Philip IV of Spain (Spanish: Felipe IV; 8 April 1605 – 17 September 1665) was King of Castile and León as Philip IV and King of Aragon and Portugal as Philip III (Portuguese: Filipe III). He ascended the thrones in 1621 and reigned in Spain until his death and in Portugal until 1640. Philip is remembered for his patronage of the arts, including such artists as Diego Velázquez, and his rule over Spain during the challenging period of the Thirty Years' War.
On the eve of his death in 1665, the Spanish Empire had reached its territorial zenith, spanning a then-unheard-of 12.2 million square kilometres (4.7×106 sq mi), but in other respects was in decline, a process to which Philip's inability to achieve successful domestic and military reform is felt to have contributed.
Read more about Philip IV Of Spain: Personal Life, Philip, Olivares and His Royal Favorites, Foreign Policy and The Thirty Years' War, Philip and The Spanish Military, Domestic Policy and The Crisis of The Monarchy, Patronage of The Arts, Philip and Religion, Titles & Style, Legacy, Family, Ancestry, Bibliography
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“England and France, Spain and Portugal, Gold Coast and Slave Coast, all front on this private sea; but no bark from them has ventured out of sight of land, though it is without doubt the direct way to India.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)