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Where Were You Born

Decent Essays
Where were you born? Were you born into a family of political figures or did you make a name for yourself on your own? I was born on may 21, 1527 in Valladolid, Spain into a very political family. My Father was the notorious Roman Emperor Charles the Fifth at the time, and my Mother was Isabella of Portugal. What were your ambitions as a young boy? I was very loyal to my father. I wanted to be a ruler like him someday. I made it my top priority. What you say were some of the major events in your youth and young adult life? For starters, I received the duchy of Milan from my father when I was just thirteen. He gave me Naples and Sicily fourteen years later. I married my cousin, Maria of Portugal when I was only sixteen. Sadly, she passed away…show more content…
I tried to improve this by making sure that I did all of my work on paper. I used the method of “consultas”, such as reports, memorandas, and advice given to me by my ministers. People would tell me that I was obsessed with getting even more and more information. As well as trying to improve efficiency, I wanted to improve our foreign policy with our European neighbors, at least at first. I was busy fighting other wars, and the last thing I needed was another one. Where did you do all this work? In my Palace, El Escorial. I would work alone in my office, where it was quiet. I was not a people person, and didn’t like to be bothered while working. What difficult conflicts occurred under your rule that you had to deal with? Wars, etc. I ended the 60-year war with France in 1559 when I signed the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis. My marriage to Princess Elisabeth of Valois definitely helped, her being the daughter of Henry II, the king of France at the time. As far as starting wars, my strong belief in Catholicism would spark the war with England. As I was trying to bring Catholicism to England peacefully, the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, who was Catholic, ended my hopes for Catholicism in England. Now trying to spread it with force, I sent the Spanish Armada to lead an invasion. Caught in an awkward position, we were forced to retreat. I later would die without witnessing the outcome of this war. Much later, in 1590,…show more content…
The Netherlands passed an Oath of Abjuration and attempted to join the Dutch. I quickly put an end to this and ousted their rebellion leader, William I, and then put a bounty on his head of 25,000 crowns. What about economic troubles? There were lots of those, too. Many reasons caused the economic downpour in Spain, most of which were my fault. I would spend state revenues on overseas traveling, which never worked out. My domestic policies also burdened Spain. Even though my father left me with a debt of 36 million ducats, I also contributed to the debt greatly, and dug an even deeper hole for Spain. What would you say your biggest accomplishments were? I would say that I was one of the most famous supporters of the Counter-Reformation. I feel very proud of this, that my father would also be very proud that I fought for Catholicism because it was one of the things he taught me was most important as a young boy. I also consolidated Spain’s overseas empire, while increasing the importation of silver in the face of the English. I obviously feel very proudly of these accomplishments.My most proud accomplishment however is defeating the Ottoman Empire. This was probably one of my hardest tasks during my reign, and something I had been working for ever since I was placed in power. I also United Portugal and Spain through Union. I feel very shameful about the damage that I did to Spain's economy. I also felt that I could have done better in dealing with the courts and the way
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