Philip II
By: Patrick Williams.
Series: European history in perspective
Publisher: Palgrave
Published: 2000
Place of publication: Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire [England]; New York, N.Y
Language: eng
Number of pages: 302
Subjects: Philip -- II, -- King of Spain, -- 1527-1598.; Spain -- History -- Philip II, 1556-1598.; Spain -- Kings and rulers -- Biography.
Genres: Biography.
Other titles: Philip the Second
Description: "Four hundred years after his death, Philip II remains one of the most controversial figures in history, admired and reviled in equal measure. He is a figure of global importance, the first ruler on whose territories the sun never set.

He led Europe in its defence against the seemingly irresistible power of the Ottoman Empire and many of the nations of Western Europe were forged in part by their responses to his ambitions - Portugal was conquered and most of Italy was controlled by him, while the Low Countries, England and France fought long and bitter wars against him. Philip proclaimed himself the leader of Catholic Europe but quarrelled incessantly with the popes of the Counter-Reformation.

In consolidating his monarchy in Spain, Philip used the arts as a political tool; Titian and Palestrina did some of their greatest work for him.".

"This new study traces the development of Philip II and of a kingship that lay at the heart of European political, religious and cultural evolution. It looks in detail at the ministers who worked with this most demanding of kings and at the government that evolved during his reign.

It deals also with the pressures of a tortured private life and explores the paradox of a man who as a young ruler was deeply prudent but who became extraordinarily aggressive in his old age and who by his successes and failures - both of them on an epic scale - reshaped the world in which he lived."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 259-286) and index.
Table of contents: title: Preparation for power; title: King of Spain; title: The reordering of Spain; title: The wealth of the Indies; title: Crusade, crisis and revolt in the low countries; title: War in the low countries; title: The conquests of Portugal and the Azores and the assault upon England; title: After the Armada: the struggle for Western Europe; title: Crescendo: failure, settlement and death.