Charles IV (Spanish:Carlos Antonio Pascual Francisco Javier Juan Nepomuceno José Januario Serafín Diego de Borbón y Sajonia; 11 November 1748 – 20 January 1819) wasKing of Spain and ruler of theSpanish Empire from 1788 to 1808.
The Spain inherited by Charles IV gave few indications ofinstability,[1] but during his reign, Spain entered a series of disadvantageous alliances and his regime constantly sought cash to deal with the exigencies of war. He detested his son and heirFerdinand, who led the unsuccessfulEl Escorial Conspiracy and later forced Charles's abdication after theTumult of Aranjuez in March 1808, along with ousting Charles's widely hated first ministerManuel Godoy. Summoned toBayonne byNapoleon Bonaparte, who forced Ferdinand VII to abdicate, Charles IV also abdicated, paving the way for Napoleon to place his elder brotherJoseph Bonaparte on the throne of Spain. The reign of Charles IV turned out to be a major negative turning point in Spanish history.[2][3]
Charles was the second son ofCharles III and his wife,Maria Amalia of Saxony. He was born inNaples (11 November 1748), while his father wasKing of Naples andSicily. His elder brotherDon Felipe was passed over for both thrones, due to his learning disabilities andepilepsy. In Naples and Sicily, Charles was referred to as thePrince of Taranto.[4] He was calledEl Cazador (meaning "the Hunter"), due to his preference for sport andhunting, rather than dealing with affairs of state. Charles is considered by historianStanley G. Payne as "good-hearted but weak and simple-minded".[5]
The Family of Charles IV8 reales Carolus IV 1808 Chopmark
In 1788, Charles III died; 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,Maria Luisa, and the man he appointed first minister,Manuel de Godoy. Charles occupied himself with hunting in the period that saw the outbreak of theFrench Revolution, the executions of his Bourbon relativeLouis XVI of France and his queen,Marie Antoinette, and the rise ofNapoleon Bonaparte. Ideas of theAge of Enlightenment hadcome to Spain with the accession of the first Spanish Bourbon,Philip V. Charles' father, Charles III, had pursued an active policy ofreform 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 ado-nothing king, with a domineering wife and an inexperienced but ambitious first minister, Godoy. 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.[6]
Upon ascending to the throne, Charles IV intended to maintain the policies of his father and, accordingly, retained his prime minister,the Count of Floridablanca.[5] Floridablanca avoided war with Great Britain in theNootka Sound crisis, where a minor trade and navigation dispute off the west coast ofVancouver Island in 1789 could have blown up into a major conflict. Spain could have drawn on its French ally in support against Britain but they refused. In a humiliating move, Floridablanca had no choice but to capitulate to British terms and therebynegotiated with them. In 1792, political and personal enemies ousted Floridablanca from office, replacing him with theCount of Aranda. However, in the wake of the war againstRepublican France, the liberal-leaning Count of Aranda was himself replaced byManuel de Godoy, a favorite of the Queen and widely believed to be her lover, who enjoyed the lasting favor of the King.[7]
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 workInforme 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 theMesta, 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 inNew 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 ofLouis XVI of France in 1793, France declared war on Spain. After the declaration, Portugal and Spain signed a treaty of mutual protection against France.[21] In 1796 France forced Godoy toenter into an alliance, and declare war on theKingdom of Great Britain. As a consequence,Spain became one of themaritime empires to have been allied with Republican France in theFrench Revolutionary War, and for a considerable duration.[22]
Spain remained an ally of France for a while, lost against the British in thebattle of Trafalgar, and supported theContinental Blockade. AfterNapoleon's victory overPrussia 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 thefernandistas (supporters ofCrown Prince Ferdinand), who favoured an alliance with theUnited 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 theTumult of Aranjuez.
Coins with image of Charles IV of Spain, 1798
Coin of Charles IV of Spain Colombia 8 Escudos, 1794
Count de Floridablanca, painting byGoya ca. 1782-83
Count of Aranda
Manuel de Godoy, as general. Painting by Goya 1801
Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos. Painting by Goya 1798
Riots, and a popular revolt atthe winter palace Aranjuez, in 1808 forced the king to abdicate on 19 March, in favor of his son.[23] Ferdinand took the throne asFerdinand VII, but was mistrusted by Napoleon, who had 100,000 soldiers stationed in Spain by that time due to the ongoingWar of the Third Coalition.
