Philip IV of Spain

Philip IV
King of Spain and Portugal (more...)
King of Spain (more...)
Reign	March 31, 1621-September 17, 1665
Predecessor	Philip III
Successor	Charles II
King of Portugal (more...)
Reign	March 31, 1621-December 1, 1640
Predecessor	Philip II
Successor	John IV
Consort	Elisabeth of Bourbon Mariana of Austria
Issue
Baltasar Carlos, Prince of the Asturias María Teresa, Queen of France Margaret Theresa, Holy Roman Empress Philip Prospero, Prince of Asturias Charles II John of Austria the Younger
Father	Philip III of Spain
Mother	Margaret of Austria
Born	April 8, 1605(1605-04-08) Valladolid, Spain
Died	September 17, 1665 (aged 60) Madrid, Spain

Philip IV (Felipe IV, Filipe III), (8 April, 1605 – 17 September, 1665) was King of Spain between 1621 and 1665, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, and King of Portugal until 1640. On the eve of his death in 1665, the Spanish empire reached its historical zenith spanning almost 3 billion acres.

Philip IV was born in Valladolid, and was the eldest son of Philip III and his wife Margaret of Austria.

Life

Philip IV's reign, after a few years of inconclusive successes, was characterized by political and military decay and adversity. He has been held responsible for the decline of Spain, which was mostly due, however, to organic causes largely beyond the control of any one ruler. Philip certainly possessed more energy, both mental and physical, than his diffident father. His handwritten translation of Francesco Guicciardini's texts on political history still exists, and he was a fine horseman and keen hunter.

His artistic taste is shown by his patronage of his court painter Diego Velázquez; his love of letters by his favoring Lope de Vega, Pedro Calderón de la Barca, and other immortal dramatists. He is credited, on fairly probable testimony, with a share in the composition of several comedies. He also commenced the building of the Buen Retiro palace in Madrid, parts of which still remain near the Prado.

Painting of a youthful Philip IV, displaying the prominent "Habsburg lip".

His good intentions were no avail to governance, however. Feeling himself not yet qualified to rule when he ascended to the throne at age 16, he allowed himself to be guided by the most capable men he could find. His favourite, Olivares, was a far more honest and capable man than his predecessor the Duke of Lerma, and better fitted for the office of chief minister than any Spaniard of the time, perhaps. Philip, however, lacked the confidence to free himself from Olivares's influence once he did come of age. With Olivares's encouragement, he rather busied himself with frivolous amusements.

In December 1st, 1640, a uprising took place in Lisbon expelling King Philip IV of Spain (Philip III of Portugal) from the Portuguese throne, giving it to the Braganzas. This was the end of 60 years of the Iberian Union and the beginning of the Portuguese Restoration War (lost by the Habsburgs).

By 1643, when disasters falling on all sides led to the dismissal of the all-powerful minister, Philip had largely lost the power to devote himself to hard work. After a brief struggle with the task of directing the administration of the most extensive and worst-organized multi-national state in Europe, he sank back into indolence and let other favourites govern.

His political opinions were those he had inherited from his father and grandfather. He thought it his duty to support the House of Habsburg and the cause of the Roman Catholic Church against the Protestants, to assert his sovereignty over the Dutch, and to extend the dominions of his family. The utter exhaustion of his people in the course of perpetual war, against the Netherlands, France, Portugal, Protestant forces in the Holy Roman Empire and Great Britain, was seen by him with sympathy but he considered it an unavoidable misfortune, since he could not have been expected to renounce his legitimate rights, or to desert what he viewed as the cause of God, the Church and the House of Habsburg.

He was idealised by his contemporaries as the model of Baroque kingship. Outwardly he maintained a bearing of rigid solemnity, and was seen to laugh only three times in the course of his entire public life. But, in private, his court was grossly corrupt. Victorian historians prudishly attributed the early death of his eldest son, Baltasar Carlos, to debauchery, encouraged by the gentlemen entrusted by the king with his education. This shocked the king, but its effect soon wore off. Philip IV died broken-hearted in 1665, expressing the pious hope that his surviving son, Carlos, would be more fortunate than himself. On his death, a catafalque was built in Rome to commemorate his life.

Ancestors

House of Habsburg
Spanish line

Emperor Charles V (King Charles I) Children    Philip II of Spain    Maria, Holy Roman Empress    Joan of Spain    Don John (illegitimate)    Margaret of Parma (illegitimate) Philip II Children include    Carlos, Prince of Asturias    Isabella of Spain    Catherine, Duchess of Savoy    Philip III of Spain Philip III Children include    Anne, Queen of France    Philip IV of Spain    Maria Ana, Holy Roman Empress    Infante Carlos    Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand Philip IV Children include    Balthasar Charles, Prince of Asturias    Maria Theresa, Queen of France    Margaret, Holy Roman Empress    Charles II of Spain Charles II

Family

Siblings

• Anne of Austria (1601–1666), who became Queen of France;
• Maria Anna of Spain (1606–1646), who became Holy Roman Empress;
• Ferdinand, who became Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands

Children

With Elisabeth of Bourbon (1603–1644, daughter of Henry IV of France) — married 1615 at Burgos

• Infanta Maria Margaret (Maria Margarita) (1621)
• Infanta Margaret Maria Catherine (Margarita Maria Catalina) (1623)
• Infanta Maria Eugenia (1625–1627)
• Infanta Isabella Maria Theresa (Isabel Maria Teresa) (1627)
• Baltasar Carlos, Prince of the Asturias (1629–1646)
• Infanta Maria Anna Antonia (Mariana or Maria Ana Antonia) (1636)
• Maria Theresa of Spain (1638–1683), queen consort of France as first wife of Louis XIV of France

With Mariana of Austria (1634–1696) - his niece - — in 1649

• Margaret of Spain (July 12, 1651 – 12 March 1673), first wife of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
• Infanta Maria Ambrosia de la Concepción (1655)
• Philip Prospero of Spain (1657–1661).
• Infante Thomas Charles (Tomas Carlos) (1658–1659)
• Charles II of Spain (1661–1700)

With Maria Calderon{a}

• John of Austria the Younger {1629 – 1679}

In fiction

• The novel The king Amaz'd by the Spanish novelist Gonzalo Torrente Ballester is an ironic portrait of the early years of Philip IV's reign. The movie El rey pasmado, based on the novel, was directed by Imanol Uribe and features Gabino Diego as Philip in his early reign.
• Spanish author Arturo Pérez-Reverte gives an exquisite description of the difficult social, political and military conditions during the reign of Philip IV in his series of bestselling novels starring the swashbuckler Captain Alatriste.
• The children's novel I, Juan de Pareja (a Newbery award winner by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino) chronicles, in part, the period of painter Diego Velazquez's life spent in Philip IV's court as court painter. Philip IV is portrayed as sensitive, shy, and kind-hearted.

References

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

• La Política Internacional de Felipe IV