Philip+II

=Philip II=

Philip II, also known as Philip of Prudent, was born on May 21, 1527 and died September 13, 1598. He was King of Spain and Portugal, Naples, and Sicily; when he was married to Mary I (known as Bloody Mary), he was also King of England and Ireland. He was born in Valladolid, the son of Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire and Isabella of Portugal. Under Philip's ruling, Spain reached the peak of its power and he was known to "intervene personally on behalf if his humblest subjects." Philip was also lord of seventeen provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding numerous titles for several different territories. In fact, The Philippines were named after him.

In the early years of his reign Philip lived in the Netherlands, but eventually decided to return to Spain. Although sometimes described as an incomplete monarch, Philip faced many constitutional constraints on his authority. This was largely influenced by the growing strength of the bureaucracy during his reign. Charles V had left Philip with a debt of about 36 million ducats and an annual deficit of 1 million ducats. Aside from reducing state revenues for overseas expeditions, the domestic policies of Philip II made Spain struggle, and would, in the following century, contribute to its decline, as maintained by some historians.

Upon the death of his wife, Mary I of England, Philip offered a marriage contract to Mary's sister Elizabeth. Elizabeth denied his offer, and soon the two nations were at war. This conflict, which lasted several decades, was known as the Anglo-Spanish War.