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Auction: 15037 - Autographs, Historical Documents, Ephemera and Postal History
Lot: 140

Documents
Spain
King Philip II
1584 (20 March) letter from St. Lorenco to the Duke of Parma with general contents with regard to the army in Flanders. Signed at foot "yo el Rey" (I King) and with secretary signature below. Usual creasing and wafer seal at foot. Photo

King Philip II (1527-98) was King of Spain from 1556 and of Portugal from 1581 (as Philip I, Felipe I). From 1554 he was King of Naples and Sicily as well as Duke of Milan. During his marriage to Queen Mary I (1554–58), he was also King of England and Ireland. From 1555, he was lord of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands. Known in Spanish as "Philip the Prudent", his empire included territories on every continent then known to Europeans, including his namesake the Philippine Islands. During his reign, Spain reached the height of its influence and power. This is sometimes called the Golden Age. The expression, "the empire on which the sun never sets," was coined during Philip's time to reflect the extent of his dominion.

Philip is also known for organising a huge naval expedition against Protestant England in 1588, known usually as the Spanish Armada, which was unsuccessful, mostly due to storms and grave logistical problems

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Sold for
£800