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177-547: The Royal Palace of Madrid ( Spanish : Palacio Real de Madrid ) is the official residence of the Spanish royal family at the city of Madrid , although now used only for state ceremonies. The palace has 135,000 m (1,450,000 sq ft) of floor space and contains 3,418 rooms. It is the largest royal palace in Europe . The palace is owned by the Spanish state and administered by
354-455: A Neoclassical architect, to enlarge the building. Sabatini's original idea was to frame the Plaza de la Armería with a series of galleries and arcades, to accommodate various dependencies, by constructing two wings along the square. Only the extension of the southeast tower known as la de San Gil was completed. Sabatini also planned to extend the north side with a large wing that echoed the style of
531-624: A system of royal councils . The most significant of these were the Council of State and its subordinate Council for War, that were in turn supported by the seven professional councils for the different regions, and four specialised councils for the Inquisition , the Military Orders , Finance and the Crusade tax . These councils were then supplemented by small committees, or juntas , as necessary, such as
708-577: A truce in the Eighty Years' War . The Moriscos were the descendants of those Muslims that had converted to Christianity during the Reconquista of the previous centuries; despite their conversion, they retained a distinctive culture, including many Islamic practices. Philip II had made the elimination of the Morisco threat a key part of his domestic strategy in the south, attempting an assimilation campaign in
885-677: A viola , two violoncello , and two violins by Stradivari . The ceiling fresco by A. G. Velazquez, depicts Gentleness accompanied by the Four Cardinal Virtues . The Chamber of the Infante Luis, Musical Instruments Room, has a ceiling fresco by Francisco Bayeu depicting Providence Presiding over the Virtues and Faculties of Man . Designed in 1748 by Sacchetti and Ventura Rodríguez , the chapel features ceiling frescoes by Giaquinto, including The Trinity , Allegory of Religion , Glory and
1062-698: A Spanish-based creole language called Chavacano developed in the southern Philippines. However, it is not mutually intelligible with Spanish. The number of Chavacano-speakers was estimated at 1.2 million in 1996. The local languages of the Philippines also retain significant Spanish influence, with many words derived from Mexican Spanish , owing to the administration of the islands by Spain through New Spain until 1821, until direct governance from Madrid afterwards to 1898. Philip III of Spain Philip III ( Spanish : Felipe III ; 14 April 1578 – 31 March 1621)
1239-465: A bygone Muslim-era fortress constructed by Emir Muhammad I of Córdoba in the 9th century. The imposing Alcázar of Madrid provided both a safe for the royal treasure and a habitual residence to the Trastámara monarchs in the late Middle Ages. Having endured substantial expansion works during the 16th century, the royal alcázar remained on the site until it burned down on 24 December 1734. A new palace
1416-623: A cardinal in March 1618 under Pope Paul V , a position which would offer Lerma some protection as his government collapsed. Lerma fell to an alliance of interests—Uceda, his son, led the attack, aiming to protect his future interests, allied with Baltasar de Zúñiga , a well-connected noble with a background in diplomacy across Europe, whose nephew, Olivares was close to the heir to the throne, Prince Philip . Lerma departed for his ducal seat, and for six weeks Philip did nothing; then, in October, Philip signed
1593-427: A close supporter of Philip II. In combination, Philip believed, they would provide a consistent, stable upbringing for Prince Philip, and ensure that he would avoid the same fate as Carlos. Philip's education was to follow the model for royal princes laid down by Father Juan de Mariana , focusing on the imposition of restraints and encouragement to form the personality of the individual at an early age, aiming to deliver
1770-588: A considerable number of words from Arabic , as well as a minor influence from the Germanic Gothic language through the period of Visigoth rule in Iberia. In addition, many more words were borrowed from Latin through the influence of written language and the liturgical language of the Church. The loanwords were taken from both Classical Latin and Renaissance Latin , the form of Latin in use at that time. According to
1947-719: A critical period in Spanish history . After Philip III's older half-brother Don Carlos, Prince of Asturias died insane, their father Philip II had concluded that one of the causes of Carlos' condition had been the influence of the warring factions at the Spanish court. He believed that Carlos' education and upbringing had been badly affected by this, resulting in his lunacy and disobedience, and accordingly he set out to pay much greater attention to arrangements for his later sons. Philip II appointed Juan de Zúñiga, then Prince Diego 's governor, to continue this role for Philip, and chose García de Loaysa as his tutor. They were joined by Cristóvão de Moura, 1st Marquis of Castelo Rodrigo ,
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#17328510273892124-416: A decree removing the powers of his former valido , and announcing that he would rule in person. Uceda initially took over as the primary voice at court, but without his father's extensive powers, while de Zúñiga became Philip's minister for foreign and military affairs. Philip, while unwilling to move further against Lerma, took politically symbolic action against Lerma's former secretary Rodrigo Calderón ,
2301-467: A dramatic change in the pronunciation of its sibilant consonants , known in Spanish as the reajuste de las sibilantes , which resulted in the distinctive velar [x] pronunciation of the letter ⟨j⟩ and—in a large part of Spain—the characteristic interdental [θ] ("th-sound") for the letter ⟨z⟩ (and for ⟨c⟩ before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩ ). See History of Spanish (Modern development of
2478-493: A figure emblematic of the former administration. Calderón, suspected of having killed Philip's wife Queen Margaret by witchcraft in 1611, was ultimately tortured and then executed by Philip for the more plausible murder of the soldier Francisco de Juaras. Philip inherited an empire considerably enlarged by his father. On the Iberian Peninsula , Philip II had successfully acquired Portugal in 1580; across Europe, despite
2655-476: A first language by Spaniards and educated Filipinos ( Ilustrados ). Despite a public education system set up by the colonial government, by the end of Spanish rule in 1898, only about 10% of the population had knowledge of Spanish, mostly those of Spanish descent or elite standing. Spanish continued to be official and used in Philippine literature and press during the early years of American administration after
2832-404: A king who was neither tyrannical nor excessively under the influence of his courtiers. Prince Philip appears to have been generally liked by his contemporaries: 'dynamic, good-natured and earnest,' suitably pious, having a 'lively body and a peaceful disposition,' albeit with a relatively weak constitution. The comparison with the memory of the disobedient and ultimately insane Carlos was usually
3009-471: A long history in the territory of the current-day United States dating back to the 16th century. In the wake of the 1848 Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty , hundreds of thousands of Spanish speakers became a minoritized community in the United States. The 20th century saw further massive growth of Spanish speakers in areas where they had been hitherto scarce. According to the 2020 census, over 60 million people of
3186-453: A new, conservative Dominican confessor. The following year, Philip II died after a painful illness, and his son became King Philip III. Philip married his cousin, Margaret of Austria , on 18 April 1599, a year after becoming king. Margaret, the sister of the future Emperor Ferdinand II , would be one of three women at Philip's court who would apply considerable influence over the King. Margaret
3363-766: A parallel situation emerged. Pedro Henriquez de Acevedo, Count of Fuentes , as governor of the Duchy of Milan , exploited the lack of guidance from Madrid to pursue his own highly interventionist policy across north Italy, including making independent offers to support the Papacy by invading the Venetian Republic in 1607. Fuentes remained in power and pursuing his own policies until his death. Pedro de Toledo Osorio, 5th Marquess of Villafranca , as governor of Milan, similarly exercised his own considerable judgement on foreign policy. Pedro Téllez-Girón, 3rd Duke of Osuna , who had married into
3540-490: A positive one, although some commented that Prince Philip appeared less intelligent and politically competent than his late brother. Indeed, although Philip was educated in Latin , French , Portuguese and astronomy , and appears to have been a competent linguist, recent historians suspect that much of his tutors' focus on Philip's undeniably pleasant, pious and respectful disposition was to avoid reporting that, languages aside, he
3717-498: A primarily Hassaniya Arabic -speaking territory, Spanish was officially spoken as the language of the colonial administration during the late 19th and 20th centuries. Today, Spanish is present in the partially-recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as its secondary official language, and in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf ( Algeria ), where the Spanish language is still taught as
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#17328510273893894-419: A radical shift in the role of the crown in government from the model of Philip II. Within a few hours of Philip ascending to the throne, Lerma had been made a royal counsellor by the new king and set about establishing himself as a fully fledged valido , or royal favourite. Lerma, in due course declared a duke, positioned himself as the gateway to the King. All the business of government, Philip instructed,
