Philip II
Philip II (1527-98). King of Spain from 1556. Having succeeded to the throne on his father’s abdication, he soon became the most powerful monarch in Europe. He championed Catholicism and made widespread use of the Inquisition against heretics. This religious in-tolerance provoked a major revolt in the Netherlands. Following the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, he declared war on England and sent out the Armada (1588). Its destruction resulted in a decline in Spanish power. Philip married four times, his second wife being Mary I of England.
