Every dynasty had its heyday.
For example, the Qing Dynasty as we know it, Kang Qianyong is the prosperity of this dynasty.
Especially after the Pacification of the Four Seas of Kangxi and the vigorous efforts of Yongzheng, the Qianlong Dynasty can be described as a full heyday.
This is also in line with the parabolic theorem, and when it reaches its apex, it follows.
The same was true of the Spanish Habsburgs.
After carlos I's conquest, the throne passed to Felipe II.
The drawbacks of the marriage of close relatives caused his appearance to begin to change a lot, and it didn't seem too outrageous.
After he married his close relatives four times in a row, the descendants were not so lucky.
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Felipe II was born on 21 May 1527 in Madrid, Spain. (Some translations are Philip, in fact, they are all umlauts of English Philip)
His father was King Carlos I of Spain, (also known as Charles V, because he was also Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, German monarch), and his mother was Princess Isabella of Portugal. Queen Carlos I of Spain, the wise queen of the hegemonic king, achieved the Empire of the Sun Never Setting
Portugal was a powerful country, and Isabella was the eldest daughter who asked for a lot, but she always liked Carlos I.
There are also many twists and turns in the middle, but the two are still connected.
It turns out that Isabella not only brought Carlos great political benefits, but also a rare good wife and mother, who could stabilize the situation on the outside and raise children on the inside.
The two had a good relationship, Andabela was also very fertile, and she became pregnant seven times before and after, but because the two were close relatives and married, (Carlos's mother was Juana, the mad daughter of Aragon, and Isabella's mother was Princess Maria of Aragon, an aunt and cousin), most of the children died of miscarriage.
Felipe was the eldest and only surviving son.
Felipe was made heir from an early age, and Isabella took good care of him.
Under her education, Felipe was knowledgeable, not only in politics and diplomacy, but also in art and mathematics, and Isabella also taught him Spanish.
Carlos I also passed on his governing experience hand in hand, taking him on trips to various European countries to increase his knowledge.
Carlos I was suffering from illness and was not as mentally ill as before, so he announced his abdication in 1556.
Carlos I divided the Habsburg Empire into the Spanish Empire and the German-Austrian Empire.
Felipe inherited all the regions except Oriland and Germany, and Carlos I's younger brother Ferdinand I inherited the title of Holy Roman Emperor and German monarch (in name only).
This approach also made the emergence of the Spanish and German communities impossible.
Felipe was destined to inherit the empire and began his journey with supplies from the colonies.
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Overall, Felipe experienced 5 of these wars during his reign.
These 5 wars have far-reaching effects,
For example, in the naval battle against Britain, British pirates frequently harassed, Felipe was angry and decided to send troops, but the Spanish army, which had won the victory, was proud of the previous small victories and missed the opportunity.
Seizing the opportunity, Queen Elizabeth made an accurate battle plan, but Drake, who was helpless to command the operation, did not carry it out, giving Spain another chance.
Spain was able to revive its troops, and the British began to rapidly train their navies after this battle, eventually replacing Spain as hegemon.
Another example is the war between Spain and France, like two young and vigorous monarchs fighting, but Spain still relied on strong strength to defeat France, and to celebrate, Felipe also built the magnificent El Escorial Palace.
For example, he has been expanding in the Pacific and Atlantic regions, and the Philippines has become a Spanish colony.
The Philippine governor also wrote to Felipe saying that with 5,000 soldiers, 30 warships could occupy China.
At that time, it was the Ming Wanli Emperor who was in charge, fortunately, Felipe did not pay attention to him, otherwise, There was another period of Chinese history. At the same time as the Southern Expedition and the Northern War, Felipe's married life was also very exciting, he was married four times, each time because of a request.
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His first wife was his cousin, Princess Manuela of Portugal.
Manuela was born in Coimbra on 15 October 1527 to the son of King Noon III of Portugal (who was also Felipe's uncle) and his mother, Katarina, felipe's aunt.
The two men were cousins who could no longer kiss.
