Who was King Philip IV of Spain?

 Philip IV was born in the Royal Palace of Valladolid on 8 April 1605.

Family

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

His paternal grandparents were King Philip II of Spain and Anna of Austria.
His maternal grandparents were Charles II of Austria and Maria Anna of
Bavaria. 

Philip  IV was a member of the royal house of Habsburg.

Love and Marriage

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 Olivares, his key minister, later deliberately tried to keep
the two apart to maintain his influence, encouraging Philip to take mistresses
instead, by which he is known to have had at least 30 progeny.

Philip had ten children by 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.

At age of 44 in 1649, Philip remarried, following the deaths of both Elisabeth
and his only legitimate heir. His choice of his second wife, 14-year-old Maria Anna,
also known as Mariana, Philip's niece and the daughter of Emperor Ferdinand III,
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.

Reign

During the reign of Philip's father, Philip III, the royal court had been dominated
by the Sandoval noble family, most strikingly by the Duke of Lerma, Philip
III's principal favorite 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 very 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 1641–42, however, and it has
been suggested that Philip paid more attention to policymaking than has traditionally
been depicted; some recent histories go so far as to describe him as 'conscientious'
in policymaking, although he is still criticised 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 

many 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 de Lerma's estates – expanded considerably during 

his long period as favourite – under administration, and to remove from office 

Cristóbal de Sandoval, Duke of Uceda, de 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.

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.

Thirty Years' War

Philip was to reign through the majority of the Thirty Years' War in Europe, a turbulent
period of military history. In Philip III's final years, Baltasar de Zúñiga had convinced
him to intervene militarily in Bohemia and the Electorate of the Palatinate on the
side of Emperor Ferdinand II. 

Once Philip himself came to power, he was convinced by de Zúñiga, appointed his
principal foreign minister, and Olivares that he should commit Spain to a more
aggressive foreign policy in alliance with the Holy Roman Empire. This would lead
Philip to renew hostilities with the Dutch in 1621 in an attempt to bring the
provinces to the negotiating table with the aim of achieving a peace treaty
favourable to Spanish global interests. Philip's government would pursue a
'Netherlands first' strategy throughout the war until 1643.

Despite this shift in policy, Philip does not seem to have been particularly bellicose;
early on he noted that having inherited such a large empire, war somewhere across
his domains was an inevitable condition, and he appeared genuinely upset when
he came to power and contemplated how much the people of Castile had paid
'in blood' to support the wars of his royal predecessors.

The Habsburg Netherlands

The 1620s were good years for Spanish foreign policy: the war with the Dutch went
well, albeit at great expense, culminating in the retaking of the key city of Breda in
1624. By the end of the decade, however, Philip's government was faced with the
question of whether to prioritise the war in Flanders or Spain's relationship with
France during the War of the Mantuan Succession (1628–1631). Philip's advisors
recommended prioritising the war in Flanders, taking action to safeguard the
Spanish Road to the Netherlands but at the cost of antagonising Louis XIII.

Strategically this was to prove a disaster.

Despite fresh Spanish successes in the mid-1630s – in particular, the triumph of
Philip's government in raising a fresh Spanish army, marching it into Germany to
defeat the Swedish-led Protestant forces at the Battle of Nördlingen in 1634 – the
increased tensions with France made war between the two Catholic states
increasingly inevitable. Olivares advised Philip that the coming war with France
would be all or nothing; Spain would win or fall by the result.

The Spanish-French war that ensued from 1635 onwards was not a foregone
conclusion. Early Spanish successes threatened Paris, and even after the Spanish
defeat at Rocroi, Spain remained a strong opponent. But from 1640 onwards,
a period which saw large-scale revolts across Spanish territories in protest
against the rising costs of the conflict, Spain was finding it difficult to
sustain the war. 

Philip reacted to the increased French threat by finally abandoning his
'Netherlands first' strategy; resources for the Army of Flanders were savagely cut,
and the fight against the French-supported rebels Catalonia took the first priority

Shortly after Rocroi, Philip – now having had to dismiss his favourite, Olivares –
issued instructions to his ambassadors to seek a peace treaty. The Peace of
Westphalia, delivered by Olivares' replacement Luis de Haro, resolved the
long running Eighty Years' War in the Netherlands and the wars in Germany, 
but the conflict with France dragged on. 

