It is also important to understand the Philip’s administrative role in government and political theory in order to assessment of absolute. Philip II, as head of the government of Spain, believed in the divine right of monarchs and used this to justify a number of immoral and illegal acts, and ordering murders. As mentioned by Parker as he gives an example during the decade 1566-76, Philip had 1,200 of his Low Countries subjects executed by special legal tribunal because they disagreed with his views on religion and politics. In one sense it is agreeable that because this would portray Philip as somewhat tyrannical in his way of governing his people therefore practicing therefore making him look absolutist as he only cared about his own views. On the other hand, Parker’s statement would be questionable because executing a number of people was no different from what other monarchs have practiced during their own respectable reigns however; this was a good example for Philip practicing his power. However accepted stated by Kamen, “The King even avoided any theoretical discussion of his powers, and only exercised his power within traditional limits”. This statement is agreeable and accurate as there is no real evidence that Philip ever practiced his power outside traditional limits.
Lynch says that Philip’s power was restricted in the first place by the inefficiency of his bureaucracy. Which is an accurate statement considering that Spain during the 15th Century was not a single monarchy, but a federation of individual realms, each sceptical of one another and guarding their own rights. For example, although the Council of state, the council of war and Finance were all centralised under Philip, his Secretary of state, Perez, was the main conductor of it all. This is also backed up by a statement said by Philip in parkers interpretation; “I don’t know if people think I’m made of Iron or stone. The truth is, they need to see that I am mortal”. Therefore again shows that even Philip saw himself as limited monarch, nothing more nothing less.
Another point to be raised must be that Philip was not in total control of his whole government, and it was not working as effectively as it should due to his huge territory. As argued by Lynch, Philip “never entirely succeeded in overcoming the obstacles of distance involved in governing Spain and to apply decisions over the length and breadth of the country” therefore he could not administer an effective government which limits him in controlling his monarchy. Although this is true to an extent, Philip possessed a strong sense of his personal responsibility for the empire and its people. This also ties in to Kamen’s description about Philip’s Political theory in which recognizes the Kings duty to “govern to administration to their subjects and to defend them enemies” no matter what the cost. This is agreed by Ortiz as he believed that Philip followed “the privileges and liberties of his kingdom in accordance with oaths he took at the beginning of his reign” therefore he abides by doing the greater good for his country and the state. However Overall, Kamen shows more evidence in terms of Philip’s administration in government and political theory than the other sources and he concludes that the idea of Philip as an Absolutist in anyway whether in practice or in theory would should be judged according to the situation of the country as Philip is acting the best way possible for his country.
Philip’s decision making capabilities are strong evidence of Philip’s limitations of practicing absolutism during his reign. Under his direct rule, Spain reached the epoch of its power and influence, expanding its borders through the exploration and colonization of distant territories. For example, Philip’s plans of expedition to the new world and the Americas, where his men influenced religion and culture in his behalf; However, his expanding empire could be argued to limit the way he ruled as there are restrictions to ruling such a large empire during the Fifteenth Century. As Lynch proposes Philip “Never really succeeded in overcoming the distance involved in governing Spain” which does explain why some letters or even some of the laws and commands implemented by Philip took a long time to arrive in the ruled areas. In addition, the people messaging Philip’s messages could not be from an entirely reliable source therefore letters or instructions could have never even arrived their destinations.
Although it is also important to point out from what Kamen said about Philip “not sharing his beliefs with any person or institution”. A good example is Philip’s “Black Legend” which made Philip look like a tyrannical ruler in history. Kamen’s statement though shows a strong point in because after all, Spain remained the most Catholic Country and Philip was known to be the most devout Catholic King. This is agreed however Philip’s decision for this was for the greater good of the state. In addition to this, Parker also supports Kamen’s view as he gives an example of Philip’s strong beliefs in his own decisions when he “placed a price on William of Orange’s head to be assassinated in 1580” as he went against Philip’s religious and political views. However, Ortiz explains that by saying that “the people saw the king as the supreme judge, immune to favour or corruption”. However again quite inaccurate because there are still occasions when Philip was influenced by his advisors to make decisions. For example, his very own Secretary of state was two faced in working with Philip, which eventually lead his imprisonment.
It was through councils that Philip transmitted his orders to the territories under his command. Most of the staff were lawyers and trained administrators which the king used as his instruments in making decision. Philip listened to their ideas and read their correspondence. He also received communication from governors and viceroys as well as used their ideas to balance up opinions and he used them formulate his own ideas. Although Philip was firm with his beliefs in decision making, Lynch provides the most evidence that Philip was still influenced by some of his advisors to make decisions; therefore was limited in practice in terms of his decision making.
Lastly Philip II's foreign policy was to affect much of Europe. In many senses Philip II had too many responsibilities and not enough financials to respond to his foreign problems. One of the main problems Philip faced with his empire was that each part was supposed to be self-financing and yet the majority of the time Castille ended up paying for much of Philip’s policies. For example, the Italian states paid 400,000 ducats to the cost of the Battle of Lepanto which affected them most directly, but Castille paid 800,000 ducats. As stated by Lynch, Philip “began his reign with his direct control of the Machinery of war” as during around this time, however at this time Spain was in bankruptcy therefore he was forced heavily to rely on taxes in Spain. For example in 1561 the servicio tax was made a regular one, the excusado was introduced in 1567 and the crusada tax, together were known as the "Three Graces" reaching as much as 1.4 million ducats per year in the 1590’s. However this was still not enough money and the Cortes had to be persuaded to grant the millones tax in 1590. The end result of all this taxation resulted in a tax increase of 430%. Furthermore, Ortiz believed that Philip was “exercising his own complete and unrestricted power over government” which explains how he could manipulate his empire to fix his foreign policy.
However, Kamen suggests that “the king avoided any theoretical discussion of his powers” which explains that Philip often acted with a degree of diplomacy and even democracy in foreign policy implementation. An example of this is in 1578, when internal weaknesses within the Portuguese hierarchy led to an opportunity for Spain to take over Portugal. Rather than wage outright war, he preferred ‘absolute’ strategy, which was to first dispatch ministers to Portugal to garner support for him to be king, and to pay for the release of Portuguese noblemen held in Morocco following the Portuguese-Moroccan war. Overall,
In conclusion, Lynch showed the most accurate evidence because it talks a lot about the limitations of his practices as an absolute monarch despite saying little about Philip’s royal and divine rights. However, Kamen also creates powerful points about Philip’s limited control of his government and decision making, as he had many advisors which influenced him. Overall Both Kamen and Lynch opinions together offers the most realistic debate that Philip was capable however limited in Absolute practices, and that it is more probable to see Philip as an Absolutist in theory due to his limitations.