4071-502: A reform committee, or Junta de Reformación , was established in Lerma's final months in 1618. Under the incoming administration, including the reformist Baltasar de Zúñiga , this committee ground on, but would only deliver substantial, if ill-fated results, when rejuvenated under Philip IV's reign. On his accession, Philip inherited two major conflicts from his father. The first of these, the ongoing and long-running Dutch revolt , represented
4248-486: A scandal; Lerma's extravagant spending and personal debts were beginning to alarm his own son, Cristóbal de Sandoval, Duke of Uceda ; lastly, ten years of quiet diplomacy by Fathers Luis de Aliaga, Philip's confessor, and Juan de Santa Maria, Philip's daughter's confessor and a former client of Queen Margaret , had begun to apply personal and religious pressure on the King to alter his method of government. Philip remained close to Lerma, however, and supported him in becoming
4425-550: A second language features characteristics involving the variability of the vowel system. While far from its heyday during the Spanish protectorate in Morocco , the Spanish language has some presence in northern Morocco , stemming for example from the availability of certain Spanish-language media. According to a 2012 survey by Morocco's Royal Institute for Strategic Studies (IRES), penetration of Spanish in Morocco reaches 4.6% of
4602-518: A second language, largely by Cuban educators. The number of Spanish speakers is unknown. Spanish is also an official language of the African Union . Spanish was an official language of the Philippines from the beginning of Spanish administration in 1565 to a constitutional change in 1973. During Spanish colonization , it was the language of government, trade, and education, and was spoken as
4779-593: A serious challenge to Spanish power from the Protestant United Provinces in a crucial part of the Spanish Empire . The second, the Anglo–Spanish War was a newer, and less critical conflict with Protestant England , marked by a Spanish failure to successfully bring its huge military resources to bear on the smaller English military. Philip's own foreign policy can be divided into three phases. For
4956-663: A son in 1605. Margaret, alongside Philip's grandmother and aunt, Empress Maria —the Austrian representative to the Spanish court—and Margaret of the Cross , Maria's daughter—formed a powerful, uncompromising Catholic and pro-Austrian voice within Philip's life. They were successful, for example, in convincing Philip to provide financial support to Ferdinand from 1600 onwards. Philip steadily acquired other religious advisors. Father Juan de Santa Maria—confessor to Philip's daughter, doña Maria ,
5133-532: A successful campaign against the Dutch—was in a much stronger position than in 1598, despite the poor personal performance of her king during the period. Philip's use of Lerma as his valido has formed one of the key historical and contemporary criticisms against him; recent work has perhaps begun to present a more nuanced picture of the relationship and the institution that survived for the next forty years in Spanish royal government. Like many Habsburgs , Philip III
5310-694: A temporary measure, and that Philip II had envisaged an early revision to Philip III. As a result, Philip's foreign policy in the Netherlands would be exercised through the strong-willed archdukes, but in the knowledge that ultimately the Spanish Netherlands would return to him as king. Meanwhile, the Italian-born Ambrosio Spinola was to perform a crucial role as a Spanish general in the Army of Flanders . Having demonstrated his military prowess at
5487-416: Is cognate to the root word of satisfacer ("to satisfy"), and hecho ("made") is similarly cognate to the root word of satisfecho ("satisfied"). Compare the examples in the following table: Some consonant clusters of Latin also produced characteristically different results in these languages, as shown in the examples in the following table: In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish underwent
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5664-465: Is capped with a large balustrade . This was adorned with a series of statues of saints and kings, but these were relocated elsewhere under the reign of Charles III to give the building a more classical appearance. The restoration of the façade in 1973, which includes Sabitini's balcony of four Doric columns , returned some of Sachetti's sculptures. These include statues of the Aztec ruler Moctezuma II and
5841-456: Is composed of a single piece of San Agustin marble. Two lions grace the landing, one by Felipe de Castro and another by Robert Michel. The frescoes on the ceiling is by Corrado Giaquinto and depicts Religion Protected by Spain . On the ground floor is a statue of Charles III in Roman toga , with a similar statue on the first floor depicting Charles IV. The four cartouches at the corners depict
6018-400: Is curved and bordered by several cafes in the adjoining buildings. Although the plaza was part of Sacchetti's plan for the palace, construction did not begin until 1808 when King Joseph Bonaparte , who ordered the demolition of approximately 60 medieval structures, that included a church, monastery and royal library, located on the site. Joseph was deposed before construction was completed, it
6195-449: Is estimated that about 486 million people speak Spanish as a native language , making it the second most spoken language by number of native speakers . An additional 75 million speak Spanish as a second or foreign language , making it the fourth most spoken language in the world overall after English, Mandarin Chinese, and Hindi with a total number of 538 million speakers. Spanish is also
6372-740: Is heavily influenced by Venezuelan Spanish. In addition to sharing most of its borders with Spanish-speaking countries, the creation of Mercosur in the early 1990s induced a favorable situation for the promotion of Spanish language teaching in Brazil . In 2005, the National Congress of Brazil approved a bill, signed into law by the President , making it mandatory for schools to offer Spanish as an alternative foreign language course in both public and private secondary schools in Brazil. In September 2016 this law
6549-721: Is related to Castile ( Castilla or archaically Castiella ), the kingdom where the language was originally spoken. The name Castile , in turn, is usually assumed to be derived from castillo ('castle'). In the Middle Ages , the language spoken in Castile was generically referred to as Romance and later also as Lengua vulgar . Later in the period, it gained geographical specification as Romance castellano ( romanz castellano , romanz de Castiella ), lenguaje de Castiella , and ultimately simply as castellano (noun). Different etymologies have been suggested for
6726-806: Is spoken by very small communities in Angola due to Cuban influence from the Cold War and in South Sudan among South Sudanese natives that relocated to Cuba during the Sudanese wars and returned for their country's independence. Spanish is also spoken in the integral territories of Spain in Africa, namely the cities of Ceuta and Melilla and the Canary Islands , located in the Atlantic Ocean some 100 km (62 mi) off
6903-804: Is the de facto national language of the country, Spanish is often used in public services and notices at the federal and state levels. Spanish is also used in administration in the state of New Mexico . The language has a strong influence in major metropolitan areas such as those of Los Angeles , Miami , San Antonio , New York , San Francisco , Dallas , Tucson and Phoenix of the Arizona Sun Corridor , as well as more recently, Chicago , Las Vegas , Boston , Denver , Houston , Indianapolis , Philadelphia , Cleveland , Salt Lake City , Atlanta , Nashville , Orlando , Tampa , Raleigh and Baltimore-Washington, D.C. due to 20th- and 21st-century immigration. Although Spanish has no official recognition in
7080-618: The Archbishop and Viceroy of Valencia , whose views were influential with Philip III. Philip's eventual decree to expel a nationality that had lived in Spain for over 800 years and was assimilated within it was based less on doctrinal than financial considerations—confiscating the 'wealth' of the Moriscos – which caused jealousy and resentment by other Christians in Spain, especially in Valencia. Financially,
7257-680: The Battle of Mühlberg , and which was portrayed by Titian in his famous equestrian portrait housed at the Museo del Prado . Unfortunately, parts of the collection were lost during the Peninsular War and during the Spanish Civil War . Still, the armoury retains some of the most important pieces of this art in Europe and the world, including a shield and burgonet by Francesco and Filippo Negroli , one of
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7434-552: The Crown of Castile bore the brunt of royal taxation—Castile carried 65% of total imperial costs by 1616. Philip III received no money from the cortes , or parliaments, of Aragon , the Basque provinces or Portugal ; Valencia only provided one contribution, in 1604. Philip did not openly challenge this situation, but instead depended more and more heavily on the Castilian cortes ; in turn,
7611-701: The Kingdom of France . In a sequence of aggressive policy moves, and largely without firm direction from Philip, his regional proconsuls of the Duke of Osuna , viceroy of Naples and the Marquess of Villafranca , the Governor of Milan , directed the Spanish policy in Italy that encountered resistance from the Duchy of Savoy and the Republic of Venice. To secure the connection between Milan and
