Charles IV of Spain

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Charles IV of Spain
King of Spain
Reign	December 14, 1788–March 19, 1808
Born	November 11, 1748
Birthplace	Portici, Italy
Died	January 20, 1819 (aged 70)
Place of death	Rome, Italy
Predecessor	Charles III of Spain
Successor	Joseph Bonaparte
Consort	Maria Luisa of Parma
Issue	Infanta Carlota Joaquina Infanta Maria Amalia Infanta Maria Luisa Ferdinand VII Infante Carlos Infanta Maria Isabel Infante Francisco de Paula
Royal House	House of Bourbon
Father	Charles III of Spain
Mother	Maria Amalia of Saxony

Charles IV (November 11, 1748 - January 20, 1819) was King of Spain from December 14, 1788 until his abdication on March 19, 1808.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Children 3 Children 4 Reign 5 Abdication 6 Ancestors 7 References

[edit] Early life

Charles was the second son of Charles III and his wife Maria Amalia of Saxony. He was born at Portici, while his father was king of the Two Sicilies. His elder brother don Felipe was passed over for the two thrones as mentally retarded and epileptic.
Charles had inherited a great frame and immense physical strength from the Saxon line of his mother, granddaughter of August II of Poland. When young he was fond of wrestling with the strongest countrymen he could find. He was considered by many to be intellectually sluggish and quite credulous.
His wife Maria Luisa of Parma, on the other hand, was seen by many (including by the painter Francisco Goya) as a vicious and coarse woman who thoroughly dominated the king. During his father's lifetime he was led by her into court intrigues which aimed at driving the king's favourite minister, Count of Floridablanca, from office, and replacing him by Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea, Count of Aranda, the chief of the "Aragonese" party.

[edit] Children

Charles IV married his first cousin Maria Luisa of Parma (daughter of Philip, Duke of Parma) in 1765. They had 14 children:

[edit] Children

Name	Birth	Death	Notes
Charles Clement (Carlos) Clemente	September 19, 1771	March 7, 1774	died in childhood.
Charlotte Joaquina (Carlota Joaquina)	April 25, 1775	January 7, 1830	queen consort of Portugal, had issue.
Maria Louisa (Maria Luisa)	September 11, 1777	July 2, 1782	died in childhood.
Maria Amalia	January 9, 1779	July 22, 1798	died in her teens.
Charles Dominic (Carlos Domingo)	March 5, 1780	June 11, 1783	died in childhood.
Maria Louisa	July 6, 1782	March 13, 1824	married Luigi, King of Etruria, Prince of Bourbon-Parma (Piacenza 5 Jul 1773-Florence 27 May 1803)
Charles Francis (Carlos Francisco)	September 5, 1783	November 11, 1784	died in childhood.
Philip Francis (Felipe Francisco)	September 5, 1783	October 18, 1784	died in childhood.
Ferdinand (Fernando)	October 14, 1784	September 29, 1833	succeeded his father as King of Spain, married four wives, had issue.
Carlos	March 29, 1788	March 10, 1855	was Carlist pretender
Maria Isabella	June 6, 1789	September 13, 1848	queen consort of Francis I of the Two Sicilies
Maria Teresa	February 16, 1791	November 2, 1794	died in childhood.
Felipe Maria	March 28, 1792	March 1, 1794	died in childhood.
Francisco de Paula (Francisco Antonio)	March 10, 1794	August 13, 1865	Duke of Cadiz

[edit] Reign

Spanish House of Bourbon 1700-1833

Philip V Children    Louis I    Ferdinand VI    Charles III    Mariana Victoria, Queen of Portugal    Philip, Duke of Parma    Teresa, Dauphine of France    Infante Louis    Antonia, Queen of Sardinia Louis I Ferdinand VI Charles III Children    Infanta Maria Josepha    Maria Luisa, Holy Roman Empress    Felipe, Duke of Calabria    Charles IV    Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies    Infante Gabriel    Infante Antonio Grandchild of cadet line    Infante Pedro Carlos Charles IV Children    Charlotte, Queen of Portugal    Infanta Maria Amelia    Maria Luisa, Queen of Etruria, Duchess of Parma    Ferdinand VII    Carlos, Count of Molina    Maria Isabella, Queen of the Two Sicilies    Infante Francisco de Paula Grandchildren of cadet lines    Carlos, Count of Montemolin    Juan, Count of Montizón    Infante Fernando    Francis, Duke of Cadiz, King Consort of Spain    Henry, Duke of Sevilla    Infanta Maria Cristina    Amelia, Princess of Bavaria Ferdinand VII Children    Isabella II    Luisa Fernanda, Duchess of Montpensier Edit

Silver 8 real coin of Charles IV, struck 1806
Obverse: (Latin) CAROLUS IIII DEI GRATIA, 1806, or in English, "Charles IV, By the Grace of God, 1806	Reverse: (Latin) HISPAN[IARUM] ET IND[IARUM] REX M[EXICANUS] 8 R[EALES] T H., or in English, "King of the Spains and of the Indies, Mexico City Mint, 8 Reales." The reverse depicts the arms of Castile and León, between the Pillars of Hercules.

