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Charles IV of Spain

 
Charles IV of Spain

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Charles IV of Spain



 
 
Charles IV (November 11, 1748 - January 20, 1819) was King of Spain
List of Spanish monarchs

This is a list of Spanish monarchs?that is, rulers of the country of Spain in the modern sense of the word. The forerunners of the Spanish throne, as well as of the List of Portuguese monarchs, were the following:...
 from December 14, 1788 until his abdication on March 19, 1808.

les was the second son of Charles III
Charles III of Spain

Charles III was list of Spanish monarchs 1759?88 , King of Kingdom of Naples and Kingdom of Sicily 1735?59 , and Duchy of Parma 1732?35 . He was a proponent of enlightened absolutism....
 and his wife Maria Amalia of Saxony
Maria Amalia of Saxony

Princess Maria Amalia Christina of Saxony was a Germany princess from the House of Wettin and as the wife of Charles III of Spain, Royal Consorts of Spain and Naples....
. He was born at Portici
Portici

Portici is a town and comune of the Province of Naples in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is the site of a palace of the kings of Naples....
, while his father was king of the Two Sicilies. His elder brother Don Felipe was passed over for the two thrones as mentally retarded
Mental retardation

Mental retardation is a generalized, triarchic disorder, characterized by subaverage cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors with onset before the age of 18....
 and epileptic
Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizure s. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain....
.

Charles had inherited a great frame and immense physical strength from the Saxon line of his mother, granddaughter of August the Strong.






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Charles IV (November 11, 1748 - January 20, 1819) was King of Spain
List of Spanish monarchs

This is a list of Spanish monarchs?that is, rulers of the country of Spain in the modern sense of the word. The forerunners of the Spanish throne, as well as of the List of Portuguese monarchs, were the following:...
 from December 14, 1788 until his abdication on March 19, 1808.

Early life

Charles was the second son of Charles III
Charles III of Spain

Charles III was list of Spanish monarchs 1759?88 , King of Kingdom of Naples and Kingdom of Sicily 1735?59 , and Duchy of Parma 1732?35 . He was a proponent of enlightened absolutism....
 and his wife Maria Amalia of Saxony
Maria Amalia of Saxony

Princess Maria Amalia Christina of Saxony was a Germany princess from the House of Wettin and as the wife of Charles III of Spain, Royal Consorts of Spain and Naples....
. He was born at Portici
Portici

Portici is a town and comune of the Province of Naples in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is the site of a palace of the kings of Naples....
, while his father was king of the Two Sicilies. His elder brother Don Felipe was passed over for the two thrones as mentally retarded
Mental retardation

Mental retardation is a generalized, triarchic disorder, characterized by subaverage cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors with onset before the age of 18....
 and epileptic
Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizure s. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain....
.

Charles had inherited a great frame and immense physical strength from the Saxon line of his mother, granddaughter of August the Strong. 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.

Marriage and children

Francisco De Goya Y Lucientes 054
Charles IV married his first cousin Maria Louisa
Maria Luisa of Parma

Maria Luisa of Parma was Queen Consort of Spain from 1788 to 1808 as the wife of King Charles IV of Spain. She was the youngest daughter of Duke Philip, Duke of Parma and his wife, Princess Louise-?lisabeth of France, the eldest daughter of King Louis XV....
, the daughter of Philip, Duke of Parma, in 1765. The couple had fourteen children, six of which survived into adulthood:

  • Charles Clement (Carlos Clemente) (September 19 1771 - March 7 1774)
  • Charlotte Joaquina
    Charlotte of Spain

    Charlotte Joaquina Teresa of Spain was a Queen consort of Portugal.She was the eldest daughter of King Charles IV of Spain and his wife Maria Luisa of Parma ....
     (Carlota Joaquina)
    (April 25 1775 - January 7 1830), married the Prince John of Portugal, later King John VI
    John VI of Portugal

    Don John Mary Joseph Francis Javier of Paula Louis Anthony Dominic Raphael of Braganza , the Clement , Kings of Portugal of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves was born in Lisbon in 1767....
  • Maria Louisa (Maria Luisa) (September 11 1777 - July 2 1782)
  • Maria Amalia (January 9 1779 - July 22 1798)
  • Charles Dominic (Carlos Domingo) (March 5 1780 - June 11 1783)
  • Maria Louisa (Maria Luisa) (July 6 1782 - March 13 1824), married Louis, heir of Bourbon-Parma
    Louis of Etruria