7788-517: The Louvre . Initially Juvarra wanted to build the palace in another location, however, the idea was discarded. His disciple Giambattista Sacchetti, also known as Juan Bautista Sacchetti or Giovanni Battista Sacchetti , was chosen to continue the work of his mentor. Sacchetti designed the structure to encompass a large square courtyard and resolved sightline problems by creating projecting wings. In 1760, Charles III called upon Sicilian Francesco Sabatini ,
7965-403: The Middle Ages is one from 1534 by Jan Cornelisz Vermeyen . Emperor Charles V , with the architects Alonso de Covarrubias and Luis de Vega , extended and renovated the castle in 1537. Philip II made Madrid his capital in 1561 and continued the renovations, with new additions. Philip III and Philip IV added a long southern façade between 1610 and 1636. Philip V of Bourbon renovated
8142-723: The Patrimonio Nacional , a public agency of the Ministry of the Presidency . The palace is on Calle de Bailén ("Bailén Street") in the western part of downtown Madrid, east of the Manzanares River , and is accessible from the Ópera metro station . Felipe VI and the royal family do not reside in the palace, choosing instead the Palace of Zarzuela in El Pardo . The palace is on the site of
8319-700: The Spanish Netherlands Ambrosio Spinola had been conspiring to find an opportunity to intervene with the Army of Flanders into the Electoral Palatinate . The Palatinate was a vital, Protestant set of territories along the Rhine threatening the Spanish Road , the main route for reinforcements from other Spanish territories to arrive into the rebellious Dutch provinces (through Genoa). France, assumed bound to support Frederick against Ferdinand,
8496-509: The Spanish as a First Foreign Language (SAFFL) initiative in March 2005. Spanish has historically had a significant presence on the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba , Bonaire and Curaçao ( ABC Islands ) throughout the centuries and in present times. The majority of the populations of each island (especially Aruba) speaking Spanish at varying although often high degrees of fluency. The local language Papiamentu (Papiamento on Aruba)
8673-706: The Spanish royal collection are exhibited elsewhere, especially in the Prado Museum and the Royal Collections Gallery , both in Madrid. Other collections of great historical and artistic importance preserved in the building include the Royal Armoury of Madrid , porcelain, watches, furniture, silverware, and the world's only complete Stradivarius string quintet. The palace was initially built by Muhammad I, Umayyad Emir of Cordoba , between 860 and 880. After
8850-508: The Spanish–American War but was eventually replaced by English as the primary language of administration and education by the 1920s. Nevertheless, despite a significant decrease in influence and speakers, Spanish remained an official language of the Philippines upon independence in 1946, alongside English and Filipino , a standardized version of Tagalog . Spanish was briefly removed from official status in 1973 but reimplemented under
9027-428: The Thirty Years' War (1618–48). The result was a decisive Spanish victory in the Holy Roman Empire that would lead to a recommencement of the war with the Dutch shortly after Philip's death. Europe was anticipating a fresh Imperial election for the position of Holy Roman Emperor upon the likely death of Matthias , who was heirless. Spain and Austria 's common Habsburg ancestry influenced Spain's involvement in
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#17328510273899204-451: The Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe . Today, it is a global language with about 500 million native speakers, mainly in the Americas and Spain , and about 600 million when including second language speakers. Spanish is the official language of 20 countries , as well as one of the six official languages of the United Nations . Spanish is the world's second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese ;
9381-430: The collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. The oldest Latin texts with traces of Spanish come from mid-northern Iberia in the 9th century, and the first systematic written use of the language happened in Toledo , a prominent city of the Kingdom of Castile , in the 13th century. Spanish colonialism in the early modern period spurred the introduction of the language to overseas locations, most notably to
9558-409: The cortes increasingly began to tie new grants of money to specific projects, subtly but steadily altering the relationship between the King and cortes . By the financial crisis of 1607, the cortes had even insisted that it be recalled every three years, and that Philip take an oath—on pain of excommunication —to promise that he had spent the royal funds in line with the promises made previously to
9735-467: The cortes . Philip and Lerma 's attempts to resolve this crisis largely failed, and were not helped by the increasing size of the royal household—an attempt to increase royal prestige and political authority —Philip's own household costs rose enormously at a time of falling income. Philip's attempts to issue new currency—in particular the issues of the copper véllon coinage in 1603–04, 1617 and 1621—simply created considerable instability. The costs of
9912-512: The siege of Ostend in 1603, Spinola rapidly started to propose and implement policies almost independently of the central councils in Madrid, somehow managing to achieve military victories even without central funding from Spain. Lerma was uncertain of how to deal with Spinola; on the one hand, Lerma desperately needed a successful military commander in the Netherlands—on the other, Lerma was contemptuous of Spinola's relatively low origins and scared of his potential to destabilise Lerma at court. In
10089-493: The 'junta of the night' through which Philip II exercised personal authority towards the end of his reign. As a matter of policy, Philip had tried to avoid appointing grandees to major positions of power within his government and relied heavily on the lesser nobles, the so-called 'service' nobility. Philip II had taken the traditional system of councils and applied a high degree of personal scrutiny to them, especially in matters of paperwork, which he declined to delegate—the result
10266-410: The 1560s, which had resulted in the revolt that concluded in 1570. In the final years of his rule, Philip's father had reinvigorated efforts to convert and assimilate the Moriscos, but with almost 200,000 in the south of Spain alone, it was clear by the early years of the new century that this policy was failing. The idea of completely cleansing Spain of the Moriscos was proposed by Juan de Ribera ,
10443-406: The 1590s, remained effective against the English, but after the failure of the Spanish invasion of Ireland at the Battle of Kinsale , Philip reluctantly accepted that further attacks on England were unlikely to succeed. In the Netherlands, a new war strategy resulted in a re-establishment of Spanish power on the north side of the great rivers Meuse and Rhine , stepping up the military pressure on
10620-542: The 19th century, Ferdinand VII , who spent many years imprisoned in the Château de Valençay , began the most thorough renovation of the palace. The aim of this redesign was to turn the old-fashioned Italian-style building into a modern French-style palace. However, his grandson Alfonso XII proposed to turn the palace into a Victorian-style residence. Alfonso's plans were designed by the architect José Segundo de Lema and consisted of remodeling several rooms, replacing marble floors with parquet, and adding period furniture. In
10797-404: The 2021–2022 school year alone. The local business process outsourcing industry has also helped boost the language's economic prospects. Today, while the actual number of proficient Spanish speakers is around 400,000, or under 0.5% of the population, a new generation of Spanish speakers in the Philippines has likewise emerged, though speaker estimates vary widely. Aside from standard Spanish,
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#173285102738910974-406: The 20th century, Spanish was introduced to Equatorial Guinea and the Western Sahara , and to areas of the United States that had not been part of the Spanish Empire, such as Spanish Harlem in New York City . For details on borrowed words and other external influences upon Spanish, see Influences on the Spanish language . Spanish is the primary language in 20 countries worldwide. As of 2023, it
11151-409: The Americas. As a Romance language, Spanish is a descendant of Latin. Around 75% of modern Spanish vocabulary is Latin in origin, including Latin borrowings from Ancient Greek. Alongside English and French , it is also one of the most taught foreign languages throughout the world. Spanish is well represented in the humanities and social sciences . Spanish is also the third most used language on
11328-423: The Central Gardens are marked by a row of statues, popularly known as the Gothic kings — sculptures representing five Visigoth rulers and fifteen rulers of the early Christian kingdoms in the Reconquista . They are carved from limestone , and are part of a series dedicated to all monarchs of Spain . These were ordered for the decoration of the Palacio Real and were executed between 1750 and 1753. Engineers felt
11505-419: The Defensive War gave the Mapuche a much needed respite to replenish their forces that should have been denied. The Real Audiencia of Santiago opined in the 1650s that slavery of Mapuches was one of the reasons for constant state of war between the Spanish and the Mapuche. To improve the relationship, he undertook a trip to Portugal in 1619, applauded by the new minister and valid, the Duke of Uzeda, son of
11682-524: The Duke of Lerma. He was received with enthusiasm, councils and corporations spent enormous sums on reception. He was suggested to make Lisbon the capital of the Spanish monarchy. Noblemen and jurisconsults complained that they neither received favors nor were employed in courts, embassies or spanish universities. The Duke of Uzeda treated Teodósio II, Duke of Braganza , a potential leader of opposition to Spanish rule, who had come to pay homage, harshly. After months in Lisbon, Philip left in October, leaving
