Charles V 15001558 Holy Roman Emperor and King

Charles V, 15001558, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain

Inner court of the Charles V Palace in Granada

Charles V Trivia • He suffered from an enlarged lower jaw, a deformity which got considerably worse in later Habsburg generations. He struggled to chew his food properly and consequently experienced bad indigestion for much of his life, As a result he usually ate alone. • He was afraid of mice and spiders. • He was obsessed with clocks and instructed his servants to take them apart and reassemble them in his presence. • In his retirement, he was carried around the monastery of St. Yuste in a sedan chair. A ramp was specially constructed to allow him easy access to his rooms. • He passed his time fishing from his window on the first floor and enjoying the smell of incense drifting on the breeze from the abbey church

Philip II, King of Spain He inherited Spain, the Spanish Netherlands, and all colonies in the Americas from his father, Charles V, when he died. When his uncle, the King of Portugal died, he seized that kingdom too (which included parts of Africa, India, and the East Indies

The American mines provided most of Spain’s wealth. By 1600 it supplied 339, 000 pounds of gold, and between 1550 – 1650, 16, 000 tons of silver (32 million pounds). The king’s share was between 20 -25% of every shipload taken out of the New World Because of this wealth, Spain kept a standing army of 50, 000.

• Philip believed it was his duty to defend Catholicism against the Muslims and Protestants • Philip was married to Mary Tudor (“Bloody Mary”), but he never stepped foot in England! • When Mary, Queen of Scots, (a different Mary) was beheaded by Elizabeth, Philip sent his Armada to punish England, but was defeated by the quicker, more mobile English fleet. Only ½ of original 130 returned to Spain.

Drake playing bowls in Plymouth as the Spanish Armada arrives

Philip’s palace, El Escorial

The Library

The ceiling of the library

Tombs of all the Spanish Kings, Queens, and many of their children

• Inflation was a problem during Philip’s reign. • Because so much silver flooded the market, its value went down (so it took more silver than before to buy something. • By expelling the Jews & Muslims (the Reconquista & Inquisition) they lost businesspeople that had been an important tax base. Also nobles didn’t pay taxes. Because the lower classes were shouldering this burden they could never get ahead to form their own businesses. Therefore, Spain never developed a middle class!!

• Goods manufactured outside of Spain were very popular. Consequently, much silver & gold left Spain to go to those countries. • Wars were costly and even though Spain had lots of money coming in from the Americas, they needed to borrow large sums from lenders. 40% of all money spent by the crown went towards paying the interest! • The economy was in such bad shape that 3 times Philip had to declare Spain bankrupt!

• Philip ruled the Netherlands. The economy was booming due to the expanding trade structure that had been developing in the Netherlands. • Since they were Protestants, instituting a heavy tax against them wasn’t a hard thing to do. • When the Protestants became resistive, Philip let loose the Duke of Alba. In one day in 1568, 1, 500 Protestants were executed on suspicion of being rebels.

Armada arrives – so do the English

Sir Francis Drake

Goya, Francisco St Francis Borja at the Deathbed of an Impenitent 1788

Goya, Francisco Duchess of Alba 1797

El Greco The Burial of Count Orgasz 1586 15 X 12 Feet

El Greco St. Louis, King of France 1587 -97 3 x 4 Feet

El Greco St. Jerome, cardinal 1587 -97 3 x 4 Feet

Diego Velazquez Joseph's Bloody Coat Brought to Jacob 1630 7 x 8 Feet

Rembrandt – Self Portrait

Rembrandt van Rijn "The man with the golden helmet" c. 1650 19 x 25 inches

Rembrandt van Rijn “The Slaughtered Ox" c. 1650 19 x 25 inches

Jan Vermeer View of Delft 1660 3 x 4 Feet

Jan Vermeer The Music Lesson 1662 2 x 2 ½ Feet

Jan Vermeer “Lady writing a letter with her maid” 1670 23 x 27 inches

Jan Vermeer “Lady standing at a piano” 1670 17 x 25 inches

Jan Vermeer Girl with the Pearl Earring 1665 15 x 18 inches

Frans Hals The Laughing Cavalier 1624

Saenredam, Pieter Jansz The Old Town Hall in Amsterdam, 1657

Adriaen van Ostade An Alchemist – 1664 13 x 17 inches

• Absolute Monarch – believed that all power within their state’s boundaries rested in their hands. Goal was to control all aspects of their society. • Divine Right – God created the monarch and that the monarch acted as Gods rep on earth – answerable only to God