Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV, also called the Planet King, was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered for his patronage of the arts, including such artists as Diego Velázquez, and his rule over Spain during the Thirty Years' War.
By the time of his death, the Spanish Empire had reached approximately 12.2 million square kilometres in area, the largest empire in the world, but in other aspects was in decline, a process to which Philip contributed with his inability to achieve successful domestic and military reform. He was succeeded on his death by his young son Charles II as King of Spain and in 1640 by John IV as King of Portugal.
Personal life
Philip IV was born in the Royal Palace of Valladolid, and was the eldest son of Philip III and his wife, Margaret of Austria. In 1615, at the age of 10, Philip was married to 13-year-old Elisabeth of France. Although the relationship does not appear to have been close, some have suggested that Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares, his key minister, later deliberately tried to keep the two apart to maintain his influence, encouraging Philip to take mistresses instead, by whom he is known to have had at least 30 progeny.Philip had ten children with Elisabeth, with only one being a son, Balthasar Charles, who died at the age of sixteen in 1646. The death of his son deeply shocked the King, who appears to have been a good father by the standards of the day. Elisabeth was able to conspire with other Spanish nobles to remove Olivares from the court in 1643, and for a brief period she held considerable influence over Philip; by the time of her death, however, she was out of favour, following manoeuvering by Olivares' successor and nephew, Luis de Haro.
Aged 44 in 1649, Philip remarried, following the deaths of both Elisabeth and his only son. His choice of his second wife, 14-year-old Maria Anna, also known as Mariana, Philip's niece and the daughter of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, was guided by politics and Philip's desire to strengthen the relationship with Habsburg Austria. They were married on 7 October 1649. Maria Anna bore him five children, but only two survived to adulthood, a daughter Margarita Teresa, born in 1651, and the future Charles II of Spain in 1661 – but the latter was sickly and considered in frequent danger of dying, making the line of inheritance potentially uncertain.
Perceptions of Philip's personality have altered considerably over time. Victorian authors were inclined to portray him as a weak individual, delegating excessively to his ministers, and ruling over a debauched Baroque court. Victorian historians even attributed the early death of Balthasar to debauchery, encouraged by the gentlemen entrusted by the King with his education. The doctors who treated the Prince at that time in fact diagnosed smallpox, although modern scholars attribute his death to appendicitis. Historians' estimation of Philip gradually improved in the 20th century, with comparisons between Philip and his father being increasingly positive – some noting that he possessed much more energy, both mental and physical, than his diffident father.
Philip was idealized by his contemporaries as the model of Baroque kingship. Outwardly he maintained a bearing of rigid solemnity; foreign visitors described him as being so impassive in public he resembled a statue, and he was said to have been seen to laugh only three times in the course of his entire public life. Philip certainly had a strong sense of his 'royal dignity', but was also extensively coached by Olivares in how to resemble the Baroque model of a sovereign, which would form a key political tool for Philip throughout his reign. Philip was a fine horseman, a keen hunter and a devotee of bull-fighting, all central parts of royal public life at court during the period.
Privately, Philip appears to have had a lighter persona. When he was younger, he was said to have a keen sense of humor and a 'great sense of fun'. He privately attended 'academies' in Madrid throughout his reign – these were lighthearted literary salons, aiming to analyze contemporary literature and poetry with a humorous touch. A keen theatre-goer, he was sometimes criticized by contemporaries for his love of these 'frivolous' entertainments. Others have captured his private personality as 'naturally kind, gentle and affable'. Those close to him claimed he was academically competent, with a good grasp of Latin and geography, and could speak French, Portuguese and Italian well. Like many of his contemporaries, including Olivares, he had a keen interest in astrology. His handwritten translation of Francesco Guicciardini's texts on political history still exist.
Although interpretations of Philip's role in government have improved in recent years, Diego Velázquez's contemporary description of Philip's key weakness – that 'he mistrusts himself, and defers to others too much' — remains relevant. Although Philip's Catholic beliefs no longer attract criticism from English language writers, Philip is still felt to have been 'unduly pious' in his personal life. Notably, from the 1640s onwards he sought the advice and counsel of a noted cloistered abbess, Sor María de Ágreda, exchanging a number of letters with her. This did not stop Philip for becoming known for his numerous affairs, particularly with actresses, as encouraged by the Count-Duke Olivares. The most famous of these affairs was with the actress María Calderón, with whom he had a son in 1629, Juan José, who was brought up as a royal prince. By the end of the reign, and with the health of Carlos, Prince of Asturias in doubt, there was a real possibility of Juan José's claiming the throne, which added to the instability of the regency years.