11859-495: The Dutch campaign resulted in Philip's bankruptcy in 1607, and the crown's attempt to resolve this by converting the asiento tax system—high-interest loans owed to tax farmers—into longer-term juros bonds paying a much lower interest, produced a short-term benefit, but at the price of losing financial flexibility during future crises. By 1618, almost all Philip's crown income was already assigned to its various creditors and he had almost no spending discretion left. Financially,
12036-401: The Dutch soon recommenced preying upon Portuguese interests, which had already led to the Dutch–Portuguese War in 1602 and would continue till 1654. At least with peace in Europe, the Twelve Year's truce gave Philip's regime an opportunity to begin to recover its financial position. With the death of Henry IV of France —a supporter of the war against Spain—a period of instability commenced in
12213-480: The Dutch, largely occurred after the fall of Lerma and the rise of a new, more aggressive set of advisors in the Madrid court. Philip's initial aim was to achieve a decisive 'great victory' in the long-running war against the rebellious Dutch provinces of the Spanish Netherlands , while placing renewed pressure on the English government of Queen Elizabeth I in an effort to terminate English support for their Dutch colleagues. The Spanish armada , or navy, rebuilt in
12390-433: The Dutch. The truce did not stop the commercial and colonial expansion of the Dutch into the Caribbean and the East-Indies, although Spain had tried to impose the liquidation of the Dutch East India Company as a treaty condition. Minor concessions of the Dutch Republic were the scrapping of the plan to create a Dutch West India Company and to stop the harassment of the Portuguese in Asia. Both concessions were temporary as
12567-523: The Equatoguinean education system and is the primary language used in government and business. Whereas it is not the mother tongue of virtually any of its speakers, the vast majority of the population is proficient in Spanish. The Instituto Cervantes estimates that 87.7% of the population is fluent in Spanish. The proportion of proficient Spanish speakers in Equatorial Guinea exceeds the proportion of proficient speakers in other West and Central African nations of their respective colonial languages. Spanish
12744-554: The German nobility. Philip had also been increasingly influenced over the years by first Queen Margaret , and later the other, powerful Habsburg women at court, while the incoming set of advisors that replaced Lerma, especially de Zúñiga, also saw Spain's future as part of a strong alliance with a Habsburg Holy Roman Empire. Finally, by the Oñate treaty of 29 July 1617, Ferdinand made a successful appeal to Philip's self-interest by promising Spain
12921-688: The Habsburg lands in Alsace in return for Spanish support for his election. Crisis broke out in Ferdinand's Kingdom of Bohemia during 1618–19, with a confrontation between Catholic and Protestant factions. Ferdinand asked Spain for help to put down the rebellion; the Protestant rebels turned to Frederick V, Elector Palatine as their new king. The situation in the Empire was in many ways auspicious for Spanish strategy; in
13098-625: The Holy Trinity Crowning the Virgin . Above the High Altar is Ramon Bayeu 's St. Michael . The reliquary altar has Ercole Ferrata 's 1659 silver relief Pope Leo I Stopping Attila at the Gates of Rome . Formerly the apartment of Alfonso XIII's mother, Maria Christina of Austria , the room contains Charles III's throne, scepter and crown. Tapestries from Jacopo Amigoni 's Four Seasons adorn
13275-691: The Iberian Peninsula. These languages included Proto-Basque , Iberian , Lusitanian , Celtiberian and Gallaecian . The first documents to show traces of what is today regarded as the precursor of modern Spanish are from the 9th century. Throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era , the most important influences on the Spanish lexicon came from neighboring Romance languages — Mozarabic ( Andalusi Romance ), Navarro-Aragonese , Leonese , Catalan/Valencian , Portuguese , Galician , Occitan , and later, French and Italian . Spanish also borrowed
13452-578: The Inca emperor Atahualpa , works by Juan Pascual de Mena and Domingo Martínez, respectively. Representations of the Roman emperors Honorius , Theodosius I , and Arcadius by G.D. Olivieri, and Trajan by Felipe de Castro were placed in the Prince's courtyard. Flanking Sabatini's clock the Statues of Philip V, Ferdinand VI , Barbara of Braganza and Maria Luisa of Savoy interspersed with The Rising Sun Following
13629-406: The King's personal representative; indeed, in 1612 the councils were ordered by Philip to obey Lerma as if he were the king. The degree to which Lerma himself played an active role in government has been disputed. Contemporaries were inclined to see Lerma's hand in every action of government; others have since thought Lerma to have 'neither the temperament nor the energy' to impose himself greatly on
13806-621: The Mapuche could be voluntarily converted to Christianity only if there was peace. To diminish hostilities Valdivia proposed a Defensive War in a letter to Philip. The King supported the idea, issuing a decree that established the Defensive War as an official policy in 1612. By the time Defensive War was established war between Spanish and Mapuche had been going on for 70 years. These policies were not without criticism. Maestre de campo and corregidor of Concepción Santiago de Tesillo claimed
13983-558: The Moors were driven out of Toledo in the 11th century, the castle retained its defensive function. Henry III of Castile added several towers. His son John II used it as a royal residence. During the War of the Castilian Succession (1476) the troops of Joanna la Beltraneja were besieged in the alcázar, during which the building suffered severe damage. The only drawing of the castle from
14160-480: The Netherlands a new route for the Spanish Road was opened through Valtellina , then part of the independent state of the Three Leagues (the present-day canton of Graubünden , Switzerland), and in 1618 the plot of Venice occurred in which the authorities engaged in the persecution of pro-Spanish agents. In the final years of Philip's reign, Spain entered the initial part of the conflict that would become known as
14337-529: The Old Spanish sibilants) for details. The Gramática de la lengua castellana , written in Salamanca in 1492 by Elio Antonio de Nebrija , was the first grammar written for a modern European language. According to a popular anecdote, when Nebrija presented it to Queen Isabella I , she asked him what was the use of such a work, and he answered that language is the instrument of empire. In his introduction to
14514-531: The Pious , Philip's political reputation abroad has been largely negative. Historians C. V. Wedgwood , R. Stradling and J. H. Elliott have described him, respectively, as an "undistinguished and insignificant man," a "miserable monarch," and a "pallid, anonymous creature, whose only virtue appeared to reside in a total absence of vice." In particular, Philip's reliance on his corrupt chief minister, Francisco Gómez de Sandoval, 1st Duke of Lerma , drew much criticism at
14691-511: The Plaza de Oriente, in order to give a better view of the Royal Palace. A decade later Segundo de Lema added a staircase to the original design of Fernández, which led to the idea of Francisco de Cubas to give more importance to the emerging church of Almudena. The Plaza de Oriente is a rectangular park that connects the east façade of Palacio Real to the Teatro Real . The eastern side of plaza
14868-452: The Plaza de la Armería was used for many decades as anteplaza de armas. Sachetti tried to build a cathedral to finish the cornice of the Manzanares , and Sabatini proposed to unite this building with the royal palace, to form a single block. Both projects were ignored by Charles III. Ángel Fernández de los Ríos in 1868 proposed the creation of a large wooded area that would travel all around
15045-633: The Royal Palace contains approximately twenty thousand articles ranging from the Disastrous decade (1823-1833) to the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic in 1931. In addition, it holds some scores of musicians of the Royal Chapel, privileges of various kings, the founding order of the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial , the testament of Philip II and correspondence of most of
15222-427: The Royal Palace. Geometrically sited between its rides, there are several fountains. The Republican government constructed the gardens to return the area from control of the royal family to the people, the public was not allowed in the gardens until 1978 when they were opened by King Juan Carlos I . Built by Sabatini in 1789 when Charles IV wanted it moved to the opposite side of where Sabatini placed it in 1760, it
15399-554: The Sandoval family as a close ally of Lerma, again showed significant independence as the Viceroy of Naples towards the end of Philip's reign. In conjunction with the Spanish ambassador to Venice, the influential Alfonso de la Cueva, 1st Marquis of Bedmar , Osuna pursued a policy of raising an extensive army, intercepting Venetian shipping and imposing sufficiently high taxes that threats of a revolt began to emerge. To exacerbate matters, Osuna
15576-464: The Seven Planets, Satyr , Germanicus , and four Medici lions flanking the dual throne. Charles III's Anteroom (Saleta) contains a 1774 ceiling fresco Apotheosis of Trajan by A.R. Mengs. The Antechamber of Charles III (The Conversation Room) also contains a ceiling fresco by Anton Raphael Mengs , The Apotheosis of Hercules . This room has four royal family portraits by Goya . Formerly
