1.
Jean Ranc
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Jean Ranc was a French painter, mainly active in portraiture. He trained under his father Antoine Ranc and his fathers former student Hyacinthe Rigaud, Ranc the younger was born in Montpellier, the son of the provincial portraitist Antoine Ranc the elder. Antoine had a collection of paintings by the European masters. Jean Ranc moved to Paris in 1696, and became the student of Rigaud, despite aspirations to become a history painter, he was never received as such by the Académie. Jean Ranc then became established as a portraitist to the Parisian bourgeoisie and produced a number of paintings in the styles of Rigaud and Nattier. On 13 June 1715 he married his god-daughter and the niece of his teacher, Marguerite Elisabeth Rigaud, daughter of the painter Gaspard. On the Bourbons arrival in Spain with the coronation of Philip V, grandson of Louis XIV of France, repeated excuses were made to the French court for the low quality of the portraits sent them by the Spanish Bourbons. Raoux refused the offer and next Rigaud thought of Jean Ranc, all these transactions were aided by cardinal Dubois, then first minister to Louis XV. Two further children, Jean-Baptiste and Antonia, were born in Madrid, Ranc then spent a year in Lisbon from 1729 to 1730 to sketch the faces of the Portuguese monarchy. Thanks to his fashion of allying the melting touch of Riaud with the Castillian vehemence of Vélasquez and this met with the approval of Philip V, who found in Rancs portrait of his son Charles III a good alternative to Spanish works by Carreno de Miranda. Suffering from criticism by Spaniards who sought to do harm to a foreigner. In vain he demanded the cross of the Order of Saint Michael or the post of Maestro de Obras Reales, in Spain he had a long and serious dispute with his colleague Michel Ange Houasse due to their artistic jealousy and desire to excel at court. The Royal Alcazar of Madrid was destroyed in a fire at Christmas 1734, the fire had started in one of Rancs rooms at the old Habsburg palace. Suffering from problems with his sight, Ranc became severely depressed, Rancs style is thus considerably indebted to Rigauds and works by him have sometimes been misattributed to Rigaud or to others. In his 1710 portrait of Joseph Delaselle, a merchant and arms-dealer from Nantes Ranc used Rigauds vocabulary of drapery and his 1719 portrait of the nine-year-old Louis XV in royal costume echoes Rigauds portrait of the five-year-old Louis. The imitation is such that Ranc uses not only similar regalia, but also the heavy drape animating the scene, the column, later, in his portraits of members of the Spanish court, Ranc would imitate Rigauds style even more closely, but with less suppleness and vitality. Rancs portraits show a lack of spontaneity in the depiction of the sitters, Rigauds faces are extraordinarily lifelike, however Ranc excelled in the pageantry and colour of his art. Jean Rancs paintings Burning of the Royal Alcázar of Madrid J. J, luna, Jean Ranc, Ideas artisticas y métodos de trabajo, a través de pinturas y documentos, A. E. A
2.
Lisbon
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Lisbon is the capital and the largest city of Portugal, with a population of 552,700 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km². Its urban area extends beyond the administrative limits with a population of around 2.7 million people. About 2.8 million people live in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area and it is continental Europes westernmost capital city and the only one along the Atlantic coast. Lisbon lies in the western Iberian Peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean, the westernmost areas of its metro area is the westernmost point of Continental Europe. Lisbon is recognised as a city because of its importance in finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, education. It is one of the economic centres on the continent, with a growing financial sector. Humberto Delgado Airport serves over 20 million passengers annually, as of 2015, and the motorway network, the city is the 7th-most-visited city in Southern Europe, after Istanbul, Rome, Barcelona, Madrid, Athens and Milan, with 1,740,000 tourists in 2009. The Lisbon region contributes with a higher GDP PPP per capita than any region in Portugal. Its GDP amounts to 96.3 billion USD and thus $32,434 per capita, the city occupies 32nd place of highest gross earnings in the world. Most of the headquarters of multinationals in the country are located in the Lisbon area and it is also the political centre of the country, as its seat of Government and residence of the Head of State. Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in the world, julius Caesar made it a municipium called Felicitas Julia, adding to the name Olissipo. Ruled by a series of Germanic tribes from the 5th century, in 1147, the Crusaders under Afonso Henriques reconquered the city and since then it has been a major political, economic and cultural centre of Portugal. Unlike most capital cities, Lisbons status as the capital of Portugal has never been granted or confirmed officially – by statute or in written form. Its position as the capital has formed through constitutional convention, making its position as de facto capital a part of the Constitution of Portugal. It has one of the warmest winters of any metropolis in Europe, the typical summer season lasts about four months, from June to September, although also in April temperatures sometimes reach around 25 °C. Although modern archaeological excavations show a Phoenician presence at this location since 1200 BC, another conjecture based on ancient hydronymy suggests that the name of the settlement derived from the pre-Roman appellation for the Tagus, Lisso or Lucio. Lisbons name was written Ulyssippo in Latin by the geographer Pomponius Mela and it was later referred to as Olisippo by Pliny the Elder and by the Greeks as Olissipo or Olissipona. The Indo-European Celts invaded in the 1st millennium BC, mixing with the Pre-Indo-European population and this indigenous settlement maintained commercial relations with the Phoenicians, which would account for the recent findings of Phoenician pottery and other material objects
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Royal Palace of Aranjuez
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The Royal Palace of Aranjuez is a residence of the King of Spain, located in the town of Aranjuez, in the Community of Madrid, Spain. The palace is open to the public as one of the Spanish royal sites, also died here the Ferdinand VII the Felons first wife Maria Antonia of Naples, the second wife Maria Isabel of Portugal and third wife Maria Josepha Amalia of Saxony. In 1931, during the Second Spanish Republic declared the Royal Site a Artistic Historical Monument and this building is part of the Aranjuez Cultural Landscape declared in 2001 a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO Most days, Patrimonio Nacional does not allow photos of its interior. It is in the 12th century when the Order of Santiago settled in the due to its verdant landscape and mild climate that is beneficiary of Tagus. In 1523, Aranjuez became a royal property, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor was the one who gave this orders former possessions the dignity of Real Bosque y Casa de Aranjuez, in order to enjoy in them huntings good days. In 1551 he destined a facilities for botanical garden, which serve to catalog new species brought from the Americas, but the emperors purposes barely met. Wars, his stays in Europe and health setbacks prevented him seize the property as much as anticipated. It did his son Philip II, after granting Aranjuez the designation of Royal Site in 1561, aware of how fertile place, he devoted a portion of land to farm. In the adjacent plot, the King began construction of the first palace and he hired for this services Juan Bautista de Toledo and Juan de Herrera, responsibles for the El Escorials works. On the Philip IIs death in 1598, the works were still to finish, in addition to the royal apartments, only they had built the chapel at the base of the south tower and part of the facades of noon and sunset. Then, the 17th century economic and political crisis and the lack of interest for the place of the last Habsburgs resulted in stoppage of work, was Philip V the Bourbon dynastys first king, who decided to resume the work and tried to make Aranjuez his particular Versailles. Subsequently, this condition would inherit La Granja de San Ildefonso, with Philip V rose a new north tower, completed the west facade and charted the structure that would shape the current palace. In 1748, a fire destroyed almost all of his work. After the fire, Ferdinand VI Philip Vs son, rebuilds the palace, the new project, although he respected the original buildings foundations, was due entirely to aesthetic and the 18th centurys thought. That is, a construction, and refined lines in the exterior. As a tribute to its history, it were included in the facade the statues of its main promoters, Philip II, Philip V. The imposing building that has reached today is due to Charles III in his reforming work for Madrid. The architect was Italian Francesco Sabatini who designed the two wings of the west, laterally limiting the cour dhonneur, at one end of the ensemble was located the chapel, and on opposite side should built a theater that never came up
4.
