John Joseph of Austria

John Joseph of Austria (Spanish: Don Juan José de Austria; 7 April 1629 – 17 September 1679), also called John the Younger was a Spanish general and political figure. He was the only illegitimate son of Philip IV of Spain to be acknowledged by the King and trained for military command and political administration.

Don John advanced the causes of the Spanish Crown militarily and diplomatically during the century's crisis, recovering control of Naples, Sicily and Catalonia from local revolts, although failing to advance from only initial victories against France and England in his stint as governor of the Spanish Netherlands from 1656 to 1659. He then failed to quell the revolt of Portugal, which separated from Spain.

After his military career, he returned to the court, where his opposition his father's widow, Queen Mariana of Austria, led to a 1677 palace coup through which he exiled Mariana and took control of the monarchy over his young half-brother Charles II of Spain. Don John worked to secure Charles II's international position against the ambitions of Louis XIV of France, although his labour was left unfinished with his death in 1679.