Charles IV of Spain

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Charles IV
King of Spain
(more...)
Reign14 December 1788 – 19 March 1808
PredecessorCharles III
SuccessorFerdinand VII
Chief ministers
See list
Born11 November 1748
Palace of Portici, Portici, Naples
Died20 January 1819(1819-01-20) (aged 70)
Palazzo Barberini, Rome, Papal States
Burial
El Escorial
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1765; died 1819)​
Issue
Names
Spanish: Carlos Antonio Pascual Francisco Javier Juan Nepomuceno José Januario Serafín Diego de Borbón y Sajonia
HouseBourbon
FatherCharles III of Spain
MotherMaria Amalia of Saxony
ReligionCatholic Church
SignatureCharles IV's signature

Charles IV (Spanish: Carlos Antonio Pascual Francisco Javier Juan Nepomuceno José Januario Serafín Diego de Borbón y Sajonia; 11 November 1748 – 20 January 1819) was

King of Spain and ruler of the Spanish Empire
from 1788 to 1808.

The Spain inherited by Charles IV gave few indications of instability,

Napoleon Bonaparte, who forced Ferdinand VII to abdicate, Charles IV also abdicated, paving the way for Napoleon to place his older brother Joseph Bonaparte on the throne of Spain. The reign of Charles IV turned out to be a major turning point in Spanish history.[2][3]

Early life

Charles was the second son of

Prince of Taranto.[4] He was called El Cazador (meaning "the Hunter"), due to his preference for sport and hunting, rather than dealing with affairs of the state. Charles is considered by historian Stanley G. Payne as "good-hearted but weak and simple-minded."[5]
On 18 November 1791,
King Carlos IV promulgated a royal decree declaring the foundation of the "Royal University of Guadalajara".[6] in modern times University of Guadalajara
.

Reign

The Family of Charles IV
8 reales Carolus IV 1808 Chopmark

In 1788, Charles III died and Charles IV succeeded to the throne and ruled for the next two decades. Even though he had a profound belief in the sanctity of the monarchy and kept up the appearance of an absolute, powerful king, Charles never took more than a passive part in his own government. The affairs of government were left to his wife,

Napoleon Bonaparte. Ideas of the Age of Enlightenment had come to Spain with the accession of the first Spanish Bourbon, Philip V. Charles' father, Charles III, had pursued an active policy of reform that sought to reinvigorate Spain politically and economically and make the Spanish Empire more closely an appendage of the metropole. Charles III was an active, working monarch with experienced first ministers to help reach decisions. Charles IV, by contrast, was a do-nothing king, with a domineering wife and an inexperienced but ambitious first minister, Godoy.[according to whom?] The combination of a king not up to the task of governance, the queen widely perceived to take lovers (including Godoy) and the first minister with an agenda of his own earned the monarchy increased alienation from its subjects.[7]

Upon ascending to the throne, Charles IV intended to maintain the policies of his father and, accordingly, retained his prime minister,

Manuel de Godoy, a favorite of the Queen and widely believed to be her lover, who enjoyed the lasting favor of the King.[citation needed
]

Under Charles IV, scientific expeditions continued to be sent by the crown, some of which were initially authorized by Charles III. The Royal Botanical Expedition to New Granada (1783–1816),[8] and the Royal Botanical Expedition to New Spain (1787–1803),[9] were funded by the crown. The Malaspina Expedition (1789–94) was an important scientific expedition headed by Spanish naval commander Alejandro Malaspina, with naturalists and botanical illustrators gathering information for the Spanish crown.[10][11][12][13][14][15] In 1803, he authorized the Balmis Expedition, aimed at vaccinating Spain's overseas territories against smallpox.[16] In 1799, Charles IV authorized Prussian aristocrat and scientist Alexander von Humboldt to travel freely in Spanish America, with royal officials encouraged to aid him in his investigation of key areas of Spain's empire. Humboldt's Political Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain was a key publication from his five-year travels.[citation needed]

Apex of Spanish Empire in 1790

Spain's economic problems were of long standing, but deteriorated further when Spain was ensnared in wars that its ally France pursued. Financial needs drove his domestic and foreign policy. Godoy's economic policies increased discontent with Charles's regime.[17] In an attempt to implement major economic changes, Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos, a reformist, Jansenist conservative proposed major structural reform of land tenure to promote the revival of agriculture. His 1795 work, Informe en el expediente de ley agraria argued that Spain needed thriving agriculture to allow its population to grow and prosper. In his analysis, the concentration of land ownership and traditions and institutional barriers were at the heart of agriculture's problems. He called for division and sale of public lands, which were held by villages, as well as the swaths of Spanish territory controlled by the Mesta, the organization of livestock owners who had kept grazing lands as an asset for their use. Jovellanos also argued for the abolition of entailed properties (mayorazgos), which allowed landed estates to pass undivided through generations of aristocrats, as well as sale of lands held by the Catholic Church. The aim of these policies was to create in Spain yeoman farmers, who would pursue their self-interest and make agricultural land more productive. The cost would be to undermine the power of the Church and the aristocracy.[18]