Philip, Olivares and his royal favorites
During the reign of Philip's father, Philip III, the royal court had been dominated by the Sandoval noble family, most strikingly by Francisco de Sandoval y Rojas, 1st Duke of Lerma, Philip III's principal favourite and chief minister for almost all of his reign. Philip IV came to power as the influence of the Sandovals was being undermined by a new noble coalition, led by Don Baltasar de Zúñiga. De Zúñiga regarded it as essential that the Sandovals be unable to gain an influence over the future king; de Zúñiga first began to develop his own influence over Prince Philip, and then introduced his nephew, Olivares, to the prince, ten years old at the time.At first, Philip did not particularly take to Olivares. Over the course of at least a year, however, the relationship became close, with Philip's tendency towards underconfidence and diffidence counteracted by Olivares' drive and determination. Olivares rapidly became Philip's most trusted advisor, and when Philip ascended the throne in 1621, at the age of sixteen, he showed his confidence in Olivares by ordering that all papers requiring the royal signature should first be sent to the count-duke. Philip retained Olivares as his confidant and chief minister for the next twenty years.
Early in his reign, Philip would be woken by Olivares in the morning to discuss the day's affairs and would meet with him twice more during the day, although later this routine declined until the King would hold only one short meeting on policy with Olivares each day. Philip intervened far more in policies during 1641–1642, however, and it has been suggested that Philip paid more attention to policy making than has traditionally been depicted; some recent histories go so far as to describe him as 'conscientious' in policy making, although he is still criticized for his failure to make timely decisions.
Philip himself argued that it was hardly appropriate for the King himself to go house to house amongst his ministers to see if his instructions were being carried out. The close relationship between Philip and Olivares was demonstrated by their portraits' being placed side by side at the Buen Retiro Palace — an act unheard of in Europe at the time. Philip's relationship with Olivares, however, was not a simplistic one. The pair had multiple rows and arguments over the course of their relationship, both as a result of their different personalities and differences of opinion over policies.
Initially, Philip chose to confirm the reappointment of his father's household to assuage grandee opinion. Under the influence of de Zúñiga and Olivares, however, Philip was then quick to place Lerma's estates – expanded considerably during his long period as favorite – under administration, and to remove from office Cristóbal de Sandoval, Duke of Uceda, Lerma's son, who had initially helped de Zúñiga remove his own father from office to advance his own position. Philip's initial announcements reflected an intent to reform the monarchy to the sober, moral position it had been under his grandfather, including selecting ministers whose grandfathers had served under Philip II.
Philip has in the past been considered to be 'unimaginative' in his politics, but recent histories have stressed the more radical elements of his first two decades in power. There was a febrile atmosphere in Spain in the early 17th century, with numerous arbitrista offering various advice on how to solve Spain's various ills; this advice could, and would, be given in person by those of the lower classes to the King on suitable occasions, provided it was presented with the aim of strengthening the crown.
Those debates extended to the nature of the monarchy. It has been suggested that the writers of the period who best captured Philip's view of royal authority were Justus Lipsius and Giovanni Botero, who promoted religiously inspired, stoic self-sacrifice and a view of Habsburg family-led hegemony respectively. Whilst at one level conservative – harking back in foreign policy to the period of Philip II, invoking traditional values at home – Philip's policies were also radical, rejecting the policy towards the rebellious Dutch that had held since 1609, entering into the Thirty Years' War, and introducing a system of junta, or small committee, government across Spain in competition to the traditional Polysynodial System of royal councils.
Following Olivares' fall from power amidst the crisis of 1640–1643, the victim of failed policies and jealousy from the nobles excluded from power, Philip initially announced that he would rule alone, becoming in effect his own first minister. The junta system of government began to be dismantled in favour of the older council system. In due course, this personal rule reverted to rule through a royal favourite, initially Luis de Haro, a nephew of Olivares and a childhood playmate of Philip's, and the counter-reform of the committee system halted. De Haro has not been highly regarded by historians; the comment of one, that de Haro was the 'embodiment of mediocrity', is not atypical. After de Haro's death in 1661, Olivares' son-in-law, Ramiro Núñez de Guzmán, became a royal favourite in his place.