THE SPELL OF GRAND MONARCHY 361

•was the contemporary of Henry VIII of England and of
Francis I of France. From Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain
he inherited Spain and their overseas dominions in 1516 ;
from Maximilian he got Austria and all the imperial domi-
nions in 1519, though for these latter he had to vastly outbid
his rival Francis I of France. For the Imperial throne was
subject to election and the candidates had to expend millions
in order to purchase the votes. Then a contest ensued be-
tween Francis and Charles for certain possessions in which
Henry VIII astutely tried to hold the balance. In 1544 all
the three disappointed men retired from the struggle having
squandered away the resources of their respective countries.

After the death of Charles V the Hapsburg line was divid-
ed into two branches : the Spanish branch continued to rule
until 1700 when, as we saw, a grandson of Louis XIV (Bour-
bon) succeeded to the Spanish throne; and the Austrian
branch held the Imperial sceptre until its extinction in 1806
at the hands of Napoleon. Already the so-called Holy
Roman Empire had ceased to be either Holy, Roman, or
Empire. Only a few notable events in the history of the two
Hapsburg branches may be recorded here.

It was under Philip II of Spain (Charles V's successor)
that the Armada was defeated by the English. It was
under the same Philip II also that the Dutch were exasperated
with the religious persecutions of the Inquisition and com-
pelled to break off into a republic under the leadership of
their heroic Stadtholder, William the Silent, Prince of Orange
(1533-84). Though he was assassinated before the struggle
•ended, he was the real founder of the Dutch Republic. King
William of Orange, who was called to the throne of England
in 1688, was his great-great-grandson.

In the Austrian branch of the Hapsburgs the last of the
great rulers were the famous Maria Theresa (1740-65) and