Philip of Spain

by Henry Kamen

  Others, similarly, tried to better their lot by going to the new lands in America. Some of them were trying to escape the restraints of the social system. By about 1540 at least 20,000 Spaniards, mostly of humble origin, had crossed the Atlantic. The repercussions of this emigration were soon felt at government level in Spain, where important issues of colonial policy were raised.

  Amid all this, as Teresa of Avila well knew, disquieting changes were beginning to affect the tranquillity of the people of Spain. The cost of living was rising: in the half-century to 1550, the cost of food in Valladolid rose by half, around Seville it more than doubled. Money no longer bought what it used to; ‘gentlemen, commoners and clergy cannot live on their incomes,’ an Italian visitor commented some years later. There was arguably a bright side to the picture. The birth rate was rising; and more people meant more demand for food and supplies. In Castile, population rose by half during the early part of the century; in some towns it doubled or tripled. But demographic growth also meant more problems in the towns, and more poverty.

  Spain's expansion could not disguise its backwardness. The crown of Castile had a population of some five million; the crown of Aragon about a million and a half. Spain regularly had to import grain to feed these people, but the aridity of much of the countryside meant that in times of drought it faced severe difficulties. When Philip was entrusted with the realm in 1543, a new poor law to deal with begging had just been issued, cardinal Tavera had just founded in Toledo a hospital for the poor, and at Salamanca university the theologian Domingo de Soto was giving lectures on the problem of poor relief.6 Two prominent studies of poverty which appeared in 1545 were presented by their authors to the prince, who despite his privileged environment was made aware of the problems facing his people.7 Philip's concern for the poor was to remain one of the recurring themes in his correspondence.

  For all the problems, mid-century Spaniards could feel some confidence in the prevailing stability of their country. A generation earlier, things had been very different. The political violence of the Comunero rebellion of the 1520s had left wounds. Now that was little more than a memory. Religious violence had also been intense. Prior to the 1520s there had been a bloody persecution of Christians of Jewish origin, the conversos. Thousands of those who refused to leave Spain when the expulsion of the Jews was decreed in 1492 converted and attempted to continue practising their religion in secret. They were ruthlessly punished by the Inquisition. During Philip's childhood, this too was almost a thing of the past. Though anti-Semitism continued, as elsewhere in Europe, conversos by mid-century were loyal Christians and often accepted into public life.

  Spaniards may on the other hand have been worried about the new Lutheran heresy which was gaining a foothold in Germany and the north. Though there were frequent alarms, normally set off by the Inquisition, in the 1540s there were no significant signs of heresy in the peninsula. Ideological hostility, where it existed, was directed mainly against the very large population of Christianised Muslims, known as Moriscos. Converted by force in the early century, they lived principally in the south of the peninsula and numbered well over a quarter of a million people. Virtually all continued to practise their Islamic religion. One of the first matters Philip had to deal with as regent was the situation of the Moriscos of Granada, who in 1543 presented a memorial with their grievances. The prince and the Inquisition were consulted on the problem.8

  Despite its relative isolation the country was not closed to ideas and influences. Cultural currents emanating from Italy and the Netherlands were making their mark on poets, scholars and artists. In 1543, the year that Philip became regent, one of the most important works in Spanish literature came out in Barcelona: an edition of the poems, composed in the Italian style, of Juan Boscán and Garcilaso de la Vega. Intellectuals did not look only to Italy. Since the 1520s the works of the Dutch humanist Erasmus had enjoyed considerable popularity in the peninsula. The Inquisition later prosecuted a number of people who shared his views, but Erasmus continued to be an influence on intellectuals well into the later part of the century.9 Philip grew up in an atmosphere influenced by his ideas, and read and studied Erasmus when young. Many in his entourage were sympathetic to Erasmus: his secretary Gonzalo Pérez, a humanist of converso origin, was a symbol of the outward-looking intellectual changes of the period.

