Philip IV of Spain

(1605-1665)

   Philip IV was the son and heir of Philip III of Spain. He was a more capable ruler than his father but, like him, he relied on a minister to run the monarchy. The individual he chose was Gaspar de Guzmán y Pimentel, Count of Olivares, whom he had to dismiss in 1643 after several political and economic failures. Philip's priorities also matched those of his father: to uphold the Catholic faith against the threat of Protestantism, to assert Spanish control over the Dutch United Provinces, and to extend the Hapsburg dominion. However, these priorities could not be attained. In 1640, Portugal revolted against Spain, and Philip lost his position as their monarch. He had no choice but to recognize the independence of the Dutch Provinces in 1648 when the Peace of Westphalia was negotiated, and, in the following year, Spain lost Roussillon and part of the Spanish Netherlands to France in the Peace of the Pyrenees. While his realm declined politically and economically, artistically it experienced its golden age, mainly thanks to the presence of Diego Velazquez in his court. Also present at his court were Peter Paul Rubens, Juan Bautista Maino, and Juan Martinez Montañéz.