Philip V of Spain
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King Philip V of Spain (December 19, 1683 – July 9, 1746) or Philippe of Anjou was king of Spain from 1700 to 1746, the first of the Bourbon dynasty in Spain.
He was the second son of Louis, the Grand Dauphin and Maria Anna of Bavaria. He was a younger brother of Louis, Duke of Burgundy and an uncle of Louis XV of France.
His paternal grandparents were Louis XIV of France and Maria Theresa of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria and Adelaide Henriette of Savoy, daughter of Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy.
Life account
Philip was born in Versailles. The ever ambitious Louis XIV wanted to extend his Bourbon dynasty into Spain, and thus acquire rich possessions of the Spanish Empire. However, the other powers of Europe contested the idea, eventually leading to the War of Spanish Succession (1701-1713). Although Philip was allowed to remain on the Spanish throne, the war cost Spain the possession of Minorca in the Balearic Islands as well as Gibraltar to Great Britain and the Spanish Netherlands to the Habsburgs. The loss of the war greatly diminished the already fading power of the Spanish Empire, and throughout his reign, Philip saw the gradual decline of Spanish power and the advent of the British as the supreme commanders of the sea and world trade.
On January 14, 1724, Philip abdicated the throne to his eldest son, Louis, but resumed it later that year when Louis died of smallpox.
Philip helped his Bourbon relatives to make territorial gains in the War of the Polish Succession and the War of the Austrian Succession. During his reign Spain began to recover from the stagnation it had suffered during the twilight of the Habsburg dynasty. Ferdinand VI of Spain, his son by his first queen Maria Luisa of Savoy, succeeded him.
Philip was afflicted by fits of manic depression and increasingly fell victim to a deep melancholia. His second wife, Elizabeth Farnese, completely dominated her passive husband. She bore him further sons, including another successor, Charles III of Spain. He was later healed by the castrato singer Carlo Broschi Farinelli, who, for 20 years, sang the same four arias each night to the king, and his successor.
Children
By Maria Luisa of Savoy (1688-1714):
- Louis
- Philip (1709, lived 6 days).
- Ferdinand VI
By Elizabeth Farnese (1692-1766):
- Charles III
- Francisco (1717, lived one month).
- Marianne Victoria of Borbón (1718-1781). Married Joseph I of Portugal.
- Philip, Duke of Parma (1720-1765). Founder of the line of Bourbon-Parma.
- María Teresa (1726-1746). Married Louis, Dauphin de France (son of Louis XV).
- Luis Antonio (1727-1785). Was Archbishop of Toledo, Primate of Spain and Cardinal since 1735. On 1754 renounced his ecclesiastical titles and became Count de Chinchón. On 1776, he married morganatically Doña María Teresa de Vallabriga y de Rozas and had issue, but without royal titles.
- María Antonieta (1729-1785). Married Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia.
| Preceded by: Charles II |
King of Spain 1700–1724 (First Reign) |
Succeeded by: Louis |
| King of Naples 1700–1707 |
Succeeded by: Joseph |
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| King of Sicily 1700–1713 |
Succeeded by: Victor Amadeus |
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| Preceded by: Louis |
King of Spain 1724–1746 (Second Reign) |
Succeeded by: Ferdinand VI |
References
Armstrong, Edward (1892). Elizabeth Farnese: The Termagent of Spain. London: Longmans, Green & Co.
Kamen, Henry (2001). Philip V of Spain: The King Who Reigned Twice. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Petrie, Sir Charles (1958). The Spanish Royal House. London: Geoffrey Bles.