    Louis, Duke of Parma was the first of only two Kingdom of Etruria.Louis was the son of Ferdinand, Duke of Parma and Marie Amalie of Austria , the second surviving daughter of Maria Theresa of Austria and Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor....
     and became Queen consort of Etruria and Duchess of Lucca
  • Charles Francis (Carlos Francisco) (September 5 1783 - November 11 1784)
  • Philip Francis (Felipe Francisco) (September 5 1783 - October 18 1784)
  • Ferdinand (Fernando)
    Ferdinand VII of Spain

    Ferdinand VII was list of Spanish monarchs twice, in 1808, and from 1813 to 1833 . He was also known as 'Ferdinand, the desired'.The eldest surviving son of Charles IV of Spain, king of Spain, and of his wife Maria Louisa of Parma, he was born in the vast palace of El Escorial near Madrid....
     (October 14 1784 - September 29 1833), succeeded his father as King of Spain
  • Charles (Carlos), Count of Molina (March 29 1788 - March 10 1855), later the first Carlist pretender
    Carlism

    Carlism is a Tradition#Traditionalism and legitimist political movement in Spain seeking the establishment of a separate line of the House of Bourbon family on the Monarchy of Spain....
  • Maria Isabella
    Maria Isabella of Spain

    Maria Isabella of Spain...
     (June 6 1789 - September 13 1848), married Francis I, King of the Two Sicilies
    Francis I of the Two Sicilies

    Francis I was King of the Two Sicilies from 1825 to 1830....
  • Maria Teresa (February 16 1791 - November 2 1794)
  • Felipe Maria (March 28 1792 - March 1 1794)
  • Francisco Antonio de Paula, Duke of Cadiz
    Infante Francisco de Paula of Spain

    File:Francisco de Paula de Borb?n.jpgInfante Francisco de Paula of Spain was born on 10 March 1794 in Aranjuez, Spain. He was the youngest son of Charles IV of Spain and Maria Luisa of Parma....
     (March 10 1794 - August 13 1865)


Maria Luisa was widely considered a vicious and coarse woman who thoroughly dominated the king. During the lifetime of Charles III, she led her husband into court intrigues against the prime minister, the Count of Floridablanca
José Moñino y Redondo, conde de Floridablanca

Don Jos? Mo?ino y Redondo, Count of Floridablanca , Spain statesman. He was the Reform movement chief minister of King Charles III of Spain, and also served briefly under Charles IV of Spain....
.

Reign

In 1788, Charles III died and Charles IV succeeded to the throne. Even though he had a profound belief in the sanctity of his office and kept up the appearance of an absolute, powerful monarch, he never took more than a passive part in the direction of his own government, occupying himself with hunting
Hunting

Hunting is the practice of pursuing living animals for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to law....
. The affairs of government he left to his wife and his prime minister. In 1792, Maria Louis finally succeeded in ousting the Count of Floridablanca
José Moñino y Redondo, conde de Floridablanca

Don Jos? Mo?ino y Redondo, Count of Floridablanca , Spain statesman. He was the Reform movement chief minister of King Charles III of Spain, and also served briefly under Charles IV of Spain....
 from office and had him replaced with Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea, Count of Aranda
Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea, Count of Aranda

Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea y Jim?nez de Urrea, 10th Count of Aranda , was a Spain statesman and diplomat.He began ecclesiastical studies in the seminary of Bologna but when he was 18 he changed to the Military_Academy of Parma....
, the chief of the Aragonese party. However, in the wake of the war against Republican France
French Revolution

The French Revolution was a period of political and social upheaval and radical change in the history of France, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudalism for the aristocracy and Roman Catholic Church clergy, underwent radical change to forms based on Age of Enlightenment principles of cit...
, the liberal-leaning Count of Aranda was replaced by Manuel de Godoy
Manuel de Godoy

Manuel de Godoy y ?lvarez de Faria , was Prime Minister of Spain from 1792 to 1797 and from 1801 to 1808. He received many titles including Prince of the Peace by which he is widely known....
, a favourite of the Queen and allegedly her lover, who would henceforth enjoy the lasting favour of the King.
El Caballito De Tolsa A
Godoy continued Aranda's policy of neutrality towards France but after Spain protested against the execution of the deposed king
Louis XVI of France

Louis XVI or Louis-Auguste de France ruled as List of French monarchs of France and of List of Navarrese monarchs from 1774 until 1791, and then as Popular monarchy from 1791 to 1792....
 in 1793, France declared war on Spain and in 1795 forced Godoy to conclude an alliance and declared war on Great Britain
Great Britain

Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the List of islands by area, and the largest in Europe. With a population of 58.9 million people it is List of islands by population....
.

