(1559) Although his [Philip II’s] time of life is apt to engender an insatiable desire to govern, his efforts are directed not to increase his possessions by war, but preserve them by peace….Although he resembles his father in his features, he is dissimilar in many respects….The emperor governed entirely according to his own views, but the king governs according to the views of others, and he has no esteem for any nation except the Spanish. He consorts only with Spaniards, and with these only he takes counsel and governs.

(1598)  The king is dead…he was a prince who fought with gold rather than with steel. Profoundly religious, he loved peace and quiet…he held his desires in absolute control and showed an immutable and unalterable temper….I myself have heard the Adelantado [military governor] of Castile declare that they would see what the Spanish were worth, now that they have a free hand and are no longer subject to a single brain that thought it knew all that could be known, and treated everyone else as a blockhead.