  The common people of Spain were, of course, untouched by these intellectual currents. Apart from a small minority in the upper classes, few could read or write, and books were to be found only in the major cities. The culture of most people was dictated by their religious practice, which had changed little through the centuries. Spaniards were to all appearances Catholic, but their everyday religion was a free-wheeling mixture of official doctrine, popular folklore and ancient superstition. By mid-century, a few hesitant changes were being introduced into this old-time religion. The source of reform was Italy, where the council of Trent had been holding sessions dedicated to the reform of the Church. From Italy, too, came a stream of new religious orders, prominent among them the Jesuits.

  In 1543 Bernal Díaz de Luco, one of Philip's advisers in the council of the Indies and later bishop of Lugo, published his Advice to Curates. For him the key problem in Spain was the need to overcome ignorance among both clergy and people. He was also alarmed by the vogue for reading books of chivalry, which emphasised adventure, travel and gallantry. Seen by critics as a peril to good literature and morals (which did not stop Teresa of Avila reading them when she was young), the books provided staple reading for the conquistadors in America as well as for ordinary citizens at home. Prince Philip was second to none in his dedication to this literature.

  While excited by the possibilities offered by the New World, Spaniards were also beginning to open their minds to Europe. Trade links with the Netherlands and Italy had ensured that regular cultural contacts took place: the bulk of Castile's wool was sold to buyers in the international market at Bruges. The Netherlands sent to the peninsula its artists and some of its spiritual influences. From the north too came printers, who soon monopolised the trade in the major Spanish cities. Links with Italy were closer than with northern Europe, thanks to proximity and to similarity of culture. Spaniards went to Bologna and Rome to be educated; to Venice to buy books. But they also went to Italy to serve as soldiers. In the long run, it was the Spanish military presence that had the most unfavourable consequences for the way in which other Europeans viewed the peninsula and its rulers.

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  When the emperor left his son in charge of Spain (and, with it, America) in 1543, he retained for himself the ultimate right to make decisions. This required the maintenance of a reliable system of communications, with postal couriers using at least three routes to northern Europe: via Barcelona, Genoa and northern Italy; or through France; or by sea to Flanders. When matters were referred to Charles by post, several weeks might elapse before a decision was made.10 In practice, virtually all matters of daily government had to be handled on the spot in Spain by the small team of administrators led by Tavera and Cobos. In at least two areas consultation with Charles was indispensable, since serious conflicts of interest might be involved. These were finance, and the granting of jobs and pensions.

  Philip was eased almost painlessly into the practice of government. Major decisions were referred to his father, and Cobos with his staff took care of administration. The circle of ministers with whom he worked did not change significantly over the next dozen years. Its members were divided into two groupings, one headed by Cobos, the other by Tavera. Political clans at the time were formed through the use of influence, but there were also strong elements of family connection.

  The existence of sharply antagonistic groupings, which managed all the same to cooperate in the king's business, was a fact of life that Philip came to recognise and accept. He benefited from the advice of all. Cardinal Juan de Tavera, president of the council of State, archbishop of Toledo and Inquisitor-General, was aged seventy-on
e in 1543. Among those associated with his circle was the grand commander of Castile, Juan de Zúñiga. At the other pole was the Cobos grouping, including the ambitious Fernándo de Valdés, aged sixty-one in 1543, president of the royal council and a fierce rival of Tavera. The grouping also contained Francisco García de Loaysa, an influential sixty-four-year-old Dominican friar who had occupied nearly every post of importance in government.

  The duke of Alba, Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, aged thirty-six in 1543, did not yet side with either group, though he later came to ally with Cobos. Tall, small-headed, with sharp piercing eyes, he had already displayed evidence of the ability that was to make him the leading soldier of his time. Subsequently he distinguished himself in the wars in France, Germany and Italy. He was general of the militia, councillor of state, and high steward of the household, which gave him charge over the palace. A knight of the elite Burgundian order of the Golden Fleece, he came from one of the oldest and most powerful families in the realm. Totally loyal to the crown, Alba expected in return to receive the highest consideration. This prompted Charles in his Instructions to warn Philip of his ‘ambition’. ‘You are younger than he: take care that he does not dominate you. Be careful not to let him or other grandees get a firm footing in government.’ For the next thirty years, his stern, commanding figure was to play a crucial part in Spanish politics.

