» Mary Queen of Scots » Spanish Armada » Sir Francis Drake » Tudor England » Queen Elizabeth I. » Philipp II._King_of_Spain » Sir Walter Raleigh » Lord_Admiral_Charles Howard_of_Effingham » Reformation » Protestant Winds
When the 16th century approached its end, the Spanish Crown ruled over an Empire in which literally the sun never set. King Philipp II.`s father, Charles V., had been King of Spain, Holy Roman Emperor and holder of a dozen lesser crowns all over Europe. In order to keep the scattered territories of this gigantic, yet highly disparate empire together, Charles had led the restless life of a travelling diplomate, soldier and statesman, a life that, with increasing age, went beyond the Monarch`s faculties. When Charles realized he had expended himself in the service of the "Arch-House" (the dynasty of Habsburg) and the Catholic cause, he abdicated and retired to a monastery in a remote part of Spain so his son, King Philipp II., could take over. With the exception of the Burgundian Netherlands which fell to Philipp, Charles V. bequeathed the Holy Roman Empire to his brother Ferdinand whereas the Kingdom of Spain, with its immense overseas possessions, went to Philipp.
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When the 16th century approached its end, the Spanish Crown ruled over an Empire in which literally the sun never set. King Philipp II.`s father, Charles V., had been King of Spain, Holy Roman Emperor and holder of a dozen lesser crowns all over Europe. In order to keep the scattered territories of this gigantic, yet highly disparate empire together, Charles had led the restless life of a travelling diplomate, soldier and statesman, a life that, with increasing age, went beyond the Monarch`s faculties. When Charles realized he had expended himself in the service of the "Arch-House" (the dynasty of Habsburg) and the Catholic cause, he abdicated and retired to a monastery in a remote part of Spain so his son, King Philipp II., could take over. With the exception of the Burgundian Netherlands which fell to Philipp, Charles V. bequeathed the Holy Roman Empire to his brother Ferdinand whereas the Kingdom of Spain, with its immense overseas possessions, went to Philipp.
2 b continued
