FILIPPO III, king of SPAGNA. — Born in Madrid on 14 April 1578, died on 31 March 1621. He married Margherita d'Austria. He ascended the throne in 1598, and under him the predominance at the Spanish court of often inept and corrupt favourites began. In 1609 F. concluded with the United Provinces the twelve-year truce that constituted the first de facto recognition of their independence. After the death of Enrico IV, he concluded a defensive league with France, with the understanding that Luigi XIII would marry the infanta Anna and the heir to the Spanish throne Isabella, daughter of Enrico IV (the two marriages took place in 1615).
Under F., Spain’s economic conditions, already declining during the reign of his father, underwent a further deterioration, hastened by the excessive taxation with which attempts were made to meet military expenses and the sovereign’s extravagance. The expulsion of the moriscos, decided upon by the government without taking into account the proposal of Paolo V, who had advised referring the matter to a special commission, also contributed to aggravating the crisis. It deprived the country of a hardworking population that could not be replaced, and furthermore established on the coasts of Morocco a pirate state whose activities plagued the eastern Mediterranean for a century. Toward the end of F.’s reign, the court was seriously disturbed by the intrigues and scandals of the favourites. — Vedi tav. LXXXVI.