Did the acquisition of Portugal in 1580 represent a greater success for Philip II than the victory at Lepanto in 1571?

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Did the acquisition of Portugal in 1580 represent a greater success for Philip II than the victory at Lepanto in 1571?

To judge whether the acquisition of Portugal represented a greater success for Philip II than the victory at Lepanto, the benefits and drawbacks of these two events must be compared. Their impact on the defence of Spain and Catholicism, Spanish finances, and Philip's reputation, must be considered.

In 1580 Spain invaded and annexed its smaller neighbour Portugal, whose king had died without naming a successor. It can be argued that this acquisition was 'the greatest triumph of [Philip's] reign' 1. For Philip the annexation meant the unification of the Iberian peninsula under his rule, the acquisition of the sizeable Portuguese navy, and the wealth of Portugal and her New World territories. However, the acquisition did not bring Philip glory in the way that the 'spectacular victory of the Christian forces' 2 did at Lepanto in 1571, and although the Lepanto battle was costly, it helped protect Catholicism and Europe from the aggressive expansionism of the Turks. It can therefore be argued that the victory of Lepanto was more of an all-round success for Philip than the acquisition