Philip III of Habsburg

Philip III of Habsburg (1578-1621), the son and successor of Philip II and Anne of Austria, was the King of Spain and the multiple domains subject to it and Portugal, from 1598 to 1621. Among the important decisions of his government there were: the completion of open conflict with England (1604); the Truce of twelve years with the United Provinces (1609); the expulsion of three hundred thousand Moriscos (Muslims or the descendants of the subjects forcibly converted during the Reconquista), between 1609 and 1614; the descent into war on the side of the Austrian Habsburgs in the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648). However, the most characteristic feature of his government was the choice of giving up, in fact, the exercise of its power, delegating almost all to the courtier that most of all enjoyed his favour and his confidence: Francisco Gómez de Sandoval y Rojas, Duke of Lerma (1553-1625). The favourite of the king, or valido, prevailed in this way as the true sovereign of the Spanish Monarchy.

Read more:

• C. Pérez Bustamante, Felipe III. Semblanza de un monarca y perfiles de una privanza, Madrid 1950.
• A. Dennis, Philip III: the Shadow of a King, Madrid 1985.
• I. Pulido Bueno, Felipe III. Cartas de gobierno, Huelva 2010.