In 1803, after smallpox had affected his daughter María Luísa, the king commissioned his doctor Francisco Javier de Balmis
Francisco Javier de Balmis

Francisco Javier de Balmis was a Spain physician who headed an 1804 expedition to New Spain and other Spanish colonies to vaccinate the populations against smallpox....
 to bring the vaccine to the Spanish colonies
Balmis Expedition

Balmis Expedition was a three year mission to the Americas led by Dr Francisco Javier de Balmis with the aim of giving thousands the smallpox vaccine....
 on state expenses.

Spain remained an ally of France and supported the Continental Blockade until the the British naval victory at Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar

The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the United Kingdom Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy , during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
. However, After Napoleon's victory over Prussia
Prussia

Prussia was, most recently, a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. This state had for centuries substantial influence on Germany and European history....
 in 1807, Godoy again steared Spain back onto the French side. This switching back and forth devalued Charles' position as a trustworthy ally while the return to the French alliance increased Godoy's unpopularity and strenghtened partido fernandista, the supporters of Crown Prince Ferdinand
Ferdinand VII of Spain

Ferdinand VII was list of Spanish monarchs twice, in 1808, and from 1813 to 1833 . He was also known as 'Ferdinand, the desired'.The eldest surviving son of Charles IV of Spain, king of Spain, and of his wife Maria Louisa of Parma, he was born in the vast palace of El Escorial near Madrid....
, who favored a close relationship with Great Britain
Great Britain

Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the List of islands by area, and the largest in Europe. With a population of 58.9 million people it is List of islands by population....
.

Abdication


When King Charles was told that his son Ferdinand was appealing to Napoleon against Godoy, he took the side of the minister. When the populace rose at Aranjuez
Mutiny of Aranjuez

The Mutiny of Aranjuez, or Mot?n de Aranjuez as it is known in Spain, was an early nineteenth century popular uprising against King Carlos IV of Spain, which managed to overthrow him and place his son, Ferdinand VII of Spain, on the throne....
 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 a prisoner of Napoleon: the latter, posing as arbiter, summoned both Charles IV and his son to Bayonne
Bayonne

name= BayonneFile:Bayonne.jpgView of Grand Bayonne across the Adour|r?gion=Aquitaine|d?partement=Pyr?n?es-Atlantiques...
 in April and coaxed Charles (who had a difficult time restraining himself from assaulting his son) to retract his earlier abdication and abdicate, on May 5, 1808, in favour of Napoleon.

Later life

Charles was then interned in Talleyrand
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord

Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-P?rigord, 1st Sovereign Prince of Benevento , the Prince of Diplomats, was a France diplomat. He worked successfully from the regime of Louis XVI of France, through the French Revolution and then under Napoleon I of France, Louis XVIII of France, Charles X, and Louis-Philippe I of France....
's castle
Château de Valençay

Ch?teau de Valen?ay is a residence of the d'Estampes and Talleyrand-P?rigord families in the commune in France of Valen?ay, the Indre d?partement in France of France....
 in Valençay
Valençay

Valen?ay is a Communes of France in the Indre Departments of France in central France.It is situated in the Loire Valley on a hillside overlooking the Nahon river....
. He accepted a pension from the French Emperor and spent the rest of his life between his wife and Godoy, staying briefly in Compiègne
Compiègne

Compi?gne is a Communes of France in the Oise Departments of France in northern France.The city is located along the Oise River. Its inhabitants are called Compi?gnois....
 and more durably in Marseille
Marseille

"Marseille" is the second-largest city of France and forms the third-largest aire urbaine, after those of Paris and Lyon, with a population recorded to be 1,516,340 at the 1999 census and estimated to be 1,605,000 in 2007....
.

In 1812, he finally settled in Rome
Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
 in the Palazzo Barberini
Palazzo Barberini

Palazzo Barberini is a palace in Rome, on the Piazza Barberini in Rione.The sloping site had formerly been occupied by a garden-vineyard of the Sforza family, in which a palazzetto had been built in 1549....
., where he died on January 20, 1819.

Ancestors