 1609 the expulsion of the Moors from Spain was decreed for the following reasons: 
  
  
  
• The attitude of unconvinced Christians, in a State defending Catholicism.
• His possible alliance with the Turks and Berbers who constantly attacked the coasts of the Levant.
• Its unpopularity among the population.
• The need for the State to control its wealth and values.
• Between 1609 and 1610 they left the peninsula.

Foreign Policy: Philip III

 FOREIGN POLICY OF PHILIP III

• Against England: When Philip III came to the throne in 1599 the war against England continued and a fleet of 50 ships under the command of Martín Padilla was sent to attack the coasts of Protestant England, given the success of expeditions such as Cornwall in 1595, however the fleet was totally destroyed by a storm,  before reaching the Azores Islands. 
  
  
  
• Against the Low Countries: Philip II of Spain had bequeathed these territories to his daughter Isabella Clara Eugenia and her husband, Archduke Albert, on the condition that when they died without heirs, they would return to be part of the Spanish Crown.
• Against France: Although Philip III's reign with respect to Henry IV of France begins with a pre-signed peace with Spain, Henry is killed in 1610 while preparing a campaign against Spain in Italy. There was a time of instability in the French kingdom. In this way, the peace with France that Philip II of Spain had concluded in his last moments (Vervins, 1598) was consolidated in 1615 through two marriages of the French king, with a Spanish infanta, Anne of Austria, and the crown prince of Spain, the future Philip IV, with Isabella of Bourbon.
• Against Italy: The Duke of Osuna, viceroy of Naples, and the Marquis of Villafranca, governor in Milan, directed the policy of the Spanish monarchy in Italy, which met with resistance from the Duchy of Savoy and the Republic of Venice. To ensure the connection between Milan and the Netherlands, a new route was opened through the Valtellina in Switzerland and in 1618 the conspiracy of Venice took place, in which the authorities undertook a persecution against pro-Spanish agents.
• The Thirty Years War (1618 to 1648): In this war Spain supported Emperor Ferdinand II of Habsburg against Frederick V, who had the support of France and England. This was happening in the midst of the confrontation between Catholics and Protestants in Bohemia and Germany. This conflict would be of great intensity. Some have dubbed this event the real World War  prior to the one that occurred in the twentieth century.