Philip IV of Spain

Infobox Spanish Royalty|monarch
name =Philip IV
title =King of Spain and Portugal

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succession =King of Spain
reign =March 31, 1621-September 17, 1665
coronation =
predecessor =Philip III
successor =Charles II
succession1 =King of Portugal
reign1 =March 31, 1621-December 1, 1640
coronation1 =
predecessor1 =Philip II
successor1 =John IV
spouse =Elisabeth of Bourbon
Mariana of Austria
issue =Baltasar Carlos, Prince of the Asturias
Maria Theresa, 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
date of birth =birth date|1605|4|8|mf=y
place of birth =Valladolid, Spain
date of death =death date and age|1665|9|17|1605|4|8
place of death =Madrid, Spain
buried =

Philip IV ( _es. "Felipe IV", _pt. "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.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

Family

iblings

* 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 " [http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0460877305 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 _es. "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

* [http://www.hispavox.com/FelipeIV/ La Política Internacional de Felipe IV]

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