After he succeeded to the throne in 1788 his one serious occupation was hunting. Affairs were left to be directed by his wife and her alleged lover Manuel de Godoy. Although Godoy essentially took over his wife and his office, the king was favourable towards him for all his life. When terrified by the French Revolution he turned to the Inquisition to help him against the party which would have carried the reforming policy of Charles III much further. But he never took more than a passive part in the direction of his own government. He simply obeyed the impulse given him by the queen and Godoy. In 1803, after smallpox had affected his daughter María Luísa, the king commissioned his doctor Francisco Javier de Balmis to bring the vaccine to the Spanish colonies on state expenses.

He had a profound belief in his divine right and the sanctity of his person. He thought it very important to seem a very powerful monarch, although his kingdom was treated as a mere dependency by France and his throne was dominated by the queen and her lover. Spain allied with France and supported the Continental Blockade, but withdrew after the Battle of Trafalgar. When Napoleon won from Prussia in 1807, Godoy returned to the French side, but France no longer considered Spain a worthy ally. But even the alliance with France, as it was, made Godoy's rule unpopular and fueled the partido fernandista, the supporters of Ferdinand, who favored a close relationship with Great Britain.

[edit] Abdication

When he was told that his son Ferdinand was appealing to the emperor Napoleon against Godoy, he took the side of the favourite. When the populace rose at Aranjuez in 1808 he abdicated on March 19, in favour of his son, to save the minister who had been taken prisoner. Ferdinand took the throne as Ferdinand VII, but was distrusted by Napoleon who had 100,000 soldiers in Spain by that time.

Charles IV found refuge in France, and became prisoner of Napoleon: the latter, posing as arbiter, summoned both Charles IV and his son to Bayonne in April and coaxed Charles (who found a difficult time restraining himself from assaulting his son) to retract his earlier abdication and abdicate, on May 5, 1808, in favour of Napoleon's brother Joseph^[1][2][3].

Charles was then interned in Talleyrand's castle in Valençay^[2][4]. He accepted a pension from the French emperor and spent the rest of his life between his wife and Godoy, staying briefly in Compiègne and more durably in Marseille, to finally settle in 1812 in Rome in the Palazzo Barberini (under the protection of pope Pius VII)^[1][5][6][7]. He died in Rome on January 20, 1819.

[edit] Ancestors

16. Louis XIV of France

8. Louis, Dauphin of France

17. Maria Theresa of Spain

4. Philip V of Spain

18. Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria

9. Maria Anna of Bavaria

19. Henriette Adelaide of Savoy

2. Charles III of Spain

20. Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma

10. Odoardo II Farnese

21. Isabella of Modena

5. Elisabeth of Parma

22. Philipp Wilhelm, Elector Palatine

11. Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg

23. Landgravine Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt

1. Charles IV of Spain

24. John George III, Elector of Saxony

12. Augustus II the Strong

25. Anne Sophie of Denmark

6. Augustus III of Poland

26. Christian Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth

13. Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth

27. Sophie Luise of Württemberg

3. Maria Amalia of Saxony

28. Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor

14. Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor

29. Eleonore-Magdalena of Neuburg

7. Maria Josepha of Austria

30. John Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg

15. Wilhelmina Amalia of Brunswick

31. Benedicta-Henrietta of Simmern

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b} http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_IV_d%27Espagne
2. ^ ^{a b} Napoleon I :: Blockade and the peninsular campaign - Britannica Online Encyclopedia
3. ^ Articles: Period of Imperial Crisis (revised) - Historical Text Archive
4. ^ http://pcombal.club.fr/bioanglaise.html — “The Spanish affair&rqduo;
5. ^ Manuel de Godoy#Exile
6. ^ Worldroots.com
7. ^ The Royal Favorite: Manuel Francisco Domingo de Godoy, Prince of the Peace

• Historia del Reinado de Carlos IV, by General Gomez de Arteche (5 vols.), in the Historia General de España de la Real Academia de la Historia (Madrid, 1892, etc.).

Charles IV of Spain House of Bourbon Cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty Born: 11 November 1748 Died: 20 January 1819
Regnal titles
Preceded by Charles III	King of Spain 1788–1808	Succeeded by Joseph Bonaparte
Vacant Title last held by Prince Ferdinand his uncle	Prince of Asturias 1759-1788	Succeeded by Prince Ferdinand his son

---

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

v • d • e Monarchs of Spain House of Habsburg (1516-1700) Carlos I (1516-1556) • Felipé II (1556-1598) • Felipé III (1598-1621) • Felipé IV (1621-1665) • Carlos II (1665-1700) House of Borbón (1700-1808) Felipé V (1700-1724) • Luis I (1724) • Felipé V (Restored) (1724-1746) • Fernando VI (1746-1759) • Carlos III (1759-1788) • Carlos IV (1788-1808) • Fernando VII (1808) • Carlos IV (Restored) (1808) House of Bonaparte (1808-1813) José I (1808-1813) House of Borbón (1813-1868) Fernando VII (Restored) (1813-1833) • Isabella II (1833-1868) House of Savoy (1868-1873) Amadeo I (1868-1873) House of Borbón (1868-1931) Alfonso XII (1874-1885) • Alfonso XIII (1885-1931) House of Borbón (1975-Present) Juan Carlos I (1975-Present)