Ferdinand VII | |||||
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Portrait of Ferdinand VII in his robes of state
by Goya, 1815 |
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King of Spain (more...) | |||||
1st reign | 19 March 1808 – 6 May 1808 | ||||
Predecessor | Charles IV | ||||
Successor | Joseph I | ||||
2nd reign | 11 December 1813 – 29 September 1833 | ||||
Predecessor | Joseph I | ||||
Successor | Isabella II | ||||
Born | 14 October 1784 San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Spain |
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Died | 29 September 1833 Madrid, Spain |
(aged 48)||||
Burial | El Escorial | ||||
Spouses |
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Issue see detail... |
Isabella II of Spain Luisa Fernanda, Duchess of Montpensier |
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House | Bourbon | ||||
Father | Charles IV of Spain | ||||
Mother | Maria Luisa of Parma | ||||
Religion | Roman Catholicism | ||||
Signature |
Full name | |
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Spanish: Fernando Francisco de Paula Domingo Vincente Ferrer Antonio José Joaquín Pascual Diego Juan Nepomuceno Januario Francisco Javier Rafael Miguel Gabriel Calisto Cayetano Fausto Luis Raimundo Gregorio Lorenzo Jerónimo |
Ferdinand VII (Spanish: Fernando VII de Borbón; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was twice King of Spain: in 1808 and again from 1813 to his death. He was known to his supporters as "the Desired" (el Deseado) and to his detractors as the "Felon King" (el Rey Felón). After being overthrown by Napoleon in 1808 he linked his monarchy to counter-revolution and reactionary policies that produced a deep rift in Spain between his forces on the right and liberals on the left. He reestablished the absolutist monarchy and rejected the liberal constitution of 1812. He suppressed the liberal press 1814–33 and jailed many of its editors and writers. Under his rule, Spain lost nearly all of its American possessions, and the country entered into civil war on his death.
His reputation among historians is very low. Historian Stanley Payne says:
He proved in many ways the basest king in Spanish history. Cowardly, selfish, grasping, suspicious, and vengeful, [he] seemed almost incapable of any perception of the commonwealth. He thought only in terms of his power and security and was unmoved by the enormous sacrifices of Spanish people to retain their independence and preserve his throne.
Ferdinand was ostensibly the eldest surviving child of Charles IV of Spain and Maria Luisa of Parma. Ferdinand was born in the palace of El Escorial near Madrid. The Queen's confessor Fray Juan Almaraz wrote in his last will that she admitted in articulo mortis that "none, none of her sons and daughters, none was of the legitimate marriage". In his youth Ferdinand occupied the position of an heir apparent who was excluded from all share in government by his parents and their favourite advisor and Prime Minister, Manuel Godoy. National discontent with the government produced a rebellion in 1805. In October 1807, Ferdinand was arrested for his complicity in the El Escorial Conspiracy in which the rebels aimed at securing foreign support from the French Emperor Napoleon. When the conspiracy was discovered, Ferdinand submitted to his parents.