Philip responded to the perceived weakness of France
during the Fronde rebellions of 1648 by continuing the fight; he took personal
responsibility for the decision to start a fresh, and ultimately successful,
offensive against the French in Catalonia in 1651.

True victory over France never emerged, however, and by 1658, after the loss of
Dunkirk to an Anglo-French force, Philip was personally desperate for peace.

The Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, and the marriage of Philip's daughter
Maria Theresa to the young King Louis XIV finally brought the war with
France to a conclusion. The war against Portugal continued however, as
Philip fruitlessly attempted to regain control over his lost kingdom.

Military

By the late 1620s, the Spanish army was no longer as dominant on the battlefield
as it once had been. The feared tercio regiments, composed of well-disciplined
pikemen, were increasingly appearing inflexible and outmoded in the face of the
new Swedish and Dutch formations with a higher proportion of musketeers.
Philip and Olivares attempted to address the perceived weaknesses of the army,
which they concluded were primarily due to the falta de cabezas, or a lack of
leadership. In keeping with their wider agenda of renewing the concepts of duty,
service and aristocratic tradition, the king agreed to efforts to introduce more
grandees into the higher ranks of the military, working hard to overcome the
reluctance of many to take up field appointments in the Netherlands and elsewhere.

By the 1630s, the king was waiving the usual rules to enable promotion to
higher ranks on a shorter timescale, and having to pay significantly inflated
salaries to get grandees to take up even these appointments.
The performance of these officers at battles such as Rocroi left much to be desired.

Philip was also notable for his interest in the Spanish navy. Shortly after taking
power he began to increase the size of his fleets, rapidly doubling the size of the
naval budget from the start of his reign, then tripling it.

Philip is credited with a 'sensible, pragmatic approach' to provisioning and
controlling it. He was prepared to involve himself in considerable details of
naval policy; he was commenting on the detail of provisions for the armada in
1630, for example. 

The Junta de Armadas was the only junta committee to survive the fall of
Olivares intact. Even after the disastrous Battle of the Downs, Philip remained
closely interested in his navy, including ensuring ministerial attention. In 1646,
de Haro was personally involved in supplying and equipping the Atlantic fleet
from Cadiz. Throughout the period there was no 'weakening of the importance
attached to naval forces' by the king, who argued that joint land and naval
operations were essential. Some of his conclusions on naval policy were quite
advanced: after the peace of 1648, Philip argued that the Dutch fleets off the
Spanish peninsula were actually good for trade, despite concerns from his
senior officials, since they provided protection against the English and
French navies.

The Spanish Empire and the Kingdom

Philip had inherited a huge empire from his father, spanning the known world,
but many of his most difficult challenges as king would stem from domestic
problems in Spain itself. 

Spain in the early 17th century was a collection of possessions – the kingdoms
of Castile, Aragon, Valencia and Portugal, the autonomous provinces of Catalonia
and Andalusia, complete with the wider provinces of Naples, the Netherlands, Milan
etc. – all loosely joined together through the institution of the Castile monarchy and
the person of Philip IV.

Each part had different taxation, privileges and military arrangements; in practice,
the level of taxation in many of the more peripheral provinces was less than that
in Castile, but the privileged position of the Castilian nobility at all senior levels
of royal appointment was a contentious issue for the less favoured provinces. 

This loose system had successfully resisted reform and higher taxation before,
ironically resulting in Spain's having had historically, up until the 1640s at least,
fewer than the usual number of fiscal revolts for an early modern European state.

In the first years of his reign, heavily influenced by his royal favourite Olivares,
Philip focused on efforts to reform the most chaotic aspects of this system.
Frustrated by the notorious slowness of the system of royal councils, Philip
supported Olivares' establishment of juntas – small committees designed to
circumvent the more formal system and to enact policies quickly. Although
successful, these juntas excluded many of the traditional grandees and
caused resentment.

Olivares put forward the idea of a Unión de Armas, or 'Union of Arms'.
This would have involved establishing a force of 140,000 paid soldiers,
supported by equitable taxes from across the Empire, and has been termed 'the
most far-sighted proposal of any statesman of the age'; in practice, however, it
met fierce opposition from the various regional assemblies and the plan was
withdrawn. During the 1620s, again influenced by a desire to reform Spanish life
for the better, Philip also passed considerable legislation with puritanical overtones. 

