Philip was the ruler of many lands and was one of the most dominant leaders in Europe during the second half of the 16th century. Philip established Spanish colonial governance that lasted a good ways into the 19th century. Philip fought against many other monarchs and rulers in Europe during his time, and he even seized the crown of Portugal in 1580 when it had become vacant. Philip had an incredibly firm faith in Catholicism and believed he was ordained by God to rule, and also to get rid of all Protestantism in Europe. He also rarely retreated from a battle because he believed that God had ordained him to fight the battle or undertake the mission. Philip had overwhelming debts and he went bankrupt in 1557, 1575, and in 1596. Although there were many riches coming from the new world they were quickly used up. Philip liked to have a wide variety of views on a subject so he would employ ministers with many different views, sometimes those opposite his. Council meetings would often become battles for rival factions. Many people viewed Philip as evil because of his absolute faith and he soon became part of the anti-Spanish view. This was started when William the Silent, fighting in the Netherlands, branded Philip a murderer. Also a Protestant historian named Motley used distorted documents written by enemies of Philip and portrayed him as evil.
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