Aranjuez
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Aranjuez, also called the Royal Estate of Aranjuez, is a city and municipality, capital of the Las Vegas district, in the southern part of the Community of Madrid, Spain. It is located at the confluence of the Tagus and Jarama rivers,42 kilometres south of Madrid, as of 2009, it had a population of 54,055. It is the 17th-largest city in the Community of Madrid and the communitys largest and most populous urban center outside Greater Madrid Area. It has been one of the Royal Estates of the Crown of Spain since the times of Philip II in 1560, until 1752, only the royalty and nobility were allowed to dwell in the town. The Cultural Landscape of Aranjuez was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2001, there are several theories about the origin of the name. The most widely accepted one states that it comes from the Basque language, however the pre-Roman derivation is generally preferred. In 1178, the area was acquired by the Order of Santiago, Ferdinand and Isabella, the Catholic monarchs, converted Aranjuez into a royal site. It was the Spring residence of the kings of Spain from the late 19th century. During the reign of Philip II of Spain, in the half of the 16th century, the royal palace was constructed. The site was designed by Juan Bautista de Toledo and completed by Juan de Herrera. Since the mill was visible from the palace, it was architecturally attractive, in the 20th century it was renovated to generate power, and was finally dismantled after a fire about 1950. As of 2014 only the mill races remained,1758, Queen Barbara de Braganza, wife of Ferdinand VI, died in Aranjuez 1761, King Carlos III builds the so-called Long Bridge over the river Jarama. This stone construction remains largely intact and now supports the M-305 service road about 5 km north of the town,1765, Carlos III, a keen physiocrat orders the construction of Real Cortijo de San Isidro, a model farm which was abandoned by his successor and later commercialized. During the time of Francoist Spain it served as a womens prison, an uprising on 17 March 1808, when the royal family and the government were staying at Aranjuez while on their way south, anticipating a French invasion from the north. Soldiers, peasants and members of the general public assaulted Godoys quarters, the mutineers made King Charles dismiss Godoy, and two days later the court forced the King himself to abdicate in favor of his son and rival, who became Ferdinand VII. 1833 Queen Isabella II of Spain acceded to the throne and finally Aranjuez was reached by a line to Madrid in 1851. This was the railway line in Spain, after that of Barcelona-Mataró. In 1939, Joaquín Rodrigo composed the Concierto de Aranjuez, which would make Aranjuez famous all over the world, the city was declared Conjunto Histórico-Artístico in 1983
5.
Enlightenment in Spain
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The ideas of the Age of Enlightenment came to Spain in the eighteenth century with the new Bourbon dynasty, following the death of the last Habsburg monarch, Charles II, in 1700. Like the Spanish Enlightenment, the Spanish Bourbon monarchs were imbued with Spains Catholic identity, the Bourbon monarchs sought the expansion of scientific knowledge, which had been urged by Benedictine friar Benito Feijóo. From 1777 to 1816, the Spanish crown funded scientific expeditions to gather information about the potential wealth of the empire. Spanish scholars sought to understand the decline of the Spanish empire from its glory days. In Spanish America, the Enlightenment also had an impact in the intellectual and scientific sphere, the Napoleonic invasion of the Iberian peninsula was enormously destabilizing for Spain and the Spanish overseas empire. The ideas of the Hispanic Enlightenment have been seen as a contributor to the Spanish American wars of independence. The French Bourbons had a claim on the Spanish throne following the 1700 death of the last Hapsburg monarch, Charles II. France won War of the Spanish Succession and the Bourbon monarchy was established in Spain, once it consolidated rule in Spain, the Bourbon monarchs embarked upon a series of reforms to revitalize the Spanish empire, which had significantly declined in power in the late Hapsburg era. The ideas of the Age of Enlightenment had an impact in Spain. A cortes was convened in Cádiz, which ratified a constitution in 1812. Ferdinand VII claimed he supported the liberal constitutions, but once restored to power in 1814, he renounced it, New Spain and Peru were the exceptions, becoming independent in 1821 and 1824. Mexico briefly had a monarchy under royalist military officer turned insurgent Agustín de Iturbide, Spain was at the center of this political crisis, but it was the object not the arbiter. The vastness of the Spanish Empire in the New World, along with her naval resources, had made Spain a vital part of European power politics. If the throne of Spain was to go to a relative of the king of France, if it remained in the hands of another member of the anti-French, Austrian Habsburg dynasty, the status quo would remain. European politics during the century became dominated by establishing an orderly succession in Spain that would not alter the balance between Europes great powers. Castilian legitimists, who valued the succession of the closest heir of the king over the continuation of Habsburg rule, Spanish officials were also concerned with Spain remaining an independent country, rather than another part of the French or Austrian empires. Even so, on hearing the news that his grandson had become King of Spain, Louis XIV proclaimed, at age 17, Philip V arrived in Madrid in early 1701 without visible opposition. Philip confirmed the fueros of Catalunya and Aragon, and to all appearances the Bourbon succession was successful, the Austrian Hapsburg claimant to the Spanish throne, Archduke Charles of Austria, argued that he had been cheated out of the throne of Spain unfairly
6.
