Adam Zalenski, Kailey McSteen

Mr. Malone
AP European History
October 9, 2019

“Am I Absolute” Essay: Philip II of Spain

What makes a monarch of a nation truly absolute? Has the term “absolute monarch” been

overextended and labeled upon too many rulers during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in

Europe? To reach a conclusion to these inquires, it is best to choose a ruler generally associated

with absolutism and analyze whether that ruler was truly an absolute monarch. One of earliest

“absolute monarchs” during this era was Philip II of Spain. Philip II, the heir of his father

Charles V, came to power in Spain in 1566; from which he controlled a vast empire extending

across the Iberian Peninsula, north in the Netherlands, east into Italy, and across the Atlantic

Ocean. Furthermore, Philip II wished to consolidate this grand empire through the assertion of

“divine right” and strict implementation of Catholicism, as well as aggressive monarchial

authority within the provinces and states he controlled outside of Spain. With this information in

mind, Philip II was seemingly the embodiment of absolutism; however Philip II is an example of

how the term “absolute monarch” can be overapplied and exaggerated. Philip II, while he

attempted to have total control over his empire and the people that inhibited it, failed to

consolidate his empire and people and lacked the ability to enforce a central government with

him as the head. This being said, Philip II of Spain would be lower on the spectrum of an

absolute monarch, ranked a 5/10. His effort to control the religion, economy, military, and other

structures within the Spanish Empire demonstrate his absolute ideals, however his failure to see

these efforts to fruition and consolidate his empire led to the decline of Spanish power near the

end of his rule, diminishing his true embodiment of “absolutism”.

 There were a couple of factors within Spain that bolstered its preeminence in Europe and

reflected Philip II’s attempts to be an absolute monarch. Religion was the most notable of these,

as Philip II was the greatest advocate of Catholicism within Europe and deemed himself the

“Most Catholic King”. His self-proclaimed title fell in line with the actions he took on his

empire, as he claimed divine right and sought to Catholicize all those within his empire, seen

through the Spanish Inquisition and assertion of strong monarchial authority. He used brutal

tactics to enforce Catholicism and worked to place himself in the center of religious affairs not

only within Spain, but in the Netherlands and other controlled provinces. Religion is an example

of the many other aspects Philip II wished to have strict control on, including the government,

military, social structure, and legal structure of Spain. Philip II expanded royal authority by

curbing the monarchy’s dependency on traditional aristocracy and supervising the work of all

departments. This thus altered the social structure and government in such a way that granted

Philip more control over his land and the people that helped in controlling it. Blending both

divine right and legal authority, Philip deemed himself above law and ordered the deaths of

people he considered threats to Spain and Catholicism. Philip II also inherited a strong military

formed under the control of his father Charles V. He utilized this strong military to combat

revolts in the Netherlands and eventually fight the English with his Spanish Armada. Philip II

took many steps in becoming an absolute monarch and he worked to bolster his rule through

religion, military, government control, and a number of other aspects.

At this point it may be odd as to why Philip II was not placed great than a 5/10 in being

an absolute monarch. Well, it is due to unsuccessfulness of Philip II in nearly all his ambitions

and the inability to have total control over his people. His religious determination was curbed by

England, France, and the Netherlands, as they were able to successfully reject his advances and
retain their Protestant beliefs. His failures both in suppressing the revolts in the Netherlands and

the battle between the English and Spanish Armada attest to his lack of strong military power.

On top of this, his form of controlling the government was tedious and inefficient, falling weeks

behind state correspondence thus slowing government control of the empire. The economic and

cultural reinvigoration seen during the period of Philip II in Spain was not a result of his absolute

ideals, but rather the slowly emerging results of past rulers who had colonized New World

territories and worked to establish Catholicism as a component of Spain’s culture. Contrastingly,

Philip II ruled in a period in which the Colombian Exchange and New World goods hurt Spain’s

economy, for the abundance of silver led to inflation and collapsed the economy following his

death. This crippling debt, birthed by the over use of his military, inflation in his homeland, and

over-stretched territory initiated the slow decline of Spain’s dominance in Europe. Lastly his

control of legal and social structures were not wide-scale nor effective enough to combat his

main target: Protestantism. In conclusion, the term “absolute monarch” has been overapplied and

Philip II is a testament to this proposition. His determination to consolidate his empire and

enforce Catholicism, while signifiers of absolutism, do not rectify his many failures and

shortcomings in becoming a true absolute monarch.