  The most significant of those who aided Philip in routine work was Gonzalo Pérez. He was born in the first decade of the century to a converso family from Aragon, and studied humanities at Salamanca university, which gave him a lifelong interest in the arts. Immediately after his studies he entered the royal Latin secretariat, and was groomed in administrative matters by Cobos. In 1541 he became Philip's personal secretary. In 1543, on Charles's departure, he was appointed secretary of the council of State.

  To these different influences on Philip's early years in government we may add that of the Portuguese connection. Outside Castile, Portugal was the only part of the peninsula with which the prince had any cultural contact, and whose language he could understand. His mother Isabel's household was strongly Portuguese. Her Portuguese ladies-in-waiting married into the highest aristocracy of Spain (one married Francisco de Borja). The subsequent marriage of Philip to a Portuguese princess simply underlined what was by now a firm development. Out of this Portuguese background, which continued to influence Philip throughout his reign, the most remarkable figure to emerge was Ruy Gómez de Silva, whose mother had come to Spain as a lady of the empress Isabel. Subsequently he was selected to form part of the small group of noble pages who studied with the prince. A self-effacing but strong personality, Ruy Gómez owed his success to the way in which he became the prince's shadow. Philip, for his part, found in him a companionship and fidelity which he always appreciated.

  Philip's visit to Monzón in 1542 had brought him into touch for the first time with the threat of war against France. Otherwise, these years were for the prince, as for Castile, years of peace. The emperor's military disputes in Germany were conducted without implicating Spain. Castilians sent occasional troop detachments, and responded to appeals for money, but otherwise kept clear of the wars. The realms of Aragon, which claimed the privilege of not having to send soldiers, contributed with periodic grants. Spaniards were reluctant to be dragged into a north European role, for them in some measure still a new experience. Most preferred the familiar environment of the south, where they knew the Mediterranean and continued their old conflicts with the Moorish enemy.

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  The first full debate over which Philip presided as regent took place in the council of State in December 1544. Its theme, as we have seen, was the relative value to Spain of Milan and the Netherlands. Which of the two could the emperor afford to give away as a dowry to the duke of Orléans? The majority of councillors, among them Tavera and Zúñiga, argued that the Netherlands contributed to vital Spanish economic interests and must never be relinquished. Alba, Cobos and their friends argued by contrast that Milan was essential for the strategic protection of Naples, Sicily and Spain, and offered the only secure land routes to northern Europe.11 It was a key debate, airing all the policy interests that had influenced the crown in past decades, and was highly instructive to the young prince. There was, at least, common agreement that the principal danger came from France. Philip had a personal interest in the debate, for in October 1540 his father passed on to him the right of succession to the duchy of Milan.12 Charles's final decision, communicated to France in March 1545, was for the cession of Milan,13 but the untimely death of Orléans in September the same year terminated the negotiations with France and put an end to the debate.

  Over these months, Philip continued his triple role as pupil (‘Honorat Juan is in continual attendance on the prince,’ Cobos informed the emperor), husband and political apprentice. But he was soon forced to rely on his own resources. The loss of his wife in July 1545, followed almost immediately by that of the venerable Tavera on 1 August were only the first of a series of blows. Three more senior members of the council died over the next eight months.14 Then on 27 June 1546 it was the turn of Juan de Zúñiga, on whom Philip had relied for every type of advice. The prince remained in touch with Zúñiga's widow Estefania, then in Barcelona, and wrote to her occasionally from Madrid. But the loss of the grand commander, who had been as a father to him, was irreparable. Finally, on 10 May 1547, Cobos himself died. Of the senior figures who had taken part in the debate over Milan, Alba alone remained, but he was not available, either. In January 1546 he had joined the emperor in Germany, to help Charles prepare his forthcoming offensive against the Protestant princes.