The two married in 1543, and in 1545 Manuela gave birth to his eldest son, Carlos, who died of heavy bleeding four days later. (There is an image of Manuela in the play "The Emperor of Carlos")
Carlos was physically handicapped and mentally unstable because he was the child of a close relative.
As we age, behavior becomes more and more uncontrolled.
Eventually Felipe captured his son in armor and put him under house arrest.
His fate became a black legend in Spain, and many plays were based on him.
And quite dramatically, two of the four princesses who had considered marrying him eventually married his father.
Felipe II's second wife was Queen Mary I of England (later known as Bloody Mary).
Mary I's mother was Princess Catherine of Aragon, sister of Juana.
In terms of generations, Mary was Felipe's aunt.
Felipe's father, Carlos I, was engaged to Mary in order to ally with England, but later withdrew due to a major change on Mary's side.
Mary's experience was quite rough, and after ascending the throne, in order to ensure the stability of the throne, she agreed to Felipe's marriage proposal, and at that time Felipe had not yet become king, and Carlos I gave the thrones of Naples and Jerusalem to Felipe in order to elevate the status of his son.
After marriage, Mary I had two false pregnancies, but never succeeded in giving birth to a child, and died in 1558.
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The third marriage was Princess Elisabeth of France.
Elizabeth was born in 1545 in Fontainebleau, Paris, France.
She was the eldest daughter of King Henry II of France and Queen Catherine.
Elizabeth was originally engaged to King Edward VI of England, but Edward VI died when he was 16 years old, and was succeeded by the above-mentioned Mary I.
France and Spain were once tense, and in order to ease relations, the two countries decided to marry, initially with the intention of having Felipe's eldest son Carlos marry Elizabeth.
However, Carlos was physically handicapped and had a strained relationship with Felipe at the time, which caused the matter to be shelved.
Felipe considered his relationship with England and decided to marry Queen Elizabeth, the sister of Mary I, but Elizabeth I did not respond, and Felipe heard secret reports that the queen had a secret disease and was not suitable for procreation.
Then marrying Princess Elisabeth of France is the best option.
Elizabeth's beautiful appearance and good royal upbringing made her very popular in Spain.
As a stepmother, she has always cared for the people in the family, including her stepson Carlos and her uncle, treating them as brothers, and because of this, the gossip about Elizabeth and Crown Prince Carlos in the palace has become very popular, which has aroused Felipe's suspicion.
Elizabeth became pregnant four times in a row and survived only two daughters, the eldest of whom, Isabella, was the longest-lived of all Felipe's children, and Felipe's favorite and most favored child, even allowing her to participate in politics.
In desperation, Elizabeth died a few hours after her fourth pregnancy aborted, at the age of 23.
Felipe's first weeping was at Elizabeth's funeral, and history judged that if Felipe had love, it must have been given to Elizabeth.
The fourth marriage was with his niece Anna
Anna's father was Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, and his mother was Felipe's sister Maria.
Originally, Anna was going to marry her cousin Carlos, but Carlos was put under house arrest to death, just as Queen Elizabeth died, and Felipe married her niece Anna.
Anna was her father's favorite child at home, and when she married into Spain, she was cared for by margarita, a court maid.
Margarita had served Anna's mother, Maria, and was also familiar with Anna, and was very dedicated to Anna's care.
Anna is lively and cheerful, and is very popular with Felipe.
Anna had five children, four boys.
However, the first three children all died before Felipe, leaving only one child to become crown prince, who was also the future King Felipe III.
Anna died 8 months after giving birth to her fifth child. The youngest daughter also died three years later.
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Felipe was a very accomplished monarch, and he worked the basis of his father's generation, which made people admire.
But his endless use of troops on the battlefield made Spain's treasury increasingly empty, and with the support of the colonization, there was still a huge deficit.
By the time the next monarch succeeds to the throne, the country already has a debt of 100 million gold coins.
Worse still, because generations of close relatives have married, genetic diseases have become apparent, jaw protrusions have become more and more pronounced, and the body has inevitably appeared with various defects, both physical and intellectual.
Felipe II was also worried that there was no good heir to rule his kingdom.
The prophecy was soon fulfilled, and they were determined to follow the path of marriage to their close relatives to the end of an empire.