15753-461: The Spanish state had become dominated by Genoese bankers and lenders under Philip II, whose lines of credit had allowed the Spanish state to continue during its moments of financial crisis; under Philip III this process remained unchecked, building up considerable resentment against this foreign influence, some going so far as to term the bankers 'white moors'. Throughout Philip's reign, a body of analysis of Spain's condition began to emerge through
15930-483: The Spanish-speaking world, Spanish is called not only español but also castellano (Castilian), the language from the Kingdom of Castile , contrasting it with other languages spoken in Spain such as Galician , Basque , Asturian , Catalan/Valencian , Aragonese , Occitan and other minor languages. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the official language of
16107-502: The U.S. population were of Hispanic or Hispanic American by origin. In turn, 41.8 million people in the United States aged five or older speak Spanish at home, or about 13% of the population. Spanish predominates in the unincorporated territory of Puerto Rico , where it is also an official language along with English. Spanish is by far the most common second language in the country, with over 50 million total speakers if non-native or second-language speakers are included. While English
16284-455: The Zodiac . Above the clock is the royal coat of arms flanked by angels, and, above that, bells that date from 1637 and 1761. The square as it exists now was laid-out in 1892, according to a plan by the architect Enrique María Repullés . However, the history of this square dates back to 1553, the year in which Philip II ordered a building to house the royal stables. The Almudena Cathedral faces
16461-408: The actions of government; still others consider Lerma to have carefully attended only those Councils of State that addressed matters of great importance to the King, creating a space for the wider professionalisation of government that had been lacking under Philip II. This new system of government became increasingly unpopular very quickly. The novel idea of a valido exercising power went against
16638-451: The administration of Ferdinand Marcos two months later. It remained an official language until the ratification of the present constitution in 1987, in which it was re-designated as a voluntary and optional auxiliary language. Additionally, the constitution, in its Article XIV, stipulates that the Government shall provide the people of the Philippines with a Spanish-language translation of
16815-543: The alcázar was destroyed by a fire that originated in the rooms of the French painter Jean Ranc . Response to the fire was delayed due to the warning bells being confused with the call to mass. For fear of looting, the doors of the building remained closed, hampering rescue efforts. Many works of art were lost, such as the Expulsion of the Moors , by Diego Velázquez . Others, such as Las Meninas , were rescued by tossing them out
16992-475: The area occurred under King Philip IV, who built fountains and planted various types of vegetation, but its overall look remained largely neglected. During the construction of the palace various landscaping projects were put forth based on the gardens of the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso , but lack of funds hampered further improvement until the reign of Isabella II who began work in earnest. Following
17169-489: The background, tensions continued to grow, however, and by 1618 the policies of Philip's 'proconsuls'—men like Spinola , Fuentes , Villafranca , Osuna and Bedmar —were increasingly at odds with Lerma's policy from Madrid. The final period, in which Philip intervened in the Holy Roman Empire to secure the election of Ferdinand II as Holy Roman Emperor and in which preparations were made for renewed conflict with
17346-457: The best in the world and consists of pieces as early as the 13th century. This collection of weapons and armor once worn by kings and their top soldiers. The building, designed by J.S. de Lema and E. Repulles , was opened in 1897 The collection highlights the tournament pieces made for Charles V and Philip II by the leading armourers of Milan and Augsburg . Among the most remarkable works are full armour and weapons that Emperor Charles V used in
17523-546: The calle de Bailén and the cuesta de San Vicente. The garden follows the symmetrical French design and work began in 1933, under the Republican government. Although they were designed by Zaragozan architect Fernando García Mercadal, they were named for Francesco Sabatini who designed the royal stables that previously occupied this site. These gardens feature a large rectangular pond which is surrounded by four fountains and statues of Spanish kings which were originally intended to crown
17700-672: The classic hispanus or hispanicus took the suffix -one from Vulgar Latin , as happened with other words such as bretón (Breton) or sajón (Saxon). Like the other Romance languages , the Spanish language evolved from Vulgar Latin , which was brought to the Iberian Peninsula by the Romans during the Second Punic War , beginning in 210 BC. Several pre-Roman languages (also called Paleohispanic languages )—some distantly related to Latin as Indo-European languages , and some that are not related at all—were previously spoken in
17877-495: The consonant written b (a bilabial with plosive and fricative allophones). In modern Spanish, there is no difference between the pronunciation of orthographic b and v . Typical of Spanish (as also of neighboring Gascon extending as far north as the Gironde estuary , and found in a small area of Calabria ), attributed by some scholars to a Basque substratum was the mutation of Latin initial f into h- whenever it
18054-642: The convoluted politics of the Empire: on the one hand, Philip had a vested interest in the success of his cousin Ferdinand of Bohemia , who intended to follow Matthias to the throne; on the other, Philip had hopes of electing one of his own family, such as Prince Philip , to the Imperial throne and worried that a failed bid by Ferdinand might reduce collective Habsburg prestige. Philip finally chose to intervene behind Ferdinand. Prince Philip had been rejected as unacceptable to
18231-615: The country dissatisfied, especially after the reappointment of the Marquis of Alenquer as Viceroy. His son, the future Philip III of Portugal , was sworn as the legitimate heir by the Portuguese. In the rest of Portugal's domains, the Dutch had tried to take the Moluccas , Malacca and Mozambique , being defeated by André Furtado de Mendonça and Estêvão de Ataíde. The reform of the kingdom's Ordinances
18408-399: The country that one ruled. Secondly, Philip may have shared Lerma's view that the governmental system of Philip II was fast proving impractical and unnecessarily excluded the great nobles of the kingdoms—it had been creaking badly in the last decades of his father's life. Lastly, Philip's own personality and his friendship with Lerma heavily shaped his approach to policy-making. The result was
18585-404: The country's constitution. In recent years changing attitudes among non-Spanish speaking Filipinos have helped spur a revival of the language, and starting in 2009 Spanish was reintroduced as part of the basic education curriculum in a number of public high schools, becoming the largest foreign language program offered by the public school system, with over 7,000 students studying the language in
18762-567: The elements of water, earth, air and fire. The Royal Library was moved to the lower floor during the regency of Maria Christina . The bookshelves date from the period of Charles III, Isabella II and Alfonso XII. Highlights of the collection include the Book of hours of Isabella I of Castile , a codex of the time of Alfonso XI of Castile , a Bible of Doña María de Molina and the Fiestas reales , dedicated to Ferdinand VI by Farinelli . Also important are
18939-470: The families to Tunis or Morocco . Philip intervened in the problematic decision of what to do with Morisco children—should they be allowed to take them to Islamic countries, where they would be brought up as Muslims—and if they were to remain in Spain, what should be done with them? Philip paternalistically decreed that Morisco children under the age of seven could not be taken to Islamic countries, but that any children remaining in Valencia should be free from
19116-499: The famine that rose from Andalusia' to grip the country. While the failing harvests affected the rural areas most, the plagues reduced the urban population most significantly, in turn reducing the demand for manufactured goods and undermining the economy further. The result was an economically weakened Spain with a rapidly falling population. Financially, Philip's situation did not appear much better. He had inherited huge debts from his father, Philip II, and an unhelpful tradition that
19293-402: The first nine years of his reign, he pursued a highly aggressive set of policies, aiming to deliver a 'great victory'. His instructions to Lerma to wage a war of 'blood and iron' on his rebellious subjects in the Netherlands reflects this. After 1609, when it became evident that Spain was financially exhausted and Philip sought a truce with the Dutch, there followed a period of retrenchment; in
19470-661: The following table: Spanish is marked by palatalization of the Latin double consonants ( geminates ) nn and ll (thus Latin annum > Spanish año , and Latin anellum > Spanish anillo ). The consonant written u or v in Latin and pronounced [w] in Classical Latin had probably " fortified " to a bilabial fricative /β/ in Vulgar Latin. In early Spanish (but not in Catalan or Portuguese) it merged with
19647-466: The former British colony of Belize (known until 1973 as British Honduras ) where English is the sole official language, according to the 2022 census, 54% of the total population are able to speak the language. Due to its proximity to Spanish-speaking countries and small existing native Spanish speaking minority, Trinidad and Tobago has implemented Spanish language teaching into its education system. The Trinidadian and Tobagonian government launched
