PHILIP

n.

Spanish Felipe

born April 8, 1605, Valladolid, Spain

died Sept. 17, 1665, Madrid

King of Spain (1621–65) and of Portugal (as Philip II, 1621–40).

He succeeded his father, Philip III , and left the administration of his rule to his chief ministers, the duke de Olivares (1621–43) and the duke's nephew Luis Méndez de Haro (1643–61). Spain's industry and commerce declined, and wars against Holland, France, and Germany further drained Spain's economy. Portugal regained its independence (1640), and Holland was lost by the Peace of Westphalia (1648). A poet and patron of the arts, Philip was the friend and frequent subject of Diego Velázquez .