Skip to content
My Notes
Reformations
Key People and Terms
King Philip II

King Philip II

  • Very strongly Catholic
    • Sometimes referred to as the “Most Catholic King”
  • Aggressively concentrated his authority and used the Spanish Inquisition to enforce religious uniformity.
  • Was an extreme micromanager, and he refused to delegate anything.
    • He would even correct spelling on government documents.
  • This led to him falling behind in his work.
  • He aimed to make Spain a dominant power in Europe.
  • He failed at this goal
  • After importing lots of Gold and Silver, he caused massive inflation
  • In addition, he racked up debt due to wars, leading to him canceling his debts multiple times.
    • In spite of this, by the end of his reign, two-thirds of Spain’s budget went to paying interest
  • He failed to defeat a revolt in the Netherlands
  • He also had terrible relations with England
Puritans