19824-584: The grammar, dated 18 August 1492, Nebrija wrote that "... language was always the companion of empire." From the 16th century onwards, the language was taken to the Spanish-discovered America and the Spanish East Indies via Spanish colonization of America . Miguel de Cervantes , author of Don Quixote , is such a well-known reference in the world that Spanish is often called la lengua de Cervantes ("the language of Cervantes"). In
20001-557: The internet by number of users after English and Chinese and the second most used language by number of websites after English. Spanish is used as an official language by many international organizations , including the United Nations , European Union , Organization of American States , Union of South American Nations , Community of Latin American and Caribbean States , African Union , among others. In Spain and some other parts of
20178-571: The king as Apollo . An 1878 bronze statue of Charles V Vanquishing Fury is by Ferdinand Barbedienne . The bronze chandeliers were made in Paris in 1846, and installed by Isabella II for her balls. The Throne Room dates from Charles III in 1772, and features Tiepolo's ceiling fresco, The Apotheosis of the Spanish Monarchy . Bronze sculptures include the Four Cardinal Virtues , four of
20355-624: The kings of the House of Bourbon . During the reign of Philip II the Royal Pharmacy became an appendage of the royal household and ordered the supply of medicines, a role that continues today. The collection includes jars made in La Granja de San Ildefonso, 19th century, and Talavera de la Reina pottery , 18th century. Along with the Imperial Armoury of Vienna , the armoury is considered one of
20532-535: The language's hegemony in an intensely centralising Spanish state were established from the 18th century onward. Other European territories in which it is also widely spoken include Gibraltar and Andorra . Spanish is also spoken by immigrant communities in other European countries, such as the United Kingdom , France , Italy , and Germany . Spanish is an official language of the European Union . Today,
20709-458: The level of taxation in many of the more peripheral provinces was less than in Castile, but the privileged position of the Castilian nobility at all senior levels of royal appointment was a contentious issue for the less favoured provinces. One of Philip's first domestic changes was the issuing of a decree in 1609 for the expulsion of the Moriscos from Spain, timed to coincide with the declaration of
20886-538: The long-standing popular conception that the king should exercise his powers personally, not through another. Before long, the apparatus of the Spanish government was packed with Lerma's relatives, Lerma's servants and Lerma's political friends, to the exclusion of others. Lerma responded by further limiting his public visibility in politics, avoiding signing and writing documents personally, and constantly stressing that he was, humbly, only working on behalf of his master, Philip III. Lerma's role as royal favourite at court
21063-466: The main building and included three square courtyards that would be smaller than the large central courtyard. Work on this expansion started quickly but was soon interrupted, leaving the foundations buried under a platform on which the royal stables were later built. The stables were demolished in the 20th century and replaced by the Sabatini Gardens . Charles III first occupied the palace in 1764. In
21240-686: The majority of the Spanish speakers live in Hispanic America . Nationally, Spanish is the official language—either de facto or de jure —of Argentina , Bolivia (co-official with 36 indigenous languages), Chile , Colombia , Costa Rica , Cuba , Dominican Republic , Ecuador , El Salvador , Guatemala , Honduras , Mexico (co-official with 63 indigenous languages), Nicaragua , Panama , Paraguay (co-official with Guaraní ), Peru (co-official with Quechua , Aymara , and "the other indigenous languages"), Puerto Rico (co-official with English), Uruguay , and Venezuela . Spanish language has
21417-466: The maps kept in the library, which analyze the extent of the kingdoms under the Spanish Empire . Also on display a selection of the best medals from the Royal Collection. The bookcovers demonstrate evolution of binding styles by era. Examples in the holdings include Rococo in gold with iron lace, Neoclassical in polychrome and Romantic with Gothic and Renaissance motifs. The Archives of
21594-460: The most famous designers in the armourers' guild. The Halberdier's Room , or Guard Room, was designed by Sabatini, and includes the fresco by Tiepolo , Venus and Vulcan . Two paintings by Luca Giordano depict scenes from the life of Solomon . The Hall of Columns has a ceiling fresco by Giaquinto, representing The Sun before Which All the Forces of Nature Awaken and Rejoice , an allegory of
21771-527: The negative interpretation given to the role of Philip and Lerma during the period. Traditionally, the decline of Spain has been placed from the 1590s onwards; revisionist historians from the 1960s, however, presented an alternative analysis, arguing that in many ways Philip III's Spain of 1621—reinforced with new territories in Alsace, at peace with France, dominant in the Holy Roman Empire, and about to begin
21948-762: The northwest of the African mainland. The Spanish spoken in the Canary Islands traces its origins back to the Castilian conquest in the 15th century , and, in addition to a resemblance to Western Andalusian speech patterns, it also features strong influence from the Spanish varieties spoken in the Americas, which in turn have also been influenced historically by Canarian Spanish. The Spanish spoken in North Africa by native bilingual speakers of Arabic or Berber who also speak Spanish as
22125-457: The ongoing Dutch revolt , Spanish possessions in Italy and along the Spanish Road appeared secure; globally, the combination of Castilian and Portuguese colonial territories gave a Spanish ruler unparalleled reach from the Americas to the Philippines and beyond through India to Africa. The challenge for such a ruler was that these territories were, in legal reality, separate bodies, different entities bound together in personal union through
22302-636: The other hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. However, from 1713 to 1923, it called the language castellano . The Diccionario panhispánico de dudas (a language guide published by the Royal Spanish Academy) states that, although the Royal Spanish Academy prefers to use the term español in its publications when referring to the Spanish language, both terms— español and castellano —are regarded as synonymous and equally valid. The term castellano
22479-508: The palace across the plaza. Its exterior is neo-classical to match its surroundings while its interior is neo-gothic. Construction was funded by King Alfonso XII to house the remains of his wife Mercedes of Orléans . Construction of the church began in 1878 and concluded in 1992. Narciso Pascual Colomer , the same architect who crafted the Plaza de Oriente , designed the layout of the plaza in 1879, but failed to materialize. The site now occupied by
22656-416: The palace is notable for its wealth of art and the use of many types of fine materials in the construction and the decoration of its rooms. It includes paintings by artists such as Caravaggio , Juan de Flandes , Francisco de Goya , and Diego Velázquez , and frescoes by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo , Corrado Giaquinto , and Anton Raphael Mengs . Many of the paintings at some time hung in the palace as part of
22833-472: The period have described an 'undistinguished and insignificant man', a 'miserable monarch', whose 'only virtue appeared to reside in a total absence of vice'. More generally, Philip has largely retained the reputation of 'a weak, dim-witted monarch who preferred hunting and traveling to governing'. Unlike Philip IV, whose reputation has improved significantly in the light of recent analysis, Philip III's reign has been relatively unstudied, possibly because of
23010-529: The population. Many northern Moroccans have rudimentary knowledge of Spanish, with Spanish being particularly significant in areas adjacent to Ceuta and Melilla. Spanish also has a presence in the education system of the country (through either selected education centers implementing Spain's education system, primarily located in the North, or the availability of Spanish as foreign language subject in secondary education). In Western Sahara , formerly Spanish Sahara ,
23187-449: The process of removing the last elements of the Sandoval family regime from court. The story told in the memoirs of the French ambassador François de Bassompierre , that he was killed by the heat of a brasero (a pan of hot charcoal), because the proper official to take it away was not at hand, is a humorous exaggeration of the formal etiquette of the court. Philip has generally left a poor legacy with historians. Three major historians of
23364-839: The queen's apartments under Charles III, the three rooms were converted into a banquet hall by Alfonso XII in 1879, and completed in 1885. The three ceiling frescoes remained though, Dawn in Her Chariot by Anton Raphael Mengs , Christopher Columbus Offering the New World to the Catholic Monarchs by Alejandro González Velázquez , and Boabdil Giving the Keys to Granada to the Catholic Monarchs by Francisco Bayeu y Subías . These rooms were formerly occupied by Infante Luis, Count of Chinchón before his exile. The Stradivarius Room now contains
23541-533: The rebel provinces. The strategy of a 'great victory,' however, began to descend into a financial war of attrition: the Southern Netherlands —still under Spanish control—and the Dutch Republic in the north—dominated by Calvinist Protestants—were both exhausted, and after the 1607 financial crisis, Spain too was unable to pursue the war. Philip III turned to peace negotiations instead; with the accession to