As the situation with immediate revenue became more fraught, the crown in 1804 imposed measures in its overseas empire forcing the church to call in immediately the mortgages it had extended on a long-term by the Catholic Church. Although aimed at undermining the wealth and power of the church, the wealthy landowning elites were faced with financial ruin, since they had no way to make full payment on their mortgaged properties.[19] This ill-considered royal decree has been seen as a major factor in the independence movement in New Spain (Mexico).[20] The decree was in abeyance once Charles and Ferdinand abdicated, but it undermined elite support while in force.

In foreign policy Godoy continued Abarca de Bolea's policy of neutrality toward as France, but after Spain protested the execution of

French Revolutionary War, and for a considerable duration.[22]

Spain remained an ally of France for a while, lost against the British in the

Continental Blockade. After Napoleon's victory over Prussia
in 1807, Godoy kept Spain with the French side.

But the switching of alliances devalued Charles's position as a trustworthy ally, increasing Godoy's unpopularity, and strengthening the fernandistas (supporters of

Crown Prince Ferdinand), who favoured an alliance with the United Kingdom.[citation needed
]

Economic troubles, rumors about a sexual relationship between the Queen and Godoy, and the King's ineptitude, caused the monarchy to decline in prestige among the population. Anxious to take over from his father, and jealous of the prime minister, Crown Prince Ferdinand attempted to overthrow the King in an aborted coup in 1807.[23] He was successful in 1808, forcing his father's abdication following the Tumult of Aranjuez.

  • Coins with image of Charles IV of Spain, 1798
    Coins with image of Charles IV of Spain, 1798
  • Coin of Charles IV of Spain Colombia 8 Escudos, 1794
    Coin of Charles IV of Spain Colombia 8 Escudos, 1794
  • Count de Floridablanca, painting by Goya ca. 1783
    Count de Floridablanca, painting by
    Goya
    ca. 1783
  • Count of Aranda
    Count of Aranda
  • Manuel de Godoy, as general. Painting by Goya 1801
    Manuel de Godoy, as general. Painting by Goya 1801
  • Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos. Painting by Goya 1798
    Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos. Painting by Goya 1798
  • Crown Prince Ferdinand, Painting by Goya 1800
    Crown Prince Ferdinand, Painting by Goya 1800

Abdications of Bayonne

Main article: Abdications of Bayonne

Riots, and a popular revolt at

Ferdinand VII, but was mistrusted by Napoleon, who had 100,000 soldiers stationed in Spain by that time due to the ongoing War of the Third Coalition
.

The ousted King, having appealed to Napoleon for help in regaining his throne, was summoned before Napoleon in Bayonne, along with his son, in April 1808. Napoleon forced both Charles and his son to abdicate, declared the Bourbon dynasty of Spain deposed, and installed his brother, Joseph Bonaparte, as King Joseph I of Spain, which began the Peninsular War.[24]

Later life and death

The ex-king in 1818

Following Napoleon's deposing of the Bourbon dynasty, the ex-King, his wife, and former Prime Minister Godoy were held captive in France first at the

Ferdinand VII was restored to the throne. The former Charles IV drifted about Europe[27] until 1812, when he finally settled in Rome, in the Palazzo Barberini.[28][29][30][31] His wife died on 2 January 1819, followed shortly by Charles, who died on 20 January of the same year. Sir Francis Ronalds included a detailed description of the funeral in his travel journal.[32][33]

Character

Well-meaning and pious, Charles IV floundered in a series of international crises beyond his capacity to handle.[27][according to whom?] He was painted by Francisco Goya in a number of official court portraits, which numerous art critics have seen as satires on the King's stout vacuity.[34]

Marriage and children

Charles IV married his first cousin Maria Louisa, the daughter of Philip, Duke of Parma, in 1765. The couple had fourteen children, seven of whom survived into adulthood:

Children of King Charles IV
Name Portrait Lifespan Notes
Carlos Clemente
Infante of Spain 		19 September 1771 – 7 March 1774 Born and died at El Escorial; baptized on the same day he was born, with Charles III representing "the Holy Father" at the christening. Pope Clement XIV celebrated Carlos' birth and sent the infant consecrated swaddling clothes.[35]
Carlota Joaquina
Queen of Portugal and the Algarves 		25 April 1775 – 7 January 1830 Born at the
Queluz National Palace
.
Maria Luisa
Infanta of Spain 		11 September 1777 – 2 July 1782 Born and died at the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso.[36]
María Amalia

