If the treacherous and immoral policy which Philip II counselled his heir to follow caused the ruin of the oppressed, it was no less fatal to the oppressors. After the death of the son of Charles V the decadence of the Spanish monarchy, the most vast and formidable of the sixteenth century, was rapid and profound.[f]
PHILIP II (1598-1621 A.D.)
[1598-1634 A.D.]
Of Philip III of Spain (II of Portugal) we have only to say that in the course of his reign he once visited his Portuguese subjects. On this occasion the hungry and ambitious chivalry expected much from his liberality; but, except a few, all were disappointed. If he did not treat them with studied insult—a charge levelled at him by the Portuguese historians—he exhibited so great a predilection towards his hereditary subjects that he could not fail mortally to offend a people who would not even have been satisfied with an equal share of his attention. Yet many of them are just enough to blame the weakness, rather than the ill will of Philip: they contend that the truth was kept from him; that every art was taken to confirm his dislike to them as a nation; that the Castilian nobles behaved with intolerable haughtiness to their own; that, in everything, a studied contrast was drawn between the two classes of subjects; that taxes were imposed without the consent of the cortes, and strangers nominated to the most important offices—both violations of the compact signed at Thomar by the first Philip; and that revenues, appropriated to objects exclusively Portuguese, were diverted into the treasury of Madrid.
PHILIP III (PHILIP IV OF SPAIN) (1621-1640 A.D.)
If the Portuguese had so much reason to complain of the government of the second Philip, that of his son and successor was, doubtless, still more onerous, more insulting: a good one, like that of Philip I, would have been hated; a bad one would naturally add to the existing mass of discontent. That the weak, the profligate, and the unprincipled count-duke de Olivares could direct the affairs of this kingdom with advantage, either to it or to his royal master, will not be expected by anyone who has perused the account of his administration in Spain. There can be no doubt that, by forced loans, by intolerable taxes, and by using the native soldiers in foreign wars, he wished to break the proud spirit of the people—to make them the mere slaves of his will.
Finding themselves ground to the very earth by exactions, their complaints disregarded, their persons insulted, their prosperity at an end, we need not wonder that they began to meditate an escape from their yoke. They turned their eyes towards the duke of Braganza, the next heir in the order of succession.[168] That ambitious noble adopted a line of conduct which could not fail to forward his views. To the world he appeared absorbed by hunting, feasting, and other diversions; yet his emissaries were at work in every part of the kingdom, fanning the flame of discontent, and teaching the people to regard him as one able, at least, to effect their deliverance.[169] Owing to their representations, but in a still greater degree to the rapacity of the revenue collectors, open insurrections appeared at Lisbon, at Braga, and, above all, at Evora, and were not quelled without much difficulty and some bloodshed. Though pressed, the duke was too wise to declare himself at this moment: he knew that his combinations were not formed;[170] he therefore determined to await the silent but resistless course of events. The sequel soon justified his policy. The chief nobles, prelates, cavalleros, and clergy were suddenly summoned to Madrid. What could be the object in this mysterious, unexpected, and unparalleled mandate? Conjecture was vain: to disobey it would be dangerous; and a magnificent display of retinues immediately filled the road from Lisbon to the Spanish capital. What passed at the conference between the ministers and this deputation will never be known; but that some extraordinary concession was required from them may be easily believed. That their consent was demanded to the incorporation of the Portuguese with the Spanish cortes, or that a certain number of deputies from the three estates should be summoned at the same time with those of Castile—in other words, that the kingdom should be forever degraded to the rank of a province, is loudly affirmed by the Portuguese. The nobles probably returned the answer attributed to them—that, in an affair of such moment, they could do nothing without the sanction of a legitimate meeting of the cortes in their own country.
[1634-1640 A.D.]
But another reason for this extraordinary mandate may be assigned, more plausible than either. The court could not be ignorant of the disposition of the people towards the duke of Braganza, nor, perhaps, with his intrigues. His arrest might be resolved on: and, as it could not be effected in Portugal, where his connections were so numerous and powerful, he must be inveigled to Madrid. This supposition is confirmed by three facts: he had evaded compliance when summoned alone to the capital; he was not present now; and the subsequent endeavours of the minister to draw him to Madrid were as earnest as they were ineffectual. Disappointed in his views, Olivares now proceeded more boldly: he ordered all the disposable troops in Portugal to march into Catalonia, and the duke of Braganza to place himself at their head. But the war of Catalonia concerned the Castilians only. Both nobles and people resolved to disobey the mandate; but, lest an open refusal should subject them to instant invasion, they merely demanded a short delay, until their preparations were matured.
In the meantime the duke of Braganza was pursuing his end with persevering art: knowing how suspicious was the Spanish court, how jealously every action was watched, he plunged more deeply into his favourite amusements, and asserted that, when the troops were ready to march, he should not be wanting at his post. So well did he counterfeit his part, that many of the conspirators, believing that he had neither ambition nor compassion for his countrymen, declared their intention of soliciting his brother, Prince Duarte, to head them. At length, when obedience or open refusal to the orders of the court was imperative, the conspirators hastened to Lisbon, and began their meetings. Their numbers increased; yet so artfully were their proceedings conducted, that they escaped the notice of the duchess of Mantua, the vice-queen.[c]