The reign of Philip II
Here you have a text about Philip II reign. You have to place the
different parts in the correct order. It is divided in two great
topics: Foreign affairs and national affairs.
1. - National affairs
Internal affairs The prince Charles, son of Philip II, showed
The most important affairs were: evidence of behaviour problems since he was
1. Rebellion of the Moorish in very young. To avoid conflicts, Philip II
Alpujarras ordered his confinement in the palace where he
2. Conflicts in Aragon after the died in strange circumstances.
imprisonment of Antonio Perez. That is the origin of the leyenda negra against
3. The death of the prince Charles. Spain
4. Protestant focus in Spain.
Besides we could mention the reaction against Antonio Perez was the State Secretary and
the presence of protestants in Valladolid and always was engaged in intrigues. He was
Seville. Philip II ordered to finish them as soon accused of Escobedo’s murder. Perez spent a
as possible. The Inquisition organized some long time in prison but he managed to escape
autos de fe. and went to Aragon, where Philip II could not
ask for his detention according to the fueros.
That is why he was accused of heterodox
religious practices so the Inquisition could
arrest him since this institution was the only
one with jurisdiction in the Iberian Kingdoms.
The Moorish revolution in Alpujarras was the The people in Aragon took it as an offence
consequence of the religious policy that because the king had not respected their
forbade the Moorish to speak Arabic and to institutions and traditions. So there was a revolt
maintain their costumes and traditions. This and Antonio Perez escaped to France.
was the continuation of the policy started since Then Philip II sent the army to pacify the
the Catholic Kings reign. kingdom and modified the fueros in order to
The Moorish were led by Aben Humeya and appoint virreyes that were not from Aragon as
received the Turks support. The revolution was well as the possibility of removing the Justicia
defeated when Juan de Austria beat the Mayor. Justicia Mayor was a kind of
Moorish. More than 50,000 Moorish died and ombudsman that protected the rights of the
the rest were spread all over the country. Aragon’s people.
However it was an unsolved problem.
2. - Foreign affairs
Philip II inherited some unsolved conflicts The war with France continued during the first
during his father’s reign: part of reign. The Spanish army defeated the
French in the battle of San Quintin. As a
- The war with France. consequence of the Treaty of Cateu –
- The confrontation with the Turks. Cambresis signed in 1559 peace between Spain
and France was restored until the end of the
century.
When Henry III of France died without
succession, Philip II wanted one of his
daughters to occupy the French throne. That is
why Spain invaded France but was defeated in
The conflict with the United Provinces
1594. Therefore, Phillip II accepted Henry IV
reappeared because the protestant had alliances
and signed the Treaty of Vervins in 1598 to
with France and England.
reduce the international conflicts in which
Phillip II sent there his best representatives:
Spain was immersed.
Duque de Alba and his brother Juan de Austria.
He spent a lot of money to finance several
campaigns without solving the situation
definitely.
Finally, he ceded these territories to his
daughter Isabel Clara Eugenia, married to
Alberto of Austria. Philip II wanted an alliance with England so he
married Mary I. However, the Queen died soon
and Elisabeth I succeeded her sister. Elisabeth I
supported the rebels in the United Provinces
and the conflict between both countries arose.
Philip II organised the Armada to conquest
England but it was defeated by the English
Other foreign affairs were:
navy as well as the stormy weather that
- The war with England.
dispersed the fleet.
- The revolution of the United
With this disaster, Spain lost the entire navy.
Provinces
- The incorporation of Portugal to the
Spanish Monarchy.
The Turks gained influence in the
Mediterranean area so Philip II tried to hinder
When Don Sebastian, king of Portugal, died
their advance. He singed an alliance with the
without succession in the battle of
Pope and the Venetian Republic...
Alcazaquivir, Portugal was incorporated to the
They prepared a squadron led by Juan de
Spanish Monarchy in 1580. Then, all the
Austria. The Turks were defeated in the battle
Portuguese colonies in America, Asia and
of Lepanto. In this battle, Miguel de Cervantes
Africa belonged to Spain.
lost his arm.
Once you have ordered the text, relate these facts with its
correspondent paragraph.
This episode inspired Verdi to composed his famous opera titled Don Carlo
The monastery of El Escorial was built to commemorate the triumph against the French
As a consequence of this event, it was said that “ the Spanish empire was so extensive
that the sun never set”
The disaster was so dramatic that Philip II said that he did not send the squadron
to fight against the tempest but the men”
Cervantes lost his left arm in this battle so he was called “El manco de …………….”
Due to the Spanish repression, the Dutch threaten their
children saying be quiet of the Duke of Alba will come.
Explain the meaning of the expressions:
- “Un imperio en el que nunca se ponía el sol”
- “He mandado mi escuadra para luchar contra los hombres no contra
los elementos”.