  The emperor evidently did not intend to leave Philip without firm guidance. Among the figures who rose to importance now was Fernando de Valdés, the third of the advisers appointed by Charles in 1543. He was made archbishop of Seville in 1546 and Inquisitor-General the following year. Over the subsequent decade he began to exercise a considerable influence in internal affairs. Also appointed in these months was Luis Hurtado de Mendoza, second marquis of Mondéjar, who brought the illustrious house of Mendoza into the councils of state.15 Though important, these personages were not, like their predecessors, men who could influence the prince. Philip had grown up under the shadow of weighty men whose counsels he had followed to the letter. Freed of their tutelage, he continued to rely on the advice of others, but asserted the right to choose his advice and make his own decisions. His father still controlled all appointments (Mondéjar's nomination was made from Regensburg) and determined all policy, but Philip in Spain began palpably to exercise the reins of power.

  There was nobody else to do it. In the months after Zúñiga's death, Cobos became seriously unwell. ‘Loaysa is ill and the cardinal [Tavera] has gone to Toledo. In short, the whole load falls on me,’ Cobos confided to his secretary early in 1545. ‘I'm so weary that I don't know what to do with myself.’16 Though tired, he was still in fair health. In the summer of 1546, however, he fell seriously ill so the prince took over effective direction of affairs. He wrote to Cobos expressing his worry that business was being affected by his illness. ‘Since you are now able to walk about’, he wrote in his own hand, ‘it would be sensible for you to come and convalesce here, since the business there can be left, and important matters can also be dealt with here.’ In September: ‘I am distressed that your illness is continuing, but hope that it will improve and that you will soon be able to take part in affairs.’17 At this juncture Charles took steps to reinforce Philip's authority by having him invested as duke of Milan in a private ceremony conducted at Guadalajara by the marquis of Mondéjar and notarised by Gonzalo Pérez. The act took place on 16 September 1546.18

  Philip assumed responsibility over decisions in Castile. He took over full direction of the loan which was to be requested that year from the cities of Castile and responded to official correspondence from the emperor, without waiting for Cobos. Philip wrote to Cobos in September: ‘This mail has come fr
om the emperor; I have opened the package and taken the letter for me in his hand, and have read that [to Cobos] written in the secretary's hand.’ Philip reported directly to the emperor on the steps he had taken to raise money.

  All state revenue up to 1550, he stated frankly, was spent:

  So that to my way of thinking, and according to what the grand commander indicated to me before his indisposition, the plain truth must be put to Your Majesty: we have reached the end of the line. We do not know from where nor how to seek ways and means of finding money. The problem has immersed us all in a far greater anxiety than you can imagine, and is certainly the main reason to have put the grand commander in the state he is, and worsened his condition.19

  Preparations were meanwhile under way for holding a meeting of the Cortes of the crown of Aragon in Monzón. Charles issued the official summons from Bohemia in April 1546. Responsibility for the session fell entirely on the prince, who since 1544 had also busied himself in the ‘affairs of Aragon’20 and knew something of the issues there. There were, besides, other matters concerning the world-wide monarchy which awaited attention.

  Philip was aware of the problems of the Spanish presence in America. He was in Barcelona in November 1542 when his father signed the New Laws which had been drawn up by a committee inspired by the veteran priest Bartolomé de las Casas. Las Casas himself was in Barcelona early in 1543, and Philip talked to him there as well as in Valladolid, where the laws were officially confirmed in June. Las Casas in those months had tried to persuade Philip to ‘order it decreed throughout this realm [he was referring to Andalusia] that all the Indians in it be set free’.21 The government was serious about its intention to enforce the New Laws, as we see by the contract issued to Orellana, discoverer of the river Amazon, in 1543. In its very first clause the contract ordered that ‘no harm be done to the Indians’, and that ‘in no way must war be waged against the Indians’, who were stated to be ‘human beings and subjects’.22 In July 1544 Las Casas sailed for America, endowed with new authority as bishop of Chiapas. His famous New Laws were about to provoke a tide of rebellion among the Spanish settlers in America, who refused to accept an end to their control over the native Indians.