Infanta of Spain 		9 January 1779 – 22 July 1798 Born at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, she married her uncle Infante Antonio Pascual of Spain in 1795. She gave birth to a stillborn son in 1798 and died shortly thereafter.
Carlos Domingo
Infante of Spain 		5 March 1780 – 11 June 1783 Born at the Royal Palace of El Pardo and died at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez.[36] After his birth, his father pardoned all of the convicts from Puerto San Julián as a sign of celebration.[37]
Maria Luisa

Queen of Etruria
Duchess of Lucca 		6 July 1782 – 13 March 1824 Born at the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso, she married her first cousin
Louis, King of Etruria in 1795 and had issue, including Charles II, Duke of Parma. Became Duchess of Lucca in her own right in 1817 and died in Rome
in 1824 of cancer.
Carlos Francisco de Paula
Infante of Spain 		5 September 1783 – 11 November 1784 Twins, born and died at the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso.[38] Their birth was an important event for the people of Spain and provided security for the succession, a security which was truncated with the early deaths of Carlos and Felipe.[39]
Felipe Francisco de Paula
Infante of Spain 		5 September 1783 – 18 October 1784
Fernando (VII)

King of Spain 		14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833 Born and died at El Escorial, he succeeded his father as King in 1808, but was deposed by
Isabella II of Spain
. Died in 1833.
Carlos María Isidro Benito

Count of Molina 		29 March 1788 – 10 March 1855 Born at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez. Married his niece
Maria Teresa, Princess of Beira in 1838, no issue. First Carlist
pretender to the throne of Spain as "Carlos V". Use the title "Count of Molina" between 1845 and his death in 1855.
María Isabel
Queen of the Two Sicilies 		6 July 1789 – 13 September 1848 Born at the
Palace of Portici
in 1848.
Maria Teresa
Infanta of Spain 		16 February 1791 – 2 November 1794 Born at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez and died at El Escorial[40] of smallpox.[41]
Felipe Maria
Infante of Spain 		28 March 1792 – 1 March 1794 Born at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez and died at the Royal Palace of Madrid.[40]
Francisco de Paula 10 March 1794 – 13 August 1865 Born at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, he married his niece
Princess Luisa Carlotta of Naples and Sicily
in 1819 and had issue. Died in Madrid in 1865.

Ancestors

See also

  • History of Spain (1700-1810)

