g up on their doorstep. Phillip was encouraged to expel the moriscos completely from his country, but he decided against it as the moriscos in Valencia made up a large portion of the workforce on its estates. Instead the number of missionaries was increased but had little effect.The main reason why Phillip’s policy of assimilation had failed was because he never thought things through properly. He was always one step behind. In the concoction of his plans, he never seemed to consider the consequences his actions, or lack of, would create. In conclusion his policies failed because he was never completely sure of what he was hoping to achieve.Phillip believed in no more holy a cause than the battle against the Muslim Turks. Spain was undergoing reconquest of lost lands and so considered the Turks as natural enemies. Unfortunately, Phillip always had other problems in his empire to be able to concentrate fully on the Turkish problem and was not in a position to mount a full-scale attack. Due to this his policy was mainly the defence of Spain in fortifying coasts and to protect his Mediterranean lands.The Turkish navy was considered vastly superior and it was feared that a large-scale naval invasion could occur at any time. Spain often come under pirate raids and the was the constant threat of morisco co-operation. A Spanish attack was made in 1560 against Tripoli but only the small island of Djerba was captured, and soon lost again. This failure was a blow to Spanish prestige and Phillip began to revise his military strategy. He made the decision that a powerful navy had to be raised to have any chance of success against them. This saw to the development of many more vessels in Spanish shipyards.In a Barbary pirate raid on Spanish outposts in North Africa, the new fleet was sent into action, and this was done so both quickly and efficiently. This is a good example of Phillip acting decisively when the need arose. Furth...