23718-566: The recommencement of war—his son, Philip IV, retained his chief foreign policy advisor, de Zúñiga , and an initially highly successful campaign against the Dutch began the same year. In the Americas Philip inherited a difficult situation in Chile , where the Arauco War raged and the local Mapuche succeeded in razing seven Spanish cities (1598–1604). An estimate by Alonso González de Nájera put
23895-514: The reign of his father or son. In the Netherlands, his father Philip II had bequeathed his remaining territories in the Low Countries to his daughter Isabella of Spain and her husband, Archduke Albert , under the condition that if she died without heirs, the province would return to the Spanish Crown. Given that Isabella was notoriously childless, it was clear that this was only intended to be
24072-401: The route being changed every few months. An admission fee is charged; however, at some times it is free. The main façade of the palace, the one facing the Plaza de la Armeria, consists of a two-story rusticated stone base, from which rise Ionic columns on Tuscan pilasters framing the windows of the three main floors. The upper story is hidden behind a cornice which encircles the building and
24249-404: The royal apartments in 1700. The alcázar of the Habsburgs was austere in comparison to the Palace of Versailles where the new king had spent his childhood; and he began a series of redesigns mainly planned by Teodoro Ardemans and René Carlier, with the main rooms being redecorated by Queen Maria Luisa of Savoy and the Princess of Ursins in the style of French palaces. On Christmas Eve 1734,
24426-452: The royal institutions of the Spanish crown, utilising Castilian nobility as a ruling class . Even within the peninsula itself, Philip would rule through the kingdoms of Castile , Aragon , and Portugal , the autonomous provinces of Catalonia and Andalusia —all only loosely joined through the institution of the Castile monarchy and the person of Philip III. Each part had different taxation, privileges and military arrangements; in practice,
24603-412: The royal treasury stood to gain by seizing the assets of the removed peoples, while in due course those close to the crown would benefit from cheap land or gifts of estates. Estimates vary slightly, but between around 275,000 to over 300,000 Moriscos were forced out of Spain between 1609 and 1614. To accomplish this, the armada , or navy, and 30,000 soldiers were mobilized with the mission of transporting
24780-529: The statues were too heavy for the palace balustrade, so they were left on ground level where their lack of fine detail is readily apparent. The remainder of the statues are in the Sabatini Gardens. Isabel II laid out the grounds so that Pietro Tacca 's equestrian statue of Philip IV was placed in the center, opposite the Prince's Gate. These gardens are so named because the Muslim leader Ali ben Yusuf allegedly camped here with his troops in 1109 during an attempted reconquest of Madrid. The first improvements to
24957-402: The taste of the times, the park was designed in the Romanticist style. The Triton fountain from the Islet Garden of Aranjuez and the Fountain of the Shells from the Palace of Infante don Luis at Boadilla del Monte were aligned in the center of the right angled pathways by Isabel II, according to plans by Narciso Pascual Colomer . Under the regency of Maria Christina of Austria , the park
25134-431: The term español (Spanish). According to the Royal Spanish Academy, español derives from the Occitan word espaignol and that, in turn, derives from the Vulgar Latin * hispaniolus ('of Hispania'). Hispania was the Roman name for the entire Iberian Peninsula . There are other hypotheses apart from the one suggested by the Royal Spanish Academy. Spanish philologist Ramón Menéndez Pidal suggested that
25311-444: The theories of Ramón Menéndez Pidal , local sociolects of Vulgar Latin evolved into Spanish, in the north of Iberia, in an area centered in the city of Burgos , and this dialect was later brought to the city of Toledo , where the written standard of Spanish was first developed, in the 13th century. In this formative stage, Spanish developed a strongly differing variant from its close cousin, Leonese , and, according to some authors,
25488-465: The third most used language on the Internet , after English and Chinese. Spanish is the official language of Spain . Upon the emergence of the Castilian Crown as the dominant power in the Iberian Peninsula by the end of the Middle Ages, the Romance vernacular associated with this polity became increasingly used in instances of prestige and influence, and the distinction between "Castilian" and "Spanish" started to become blurred. Hard policies imposing
25665-520: The threat of enslavement, and rejected some of Ribera's more extreme suggestions. While popular at the time, and in keeping with earlier policies, this measure significantly damaged the economies of the Kingdom of Valencia , Aragon and Murcia . The supply of cheap labour and the number of rent paying property owners in these areas decreased considerably, as did agricultural outputs. The cultivation of sugarcane and rice had to be substituted for white mulberry , vineyards and wheat. Philip III's reign
25842-422: The throne of James I of England it became possible to terminate both the war and English support to the Dutch, with the signature in 1604 of the Treaty of London . The Twelve Years' Truce with the Dutch followed in 1609, which enabled the Southern Netherlands to recover, but it was a de facto recognition of the independence of the Dutch Republic , and many European powers established diplomatic relations with
26019-422: The time and afterwards. For many, the decline of Spain can be dated to the economic difficulties that set in during the early years of his reign. Nonetheless, as the ruler of the Spanish Empire at its height and as the king who achieved a temporary peace with the Dutch (1609–1621) and brought Spain into the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) through an (initially) extremely successful campaign, Philip's reign remains
26196-481: The toll at 3,000 Spanish settlers killed and 500 Spanish women taken into captivity by Mapuche. In retaliation the proscription against enslaving Indians captured in war was lifted by Philip in 1608. This decree was abused when Spanish settlers in Chiloé Archipelago used it to justify slave raids against groups such as the Chono people of northwestern Patagonia, who had never been under Spanish rule and never rebelled. Jesuit missionary Luis de Valdivia believed
26373-410: The twentieth century, restoration work was needed to repair damage suffered during the Spanish Civil War , by repairing or reinstalling decoration and decorative trim and replacing damaged walls with faithful reproductions of the originals. The palace is now open to the public, except during state functions, although it is so large that only a selection of rooms are on the visitor route at any one time,
26550-413: The walls. Also of note are the abdication speech of Juan Carlos I and the proclamation speech of Felipe VI . The wedding banquet of Prince Felipe and Letizia Ortiz took place on 22 May 2004 in the central courtyard of the palace. Spanish language Spanish ( español ) or Castilian ( castellano ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from
26727-533: The whole of Spain, in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas (lit. "the other Spanish languages "). Article III reads as follows: El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado. ... Las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas... Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State. ... The other Spanish languages shall also be official in their respective Autonomous Communities... The Royal Spanish Academy ( Real Academia Española ), on
26904-420: The windows. Fortunately, many pieces were saved because shortly before the blaze the King ordered that much of his collection be moved to the Buen Retiro Palace . This fire lasted four days and completely destroyed the old alcázar, whose remaining walls were finally demolished in 1738. Italian architect Filippo Juvarra oversaw work on the new palace and devised a lavish project inspired by Bernini's plans for
27081-426: The work of the numerous arbitristas , or commentators, that dominated public discussions from around 1600 through to the 1630s. These different voices focused heavily on the political economy of Spain—the rural depopulation, the diverse and bureaucratic administrative methods, the social hierarchies and corruption, offering numerous, if often contradictory, solutions. Nonetheless, through most of Philip's reign there
27258-444: The world's fourth-most spoken language overall after English , Mandarin Chinese, and Hindustani ( Hindi - Urdu ); and the world's most widely spoken Romance language. The country with the largest population of native speakers is Mexico . Spanish is part of the Ibero-Romance language group , in which the language is also known as Castilian ( castellano ). The group evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after
27435-416: The years leading to the outbreak of war in 1618, Spinola was working to produce a plan to finally defeat the Dutch Republic , involving an intervention in the Rhineland followed by fresh hostilities aiming to cut the Low Countries in two: portrayed at the time as the 'spider in the web' of Catholic politics in the region, Spinola was operating without significant consultation with Philip in Madrid. In Italy,
27612-517: Was King of Spain . As Philip II , he was also King of Portugal , Naples , Sicily and Sardinia and Duke of Milan from 1598 until his death in 1621. A member of the House of Habsburg , Philip III was born in Madrid to King Philip II of Spain and his fourth wife, his niece Anna , the daughter of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria of Spain . Philip III later married his cousin Margaret of Austria , sister of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor . Although also known in Spain as Philip
