FILIPPO IV, king of SPAIN. - B. in Madrid on 8 April 1605, d. 17 September 1665. He married Isabella of Bourbon and then Marianna of Austria. He ascended the throne in 1621. He was intelligent and cultured (he translated Guicciardini’s Storia d'Italia into Spanish), but weak and indolent in character; for over twenty years the government was in the Olivares (v.).
Moreover, F. had the misfortune of having to contend in the international arena with adversaries such as Richelieu and Mazzarino. In 1635 France declared war on Spain; after some initial successes, the Spaniards were defeated at Rocroi and Lens. The Treaty of Westphalia recognized the independence of the Low Countries. During the conflict Catalonia had rebelled, and in 1640 Portugal had declared itself independent, proclaiming the duke of Braganza (Giovanni IV) king. The dismissal of Olivares did not restore Spanish fortunes, and Spain was finally compelled to yield and accept the Treaty of the Pyrenees, which ratified its decline. In his will F. left the throne to his son Carlo II, and stipulated that, in the absence of heirs,
Ipl. Anderson.
FILIPPO IV, king of SPAIN - F. IV, painting by Velazquez (1644), Madrid, Prado Gallery.
he should be succeeded by his sister Margherita, married to Emperor Leopoldo, to the exclusion of the other sister, Maria Teresa, wife of Luigi XIV, and her descendants.