References

  1. ^ Lynch, John. Bourbon Spain, 1700–1808. Basil Blackwell 1989, p. 375
  2. ^ Lynch, "Charles IV and the Crisis of Bourbon Spain", Chapter 10, Bourbon Spain.
  3. ^ "Charles IV of Spain and His Family hides a rulers caricature". Hypercritic. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  4. ^ Almanach royal, p 34
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-0-299-06284-2
    , page 415
  6. ^ University of Guadalajara. "I. The Royal University of Guadalajara, 1791 – 1821". Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  7. ^ Lynch, Bourbon Spain, 376-77
  8. ^ Pérez Arbeláez, Enrique (1983) [1967]. José Celestino Mutis y la real expedición botánica del Nuevo Reyno de Granada (in Spanish) (2nd. ed.). Bogotá: Instituto Colombiano de Cultura Hispánica.
  9. ^ Rickett, Harold W. (1947). "The Royal Botanical Expedition to New Spain". Chronica Botanica. 11 (1): 1–81.
  10. ^ Bleichmar, Visible Empire, pp. 16–18.
  11. ^ La expedición Malaspina 1789–1794. 9 vols. Madrid: Lunwerg Editores 1987–96.
  12. ^ Andrés Galera Gómez, La ilustración española y el conocimiento del nuevo mundo. La ciencias naturales en la expedición Malaspina (1789–1994): La labor científica de Antonio Pineda. Madrid: CSIC 1988.
  13. ^ Dolores Higueras Rodríguez (ed.) La Botánica en la Expedición Malaspina 1789–1794. Madrid: Turner Libros 1989.
  14. ^ Juan Pimentel, La física de la monarquía. Ciencia y política en el pensamiento colonial de Alejandro Malaspina (1754–1810). Madrid: Doce Calles 1998.
  15. ^ María Pilar de San Pío Aladrén and María Dolores Higueras Rodríguez (eds.) La armonía natural. La naturaleza en la expedición marítima de Malaspina y Bustamante (1789–1794). Madrid: Lunverg Editores 2001.
  16. PMID 16206103
    .
  17. ^ Burkholder, Suzanne Hiles. "Charles IV of Spain" in Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture. Vol. 2, p. 82. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons 1996.
  18. ^ Brading, D.A. The First America: The Spanish monarchy, Creole patriots, and the Liberal state, 1492-1867. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1991, pp. 510-11.
  19. ^ Hamnett, Brian R. "The Appropriation of Mexican Church Wealth by the Spanish Bourbon Government--The Consolidación de Vales Reales', 1805-1809." Journal of Latin American Studies 1.2 (1969): 85-113.
  20. ^ Von Wobeser, Gisela. "La consolidación de vales reales como factor determinante de la lucha de independencia en México, 1804-1808." Historia mexicana (2006): 373-425.
  21. ^ Portugal; de), José Ferreira Borges de Castro (Visconde; Biker, Julio Firmino Judice; Estrangeiros, Portugal Ministério dos Negócios (19 June 2018). "Supplemeto á Collecção dos tratados, convenções, contratos e actos publicos celebrados entre a corôa de Portugal e as mais potencias desde 1640". Imprensa nacional – via Google Books.
  22. ^ Ollie Bye (3 February 2016). "The French Revolutionary Wars: Every Other Day". Archived from the original on 13 November 2021 – via YouTube.
  23. ^ a b Payne, page 420
  24. ISBN 978-0-8160-4592-1
    .
  25. ^ Alain Raisonnier, Claudie Ressort (2009) Le séjour de Charles IV et de la Cour d'Espagne au Palais de Compiègne en 1808-1809, Annales Historiques compiégnoises, n° 113-114, pp. 14-24
  26. ^ Paul Gaffarel (1919) Le séjour de Charles IV d'Espagne à Marseille, Revue des Etudes Napoléoniennes, t. XVI, pp. 40-57
  27. ^ a b Griffin, page 152
  28. ^ fr:Charles IV d'Espagne
  29. Manuel de Godoy#Exile
  30. ^ Worldroots.com Archived 11 May 2004 at archive.today
  31. ^ "The Royal Favorite: Manuel Francisco Domingo de Godoy, Prince of the Peace". www.napoleon-series.org.
  32. ISBN 978-1-78326-917-4
    .
  33. ^ "Sir Francis Ronalds' Travel Journal: Naples and Pompeii". Sir Francis Ronalds and his Family. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  34. JSTOR 1483673
    .
  35. ^ von Pastor, Ludwig Freiherr (1952). The History of the Popes, from the Close of the Middle Ages. Michigan: Kegan Paul. p. 201.
  36. ^ a b Real Academia Matritense de Heráldica y Genealogía (2007). Anales de la Real Academia Matritense de Heráldica y Genealogía. Vol. X. (in Spanish). Madrid: RAMHG. p. 330.
  37. ISBN 978-987-1354-08-5
    .
  38. ^ Real Academia Matritense de Heráldica y Genealogía (2007). Anales de la Real Academia Matritense de Heráldica y Genealogía. Vol. X. (in Spanish). Madrid: RAMHG. p. 332.
  39. ISBN 978-84-15069-00-3
    .
  40. ^
    ISBN 978-0-8173-0320-4
    .
  41. ISBN 978-84-01-34667-5
    .
  42. ^ Genealogie ascendante jusqu'au quatrieme degre inclusivement de tous les Rois et Princes de maisons souveraines de l'Europe actuellement vivans [Genealogy up to the fourth degree inclusive of all the Kings and Princes of sovereign houses of Europe currently living] (in French). Bourdeaux: Frederic Guillaume Birnstiel. 1768. p. 9.

Further reading

  • Barbier, Jacques A. "Peninsular finance and colonial trade: The dilemma of Charles IV's Spain." Journal of Latin American Studies 12.1 (1980): 21–37.
  • Gómez de Arteche. Historia del Reinado de Carlos IV, (5 vols.), in the Historia General de España de la Real Academia de la Historia (Madrid, 1892).
  • Hamilton, Earl J. "Monetary problems in Spain and Spanish America 1751–1800." The Journal of Economic History 4.1 (1944): 21–48.
  • Paquette, Gabriel B. Enlightenment, governance, and reform in Spain and its empire, 1759–1808. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.
  • Russell, Craig H. "Spain in the Enlightenment." The Classical Era. Palgrave Macmillan, London, 1989. 350–367.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charles IV of Spain.
Charles IV of Spain
Cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty
Born: 11 November 1748 Died: 20 January 1819
Regnal titles
Preceded by King of Spain
1788–1808 		Succeeded by
Ferdinand VII
Spanish royalty
Vacant
Title last held by
Ferdinand (VI)
 		Prince of Asturias
1759–1788 		Succeeded by
Ferdinand (VII)
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