In 1623, he closed all the legal brothels in Spain, extended the dormant
sumptuary laws on luxury goods and supported Papal efforts to regulate
priests' sexual behaviour more tightly.

Philip had clear intentions to try to control the Spanish currency, which had
become increasingly unstable during the reign of his father and grandfather, but in
practice, inflation soared. Partly this was because in 1627 Olivares had attempted to
deal with the problem of Philip's Genoese bankers – who had proved uncooperative
in recent years – by declaring a state bankruptcy.

With the Genoese debt now removed, Olivares hoped to turn to indigenous
bankers for renewed funds. In practice, the plan
was a disaster. The Spanish treasure fleet of 1628 was captured by the Dutch, and
Spain's ability to borrow and transfer money across Europe declined sharply.

By the 1630s, Philip's domestic policies were being increasingly impacted by
the financial pressures of the Thirty Years' War, and in particular the growing
war with France. The costs of the war were huge, and whilst they had largely
fallen upon Castile, the ability of the crown to raise more funds and men from
this source was increasingly limited.

Philip and his government were desperately trying to reduce the responsibilities
of central government in response to the overstretch of the war, and various
reform ideas that might have been pursued during the 1620s were rejected on this basis.

Financial restraints and higher taxes were put in place, but Philip was increasingly
selling off regalian and feudal rights, along with much of the royal estate to fund the
conflict. 

It has been argued that the fiscal stringencies of the 1630s, combined with the
strength and role of Olivares and the juntas, effectively cut Philip off from the
three traditional pillars of support for the monarchy: the grandees, the Church
and the Council of Castile.

Crisis came in 1640. An attempt by Olivares to intervene in Catalonia to deal
with the French invasion threat resulted in revolt. An alliance of Catalan
rebels and French royal forces proved challenging to suppress, and in trying to
mobilise Portuguese noble support for the war, Olivares triggered a second uprising.
Lisbon's nobles expelled Philip, and gave the throne to the Braganzas, marking
the end of sixty years of the Iberian Union and the beginning of the
Portuguese Restoration War. 

The next year, the Duke of Medina Sidonia attempted another rebellion against Philip
from Andalusia, possibly attempting to reproduce the Braganzas' success in Portugal. 

Although Philip and Olivares were able to repress the ducal revolt, Philip had
found himself increasingly isolated. On his return from Zaragoza, where he had
been commanding the army, he found only one of the Castilian nobility arrived
at court on Easter Day 1641. The threat of Philip's being deposed by the grandees
of Castile seemed increasingly real.

Much shaken by events, Philip's solution was to remove his royal favourite
Olivares from office in 1643 in an attempt to compromise with the Spanish elite.
He announced he would rule alone, rejecting both the concept of a royal favourite
as first minister and the system of junta government, which he began to dismantle
in favour of the older system of royal councils. 

Clemency was shown to the Duke of Medina Sidonia. The situation began
to stabilise, and before long Philip felt secure enough to revert to his preferred
method of government.

 
Luis de Haro, Olivares' nephew, took over as favourite and minister and the
counter-reform of the juntas halted. The spark of reform from Philip's earlier
years never returned.

The Catalan rebellion dragged on for several years. In 1652, the Spanish army
retook Barcelona and Philip issued an amnesty for the rebels, promising to
respect traditional customs and rights in the future.

Patronage of the arts

Philip has been remembered both for the 'astonishing enthusiasm' with which he
collected art and for his love of theatre. On the stage, he favoured Lope de Vega,
Pedro Calderón de la Barca, and other distinguished dramatists. Philip has been
credited with a share in the composition of several comedies. Court theatre used
perspective scenery, a new invention from Italy not used in commercial theatre
at the time. Some writers have likened the illusion of Baroque royal theatre to
the illusion of kingly power the performances were designed to reinforce.

Some recent scholarship has suggested that Philip's financial sponsorship of
playwrights, however, may have been less extensive than once thought.

Artistically, Philip became famous for his patronage of his court painter
Diego Velázquez, who originated from Seville;mutual contacts caused him to
become known to Olivares, who came from the same region. Velázquez was
summoned to Madrid by the king in 1624.

Despite some jealousy from the existing court painters, Velázquez rapidly
became a success with Philip, being retained for the rest of his career until his
death, painting a celebration of the Treaty of the Pyrenees for Philip. The king
and Velázquez shared common interests in horses, dogs and art, and in private
they formed an easy, relaxed relationship over the years.

