Philip V of Spain

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, the 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 (1701-1714). 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, Naples, Milan, and Sardinia to the Austrian Habsburgs; Sicily and parts of the Milanese to Savoy. The losses that occurred because of the war greatly diminished the Spanish Empire in Europe, which had already been in decline, and throughout his reign, Philip sought to arrest the decline of Spanish power as Britain began to increasingly dominate at sea and world trade during the 18th century.

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 by reconquering Naples and Sicily from Austria and Oran from the Ottomans. During his reign Spain began to recover from the stagnation it had suffered during the twilight of the Spanish 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 singer Carlo Broschi Farinelli, who, for 20 years, sang the same four arias each night to the king, and his successor.

Marriages and Children

He married Maria Louisa of Savoy (17 September 1688–14 February 1714) on 2 November 1701 and they had 4 sons:

Louis (25 August 1707–31 August 1724)
Philip (2 July 1709–8 July 1709).
Philip (7 June 1712–29 December 1719).
Ferdinand VI (23 September 1713–10 August 1759).

He married Elizabeth Farnese (25 October 1692–11 July 1766) on 24 December 1714, they had 7 children:

Charles III (20 January 1716–14 December 1788).
Francisco (21 March 1717–21 April 1717).
Marianne Victoria of Borbón (31 March 1718–15 January 1781). Married Joseph I of Portugal.
Philip, Duke of Parma (15 March 1720–18 July 1765). Founder of the line of Bourbon-Parma.
María Teresa (11 June 1726–22 July 1746). Married Louis, Dauphin de France (son of Louis XV).
Luis Antonio (25 July 1727–7 August 1785). Was Archbishop of Toledo, Primate of Spain and Cardinal since 1735. In 1754 renounced his ecclesiastical titles and became Count de Chinchón. In 1776, he married morganatically Doña María Teresa de Vallabriga y de Rozas and had issue, but without royal titles.
María Antonieta (17 November 1729–19 September 1785). Married Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia.

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, Si Charles (1958). The Spanish Royal House. London: Geoffrey Bles.

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Life account

Marriages and Children

References