The ousted king, having appealed to Napoleon for help in regaining his throne, was summoned before Napoleon inBayonne, 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 thePeninsular War.[24]
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 thechâteau de Compiègne[25] and three years inMarseille (where a neighborhood was named after him).[26] After the collapse of the regime installed by Napoleon,Ferdinand VII was restored to the throne. The former Charles IV drifted about Europe[27] until 1812, when he finally settled inRome, in thePalazzo Barberini.[28][29][30][31] His wife died on 2 January 1819, followed shortly by Charles, who died on 19 January of the same year. At the time of his death Charles was visiting his brotherFerdinand I of the Two Sicilies in Naples.[32] SirFrancis Ronalds included a detailed description of the funeral in his travel journal.[33][34]
Well-meaning and pious, Charles IV floundered in a series of international crises beyond his capacity to handle.[27] He was said to be 'despotic, sluggish and stupid'. He was also noted as a former wrestler who spent many a time hunting.[35] He was painted byFrancisco Goya in a number of official court portraits, which numerous art critics have seen as satires on the King's stout vacuity.[36]
Charles IV married his first cousinMaria 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 atEl 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. Died young however.[37]
Born at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, she married her uncleInfante 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 theRoyal Palace of El Pardo and died at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez.[38] After his birth, his father pardoned all of the convicts fromPuerto San Julián as a sign of celebration. Died in childhood.[39]
Born at the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso, she married her first cousinLouis, King of Etruria in 1795[40] and had issue, includingCharles II, Duke of Parma. Became Duchess of Lucca in her own right in 1817 and died inRome 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.[41] 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. Both died in childhood.[42]
Born at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez. Married his nieceInfanta Maria Francisca of Portugal in 1816 and had issue. Married his nieceMaria Teresa, Princess of Beira in 1838, no issue. FirstCarlist pretender to the throne of Spain as "Carlos V". Used the title "Count of Molina" between 1845 and his death in 1855.
^Hilt,The Troubled Trinity: Godoy and the Spanish Monarchs
^Pérez Arbeláez, Enrique (1983) [1967].José Celestino Mutis y la real expedición botánica del Nuevo Reyno de Granada (in Spanish) (second ed.). Bogotá: Instituto Colombiano de Cultura Hispánica.
^Rickett, Harold W. (1947). "The Royal Botanical Expedition to New Spain".Chronica Botanica.11 (1):1–81.
^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.
^Dolores Higueras Rodríguez (ed.)La Botánica en la Expedición Malaspina 1789–1794. Madrid: Turner Libros 1989.
^Juan Pimentel,La física de la monarquía. Ciencia y política en el pensamiento colonial de Alejandro Malaspina (1754–1810). Madrid: Doce Calles 1998.
^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.
^Burkholder, Suzanne Hiles. "Charles IV of Spain" inEncyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture. Vol. 2, p. 82. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons 1996.
^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.
^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.
^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.
^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
^Paul Gaffarel (1919) Le séjour de Charles IV d'Espagne à Marseille, Revue des Etudes Napoléoniennes, t. XVI, pp. 40-57
^Edward J. Olszewski (1999). "Exorcising Goya's "The Family of Charles IV"".Artibus et Historiae.20 (40):169–185.doi:10.2307/1483673.JSTOR1483673.
^von Pastor, Ludwig Freiherr (1952).The History of the Popes, from the Close of the Middle Ages. Michigan: Kegan Paul. p. 201.
^abReal 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.
^Senatore, Mar'a Ximena (2007).Arqueolog'a e historia en la colonia espa–ola de Floridablanca, Patagonia, siglo XVIII (in Spanish). Madrid: Teseo. p. 149.ISBN978-987-1354-08-5.
^Simpson, William; Jones, Martin Desmond (2000).Europe, 1783-1914. Routledge. p. 127.ISBN9780415226608.
^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.
^Palazón, Juan Manuel Abascal (2010).José Vargas Ponce (1760–1821) en la Real Academia de la Historia (in Spanish). Madrid: Real Academia de la Historia. p. 54.ISBN978-84-15069-00-3.
^abHilt, Douglas (1987).The Troubled Trinity: Godoy and the Spanish Monarchs. Alabama: University of Alabama Press. p. 292.ISBN978-0-8173-0320-4.
^Zavala, José María (2013).La maldición de los Borbones (in Spanish). Mexico: Random House Mondadori. p. 16.ISBN978-84-01-34667-5.
The generations indicate descent fromCarlos I, under whom the crowns of Castile and Aragon were united, forming the Kingdom of Spain. Previously, the title Infante had been largely used in the different realms.
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