With the fall of Perez in 1579, the party originally led by Ruy Gomez lost influence in the royal councils. Their places were taken by Granvella, Don Juan de Idiaquez, and Christoval de Moura. Of these, Cardinal Granvelle, son of the Chancellor of Charles V., and a native of Franche-Comté, had already served Philip as a member of the Consulta in Flanders, 1559-1563 (cf. p. 321). Since then he had filled the post of Viceroy of Naples, where he had distinguished himself by forming the league which led to the battle of Lepanto (cf. p. 293). He was now appointed President of the Council of Castile. Idiaquez, son of a secretary of state under Charles V., succeeded to Perez’ place as secretary, while Moura, a Portuguese, was appointed member of the Council of Finance, and took an active part in the conquest of his native country (cf. p. 297). This change of ministry was marked by a complete revolution in the policy of the King. Philip had hitherto pursued a pacific policy in Europe; but from this moment he began to embark on those attempts to make himself master of France and England which finally ended in complete collapse. | The Night Junta. Granvelle soon found himself supplanted by his colleagues; and on his death (September 22, 1586), Idiaquez and Moura with the addition of the Count de Chinchon, an Aragonese, formed a triumvirate known as the Night Junta, to which all important affairs from every department were referred. Under the rule of this Junta, which lasted to the end of the reign, the administration became more corrupt, and the quarrels among the subordinates more frequent, while the irresolution and procrastination of the King increased as his health began to fail. | The King’s Confessors. We should, however, fail to appreciate the influences which surrounded Philip if we omitted his confessors. These were two Dominican friars--Fray Bernardo de Fresneda up till 1577; from that date till 1595, Fray Diego de Chaves. Both these men added to their position as confessors a post in the civil administration. The former--’the fat Bishop of Cuenca,’--whom Cecil’s agent declared to be one of the ‘chiefest’ of the ministers, was appointed a member of the Council of War, and commissary-general of the revenue derived from the Cruzada. The second had even greater influence. Nominated a Councillor of State in 1584, we find De Chaves taking a principal part in the affair of Perez, in the suppression of the rebellion in Aragon, and in the conquest of Portugal. He did not scruple to betray to his master the secrets he learnt in the confessional, but in return for this devotion he at times demanded obedience. Thus, in 1591, we find him actually refusing the sacrament to Philip until the King should follow his wishes with regard to the appointment of the President of the Council of Castile. | The beginnings of a standing army. | The evils of the absolute rule of Philip.