Philip supported a number of other prominent painters, including Eugenio Caxés,
Vicente Carducho, Gonzales and Nardi. Philip obtained paintings from across
Europe, especially Italy, accumulating over 4,000 by the time of his death; some
have termed this unparalleled assemblage a 'mega-collection'.

Philip was nicknamed el Rey Planeta, the 'Planet King', by his contemporaries,
and much of the art and display at his court has been interpreted in the context
of his need to project power and authority, over both Spaniards and foreigners alike.

Older interpretations, which perceived Philip's court as being completely decadent, 

have been largely superseded, but the art and symbolism of the period certainly did 

not reflect the wider threat and decline of Spanish power.

Indeed, the limited Spanish military successes of the period were celebrated by royal 

artists to a disproportionate extent. Numerous artists from the Spanish Netherlands 

produced work extolling the Army of Flanders, including Vrancx, Snaeyers, 

Molenaer and de Hondt. The re-capture of Breda alone resulted in major works 

by Velázquez and the French etcher Jacques Callot, in addition to various plays and
books.

The 'Planet King' also invested in a new palace to display both his art and the ritual of
court.  Through Olivares, Philip commenced the building of the Buen Retiro palace
in Madrid,  parts of which still remain near the Prado. Work began modestly in 1631,
with the magnificent,  if costly, 'Hall of Thrones', completed by 1635.

The palace included its own 'theatre, ballroom, galleries, bull ring, gardens,
and artificial  lakes', and became the centre for artists and dramatists from across
Europe. 

The palace was built during one of the more difficult periods of Philip's reign. 

Given both its cost, in a time of stringent wartime savings, and the protest that
ensued  from a disgruntled public, it is considered to have been an important part
of the  attempt to communicate royal grandeur and authority.

Religion

María de Ágreda, a religious advisor to Philip IV during the second half
of his reign The Catholic religion and its rituals played an important part in
Philip's life, especially towards the end of his reign. Depressed by events
across his domains, he became increasingly concerned with religious affairs.

In particular, Philip paid special devotions to a painting of the Nuestra Señora
del Milagro, the Virgin of Miracles; the painting was said to miraculously raise and
lower its eyes in response to prayer. 

Whilst married to Elisabeth, Philip had placed their children under
the protection of this image; married to Mariana, they undertook special religious
ceremonies together under the gaze of the painting. Philip also had a large standard
made with the image of the painting on one side and the royal coat of arms on
the other, brought out in processions each year on 12 July.

As well as marking a strong personal religious belief, this increasingly visible link
between the crown, the Church and national symbols such as the Virgin of Miracles,
represented a key pillar of support for Philip as king.

During the emergency of 1640–1643, Philip appears to have had a crisis of faith.
Philip genuinely believed the success or failure of his policies represented God's
favour and judgement on his actions.

The combination of the revolts, the French advances and the loss of his trusted
favourite Olivares appears to have deeply shaken him. Queen Isabella and the new
president of the Council of Castile, Don Juan Chumacero – both involved in the
removal of Olivares – encouraged the king to invite mystics and visionaries from
across Europe to his court at Zaragoza. The mystics' principal advice centred on
the importance of the king's rejecting Olivares' replacement, de Haro and the
remaining pro-Olivares nobles at court. The various mystics were not acceptable
to broader Spanish noble opinion and, with de Haro's encouragement, they were
ultimately dismissed.

Death

Philip IV of Spain died on 17 September 1765 in Madrid. He was buried
in El Escorial.

Philip IV's reign, after a few years of inconclusive successes, was
characterized by political and military adversity.

He has been held responsible for the decline of Spain, which was mainly
due to organic causes largely beyond the control of any one ruler. 

Philip IV died in 1665, expressing the pious hope that his surviving son,
Charles II, who was only 4 years old at the time, would be more fortunate than
himself. 

On his death, a catafalque was built in Rome to commemorate his life.
In his will, Philip left political power as regent on behalf of the young Charles II
to his wife Mariana, with instructions that she heed the advice of a small
junta committee established for this purpose.

This committee excluded John Joseph, Philip's illegitimate son, resulting in a
chaotic powerplay between Mariana and John Joseph until his death in 1679.

The Royal History of Spain

More about the royal history of Spain on this link. 

Source pictures: Wikipedia