Philip IV, King of Spain and Portugal

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Philip IV Habsburg of Spain

Spanish: Felipe IV de Habsburgo, Rey de España y Portugal
Also Known As: "Felipe IV el Grande", "rey de España y Portugal"
Birthdate:
Birthplace: Valladolid, Valladolid, Castilla-Leon, Kingdom of Spain (Spain)
Death: September 17, 1665 (60)
El Escorial, Madrid, Madrid, Kingdom of Spain (Spain)
Place of Burial: El Escorial, Madrid, Madrid, Kingdom of Spain
Immediate Family:

Son of Philip III of Spain and Portugal and Margaret of Austria
Husband of Isabel de Francia, reina consorte de España and Mariana de Austria, Reina consorte de España
Ex-partner of María Inés Calderón; Constanza de Ribera y Orozco, dama de la Reina and Casilda Manrique de Luyando y Hurtado de Mendoza
Father of María Margarita, Infanta de España; Margarita María Catalina, Infanta de España; María Eugenia, Infanta de España; Isabel María Teresa, Infanta de España; Baltasar Carlos de España, Príncipe de Asturias and 13 others
Brother of Anne of Austria; Maria Francisca de Austria y Austria Estiria, Princess of Spain; Reina Consorte María Ana Margarita of Habsburg-Spain, Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Queen consort of Hungary and B; Carlos de Austria y Austria, Infante de España; Fernando de Austria, cardenal-infante and 2 others

Occupation: King of Spain, spanyol király, Ispanijos k (1621-1665)
Managed by: Henn Sarv
Last Updated:

About Philip IV, King of Spain and Portugal

http://genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00000295&tree=LEO

Predecessor: Philip III of Spain Successor: Charles II of Spain

  • King of Portugal and the Algarves: Reign 31 March 1621 – 1 December 1640

Predecessor: Philip II of Portugal Successor: John IV



Philip IV, (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.

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.

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Philip IV, King of Spain and Portugal's Timeline

1605
April 8, 1605
Valladolid, Valladolid, Castilla-Leon, Kingdom of Spain (Spain)
May 1605
Iglesia Conventual San Pablo, Valladolid, Valladolid, Castile and León, Kingdom of Spain (Spain)
1621
1621
1623
1623
1625
1625
1627
31, 1627
1629
April 7, 1629
Madrid, Community of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
October 17, 1629
Madrid, Spain
1631
June 9, 1631
Vélez-Málaga, Málaga, Andalusia, Spain