27789-442: Was a 'ponderous' process. To his contemporaries, the degree of personal oversight he exercised was excessive; his 'self-imposed role as the chief clerk to the Spanish empire' was not thought entirely appropriate. Philip first started to become engaged in practical government at the age of 15, when he joined Philip II's private committee. Philip III's approach to government appears to have stemmed from three main drivers. Firstly, he
27966-432: Was bedridden, covered in sores and abscesses. He died at the age of 42 due to pulmonary thromboembolism due to prolonged immobilization. It is said that his last words were: “Oh! If at that time I had been in a desert to become a saint! Now I would appear with more confidence at the judgment seat of Jesus Christ!” Philip III died in Madrid on 31 March 1621, and was succeeded by his son, Philip IV , who rapidly completed
28143-493: Was considered by contemporaries to be extremely pious—in some cases, excessively pious, and too influenced by the Church —'astute and very skillful' in her political dealings, although 'melancholic' and unhappy over the influence of the Duke of Lerma over her husband at court. Margaret continued to fight an ongoing battle with Lerma for influence up until her death in 1611. Philip had an 'affectionate, close relationship' with Margaret, and paid her additional attention after they had
28320-526: Was considered unsuitable by the King and Philip's tutors. Lerma was dispatched to Valencia as viceroy in 1595, with the aim of removing Philip from his influence; but after Lerma pleaded poor health, he was allowed to return two years later. By now in poor health himself, King Philip II was becoming increasingly concerned over the prince's future, and he attempted to establish de Moura as a future, trusted advisor to his son, appointing his ally, García Loaysa y Girón as archbishop of Toledo . The Prince received
28497-581: Was developed in the cities of Toledo , in the 13th to 16th centuries, and Madrid , from the 1570s. The development of the Spanish sound system from that of Vulgar Latin exhibits most of the changes that are typical of Western Romance languages , including lenition of intervocalic consonants (thus Latin vīta > Spanish vida ). The diphthongization of Latin stressed short e and o —which occurred in open syllables in French and Italian, but not at all in Catalan or Portuguese—is found in both open and closed syllables in Spanish, as shown in
28674-446: Was distinguished by a heavy Basque influence (see Iberian Romance languages ). This distinctive dialect spread to southern Spain with the advance of the Reconquista , and meanwhile gathered a sizable lexical influence from the Arabic of Al-Andalus , much of it indirectly, through the Romance Mozarabic dialects (some 4,000 Arabic -derived words, make up around 8% of the language today). The written standard for this new language
28851-409: Was felt by contemporaries to have an excessive influence over Philip at the end of his life, and both he and Luis de Aliaga Martínez , Philip's own confessor , were credited with influencing the overthrow of Lerma in 1618. Similarly Mariana de San Jose, a favoured nun of Queen Margaret's, was also criticised for her later influence over the King's actions. The Spanish crown at the time ruled through
29028-533: Was finished by Queen Isabella II who tasked architect Narciso Pascual Colomer with creating the final design in 1844. Pathways divide the Plaza into three main plots: the Central Gardens, the Cabo Noval Gardens and the Lepanto Gardens. The Central Gardens are arranged in a grid around the central monument to Philip IV , following the Baroque model garden. They consist of seven flowerbeds, each bordered with box hedges and holding small cypress, yew and magnolias and annual flowers. The north and south boundaries of
29205-713: Was followed by a vowel that did not diphthongize. The h- , still preserved in spelling, is now silent in most varieties of the language, although in some Andalusian and Caribbean dialects, it is still aspirated in some words. Because of borrowings from Latin and neighboring Romance languages, there are many f -/ h - doublets in modern Spanish: Fernando and Hernando (both Spanish for "Ferdinand"), ferrero and herrero (both Spanish for "smith"), fierro and hierro (both Spanish for "iron"), and fondo and hondo (both words pertaining to depth in Spanish, though fondo means "bottom", while hondo means "deep"); additionally, hacer ("to make")
29382-488: Was found to have prevented the local Neapolitans from petitioning Philip III to complain. Osuna fell from power only when Lerma had lost his royal favour, and Osuna's negative impact on Philip's plans for intervention in Germany had become intolerable. From 1612 onwards, and certainly by 1617, the Lerma administration was crumbling. The monopoly of power in the hands of the Lerma's Sandoval family had generated numerous enemies; Lerma's personal enrichment in office had become
29559-423: Was further complicated by the rise of various ' proconsuls ' under Philip III's reign—significant Spanish representatives overseas, who came to exercise independent judgement and even independent policies in the absence of strong leadership from the centre. The challenges to government communication during the period encouraged aspects of this, but the phenomenon was much more marked under Philip III than under either
29736-410: Was heavily influenced by the eirenic ideas being circulated in Italian circles in reaction to the new Humanist theories of governance, typified by Machiavelli . Writers such as Girolamo Frachetta , who became a particular favourite of Philip, had propagated a conservative definition of 'reason of state' which centred on exercising a princely prudence and a strict obedience to the laws and customs of
29913-472: Was in fact inclined to remain neutral. The Spanish troops headed by Spinola in the Palatinate and by Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly in Bohemia achieved a decisive victory against the Czechs in the Battle of White Mountain in 1620. With the Dutch now vulnerable to a strike through the Rhine valley, a renewed war against the Provinces, with the aim of forcing the Dutch to a more suitable permanent peace, appeared inevitable. Philip died in 1621 shortly before
30090-444: Was marked by significant economic problems across Spain. Famine struck during the 1590s through a sequence of bad harvests, while from 1599 to 1600 and for several years afterwards there was a terrible outbreak of bubonic plague across Spain, killing over 10% of the population. Mateo Alemán , one of the first modern novelists in Europe, captured the despondent mood of the period, describing 'the plague that came down from Castile and
30267-496: Was no significant attempt at reform—Philip continued to rule in line with local laws and customs. Philip encouraged consolidation of noble estates, selling off large quantities of crown lands to favoured nobles and creditors. There were no attempts to create an equivalent to the French intendant position—the closest equivalent, the corregidor , lacked the strong links to the crown required to overcome local opposition. Only in Philip's final years did reform begin to gain momentum;
30444-417: Was not in fact particularly intelligent or academically gifted. Nonetheless, Philip does not appear to have been naive—his correspondence to his daughters shows a distinctive cautious streak in his advice on dealing with court intrigue. Philip first met the Marquis of Denia —the future Duke of Lerma—then, a gentleman of the King's chamber, in his early teens. Lerma and Philip became close friends, but Lerma
30621-415: Was published in Portugal in 1603, which the King addressed at the beginning of his reign. These are the well-known ordinations called Philippine Ordinances, which were preceded by those entitled Afonsine and Manueline . This King became known in Portugal by the nickname The Pious . Upon leaving Portugal in 1619, he fell seriously ill in Covarrubias , and never recovered, dying within a year. For 53 days he
30798-401: Was reformed according to Ramon Oliva's Romantic-style plans. Between the Fountain of Tritons and the palace is The Large Cavern or Grotto (Camellia House), built by Juan de Villanueva during the reign of Joseph Bonaparte . Sacchetti's 1757-1758 Little Cavern or Grotto (Potato Room) is in front of the Parade Ground. The Sabatini Gardens adjoin the north side of the Palacio real and extend to
30975-462: Was revoked by Michel Temer after the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff . In many border towns and villages along Paraguay and Uruguay, a mixed language known as Portuñol is spoken. Equatorial Guinea is the only Spanish-speaking country located entirely in Africa, with the language introduced during the Spanish colonial period . Enshrined in the constitution as an official language (alongside French and Portuguese), Spanish features prominently in
31152-402: Was then built from scratch on the same site on behalf of the Bourbon dynasty . Construction spanned the years 1738 to 1755 and followed a Berniniesque design by Filippo Juvarra and Giovanni Battista Sacchetti in cooperation with Ventura Rodríguez , Francesco Sabatini , and Martín Sarmiento . During the Second Spanish Republic the building was known as "Palacio Nacional". The interior of
31329-459: Was to arrive in writing and be channeled through Lerma before reaching him. While Philip was not hugely active in government in other ways, once these memoranda, or consulta , had reached him he appears to have been assiduous in commenting on them. Debates in royal councils would now only begin upon the written instruction of the king—again, through Lerma. All members of royal councils were under orders to maintain complete transparency with Lerma as
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