Ferdinand VI (Spanish:Fernando; 23 September 1713 – 10 August 1759), calledthe Learned (el Prudente) andthe Just (el Justo), wasKing of Spain from 9 July 1746 until his death in 1759. He was the third ruler of the SpanishBourbon dynasty. He was the son ofKing Philip V andQueen Maria Luisa.
Ferdinand succeeded his father upon the latter's death in 1746. In 1749, he authorized ageneral imprisonment of theRoma (Gypsy) population, resulting in the genocide and imprisonment of 9,000.[1] Abroad, his reign proved peaceful as he successfully avoided involving Spain in any European conflicts. Moderate changes to Spain were initiated under the king, including reforms of taxation, advance commerce, and the Spanish navy, as well as a ban onfreemasonry. However, the last years of Ferdinand's reign were marked by mental instability, much like his direct predecessor Philip V. Upon his death, Ferdinand was succeeded by his younger half-brother,Charles III.
Born at theRoyal Alcázar of Madrid, Ferdinand was the last of the four sons thatPhilip V had in his first marriage toMaria Luisa of Savoy. The younginfante endured a sad and lonely childhood. When he was just five months old, his mother died fromtuberculosis, and seven months later, his father remarried the ambitious and domineeringElisabeth Farnese, who had no affection except for her own children, and looked upon Ferdinand and her other stepsons as an obstacle to their fortunes. Thehypochondria of his father left Elisabeth mistress of the palace.[2]
Philip, the second oldest of his three brothers, only lived for two weeks, dying before Ferdinand was born, while Philip Peter died at the age of 7, when Ferdinand was six years old. At the age of 10, Ferdinand becamePrince of Asturias after his oldest brother,Louis, died ofsmallpox at the age of 17, after only seven months as King following the abdication of their father. But on Elizabeth's insistence, Philip returned to the throne. However, due to Philip V's declined mental condition, Elizabeth was the more proactive of the two.
Ferdinand, along with his brothers, theinfantes, was tutored by the nobleGiovanni Antonio Medrano.[3] Ferdinand was by temperament melancholic, shy and distrustful of his own abilities. When complimented on his shooting, he replied, "It would be hard if there were not something I could do." Shooting and music were his only pleasures, and he was the generous patron of the famous singerFarinelli, whose voice soothed his melancholy.[2]
When Ferdinand came to the throne in 1746, Spain was embroiled in theWar of the Austrian Succession, which ended with little benefit for Spain. He started his reign by eliminating the influence of his stepmother and her group of Italian courtiers. As king he followed a steady policy of neutrality in the conflict between theKingdom of France and theKingdom of Great Britain. He refused to be tempted by the offers of either kingdom into declaring war on the other.[2]
Prominent figures during his reign wereMarquis of Ensenada, a Francophile; andJosé de Carvajal y Lancáster, a supporter of the alliance with Great Britain. The fight between both ended in 1754 with the death of Carvajal and the fall of Ensenada, after whichRicardo Wall became the most powerful advisor to the monarch.
Ferdinand VI of SpainSilver coin: 8 reales ofNew Spain, minted during the reign of Ferdinand VI
The most important tasks during the reign of Ferdinand VI were carried out by the Marquis of Ensenada, theSecretary of the Treasury, Navy and Indies. He suggested that the state help modernize the country. To him, this was necessary to maintain a position of exterior strength so that France and Great Britain would consider Spain as an ally without supposing Spain's renunciation of its claim toGibraltar.
A new model of the Treasury was suggested by Ensenada in 1749. He proposed substitution of the traditional taxes with a special tax, thecadastre, that weighed the economic capacity of each contributor based on their property holdings. He also proposed a reduction of subsidies by the state to the Cortes and the army. The opposition by the nobility caused the abandonment of the project.
In 1752, the bank Giro Real was created. It favored the transfer of public and private funds outside of Spain keeping all of the foreign exchanges in the hands of the Royal Treasury, enriching the State. It is considered the predecessor to theBank of San Carlos, introduced during the reign ofCharles III. Commerce was stimulated in the Americas, in an attempt to end the monopoly in the Indies and eliminate the injustices of colonial commerce. Ferdinand leaned toward registered ships rather than fleets of ships. The new system consisted of the substitution of the fleets and galleons so that a Spanish ship, previously authorized, could conduct trade freely in the Americas. This increased revenues and decreased fraud. Even so, this system provoked many protests among merchants in the private sector.
