King Philip II Absolute Absolutism

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Philip II was an absolute monarch for Spain from 1556-1598 and for Portugal from 1580-1598. He used his power as king to do many immoral and illegal acts. He rose to power when his father died; his father was Charles V of Portugal. He had four marriages and one of them, Queen Mary I of Spain, made him king for a period of time till she died of stomach cancer in 1598. During his reign of Spain, the country was at its best. It was extremely rich and large, while having an enormous influence on Europe. He faced the revolt of the Netherlands and successfully crushed the revolt. King Phillip II lost the Invincible Armanda. His methods of government were very popular and some of them are still used today. James II was the first constitutional monarch of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1685-1688. The Parliament controlled most of the government despite James II’s best efforts. He fought in four companies for the French and would later lead the Spanish armies against the French. He became king when his brother, Charles II died in 1685. During his reign, James II tried to convert the country to absolute Catholicism. Initially James II began replacing all of the …show more content…

Philip II had more power than James II and ruled for much longer. The absolute monarch of Philip II was very beneficial for the most part; while the constitutional monarchy of James II was very controversial and led to him being removed from the throne. James II did not do much for the country during his reign, unlike Philip II who grew Spain and Portugal in size and influence. These two rulers show the great difference between absolute monarchy and constitutional monarchy . In looking at these two rulers, the main difference is in whether or not a ruler has the complete control of the country (absolute), versus having to answer to the public (constitutional) - which can mean a world of difference in what they are able to accomplish on their

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