According to Ensenada, a powerful navy was fundamental to power of an overseas empire and aspirations of being respected by France and Great Britain. He increased the navy's budget and expanded the capacity of the shipyards ofCádiz,Ferrol,Cartagena andHavana which marked a commitment to extending the naval policies already underway in his predecessor's reign.
Church relations were really tense from start of the reign of Philip V because of the recognition ofCharles of Austria as the King of Spain by the pope. A regalist policy was maintained that pursued as much political as fiscal objectives and whose decisive achievement was the Concord of 1753. From this the right of universal patronage was obtained fromPope Benedict XIV, giving important economic benefits to the Crown and a great control over the clergy.
The main conflict was its confrontation with Portugal over the colony ofSacramento, from which British contraband was transferred down theRío de la Plata. In 1750José de Carvajal helped Spain and Portugal strike a deal. Portugal agreed to renounce the colony and its claim to free navigation down the Río de la Plata. In return, Spain ceded to Portugal two regions on the Brazilian border, one in the Amazon and the other to the south, in which were seven of the thirty Jesuit Guaraní towns. The Spanish had to expel the missionaries, generating aconflict with the Guaraní people that lasted eleven years.
The conflict over the towns provoked a crisis in the Spanish Court. Ensenada, favorable to the Jesuits, and Father Rávago, confessor of the King and members of theSociety of Jesus, were fired, accused of hindering the agreements with Portugal.
During his last year of reign, Ferdinand VI was rapidly losing his mental capacity and he was held in theCastle of Villaviciosa de Odón until his death on 10 August 1759. That period of time between August 1758 and August 1759 is known in Spanish historiography as the year without a king, due to the absence of the royal figure as ruler. The cause of the disease is still debated. Some authors suggest that the king suffered adepressive episode. The death of his wife Barbara, who had been devoted to him, and who carefully abstained from political intrigue, broke his heart. Between the date of her death in August 1758 and his own on 10 August 1759, he fell into a state of prostration in which he would not even dress, but wandered unshaven, unwashed and in a nightgown about his park.[2]
Another opinion is that Ferdinand VI suffered a rapidly progressive clinical syndrome where behavioral disorganization withapathy andimpulsivity, loss of judgment, andepileptic seizures of the rightfrontal lobe semiology were predominant. This semiology is highly suggestive of a right frontal lobe syndrome.[5]
As the couple had no children, Ferdinand VI was succeeded as King by his half-brotherCharles III.
HistorianStanley G. Payne regards him positively, writing that "The great virtue of Fernando VI as ruler was that he kept Spain at peace and avoided further entanglement in European struggles". However, he also notes that "The last five years of Fernando VI, who ultimately lapsed into madness like hisfather, were a time of vacuity and inaction."[6]
A fictionalized version of Ferdinand VI appears in the 2011adventure filmPirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. In the film, after learning about the discovery of theFountain of Youth, Ferdinand (portrayed bySebastian Armesto) sends his most trusted agent, known only as "The Spaniard", to find and destroy the Fountain, because he saw it as the abomination in the eyes ofGod. Also, his residence, for unknown reasons, is situated inCádiz, not inMadrid, the capital ofSpain.
^Martínez, Manuel."From the Extermination of Spanish Roma to full Citizenship Status: One Century of Hope (1749–1843)".RomArchive. Retrieved3 August 2025.All told, starting from the dawn of 31 July and over the following months, around 9,000 people were affected by the Great Raid and others that followed. If we consider that at the time the Roma population was estimated to be about 12,000 people at most, this comprised just over three quarters of the Roma population.
^Menéndez-Pidal De Navascués, Faustino; (1999)El escudo; Menéndez Pidal y Navascués, Faustino; O´Donnell, Hugo; Lolo, Begoña. Símbolos de España. Madrid: Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales.ISBN84-259-1074-9
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.
![Coat of arms as Infante of Spain[7]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aCoat_of_Ferdinand_VI_of_Spain_as_Infante.svg)
![Coat of arms as Prince of Asturias[8]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aCoat_of_Arms_of_the_Prince_of_Asturias_(1700-1761)-Version_with_Golden_Fleece_and_Holy_Spirit_Collars.svg)
![Coat of arms as King of Spain[9]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aRoyal_Greater_Coat_of_Arms_of_Spain_(1700-1761)_Version_with_Golden_Fleece_and_Holy_Spirit_Collars.svg)