Ferdinand VI of Spain
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Ferdinand VI, called the Learned, was King of Spain from 9 July 1746 until his death in 1759. He was the son of the previous monarch Philip V. Ferdinand, the member of the Spanish Bourbon dynasty, was born in Madrid on 23 September 1713. Born at the Royal Alcázar of Madrid, Ferdinand endured a lonely childhood and his stepmother, Elisabeth Farnese, was a domineering woman, who had no affection except for her own children, and who looked upon her stepson as an obstacle to their fortunes. The hypochondria of his father left Elisabeth mistress of the palace, Ferdinand was by temperament melancholic, shy and distrustful of his own abilities. When complimented on his shooting, he replied, It would be if there were not something I could do. Shooting and music were his only pleasures, and he was the patron of the famous singer Farinelli. Ferdinand was married in 1729 to Infanta Barbara of Portugal, daughter of John V of Portugal, when he came to the throne, Spain found itself in the War of the Austrian Succession which ended without any benefit to Spain. He started his reign by eliminating the influence of the widow Queen Elisabeth of Parma, as king he followed a steady policy of neutrality in the conflict between France and Britain, and refused to be tempted by the offers of either into declaring war on the other. Prominent figures during his reign were the Marquis of Ensenada, a Francophile, and José de Carvajal y Lancaster, the fight between both ended in 1754 with the death of Carvajal and the fall of Ensenada, after which Ricardo Wall became the most powerful advisor to the monarch. The most important tasks during the reign of Ferdinand VI were carried out by the Marquis of Ensenada and he suggested that the state help modernize the country. Among his reform projects were, New model of the Treasury suggested by Ensenada in 1749 and he proposed substitution of the traditional taxes with a special tax, the cadastre, 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, the opposition by the nobility caused the abandonment of the project. It is considered the predecessor to the Bank of San Carlos, the stimulation of commerce in the Americas, which tried to end the monopoly in the Indies and eliminate the injustices of colonial commerce. Thus he 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 the revenues and decreased the fraud, even so, this system provoked many protests among merchants in the private sector. According to Ensenada, a navy was fundamental to power of an overseas empire and aspirations of being respected by France. Church relations which were really tense from start of the reign of Philip V because of the recognition of Charles VI as the King of Spain by the Pope
7.
House of Braganza
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The house came to rule the Kingdom of Portugal and the Algarves following the successful deposition of the Philippine Dynasty by John IV of Portugal, in 1640. The Braganzas were deposed from their thrones at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, when Emperor Pedro II was deposed in Brazil, in 1889, and when King Manuel II was deposed in Portugal, in 1910. The Constitutional branch died out with the death of King Manuel II in 1932, passing its claim to the Portuguese throne to the Miguelist Branch, by way of Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza. The House of Braganza originated with Afonso I, an son of King John I of Portugal, founder of the House of Aviz. With his newly consolidated place in the nobility of Portugal, Afonso commenced what would be a successful political and social career. In 1415 he took part in the Conquest of Ceuta, alongside his father, his brothers, by the time of his fathers death in 1433, Afonso had won favour with his brother, King Duarte I and the rest of high Portuguese society. The Duke of Coimbras regency, however, soon proved unpopular, afonsos elevation to the dukedom, the highest level of nobility, marked the foundation of the House of Braganza, which was to become a key family in Portuguese history. As a result of the work and success of Afonso I, his children all secured successful positions. He was a diplomat, and served as the kings representative at the Council of Basel in 1436. In 1451, the Count of Ourém was made Marquis of Valença and escorted Infanta Leonor of Portugal to her husband Frederick III, later, in 1458, he participated in the capture and conquest of Alcácer-Ceguer. The Marquis of Valença, however, died in 1460, one year before his father, Afonso Is first daughter, Isabel of Braganza, married Infante João, Lord of Reguengos de Monsaraz, thus relinking the House of Braganza to the Royal House of Portugal. Isabels strategic marriage proved successful, and produced four children, whose descendants would be some of the most important in Iberian history, Afonso Is last child and successor, Fernando I, Duke of Braganza, continued his legacy of prominence in the military and society. When Fernando I was born, in 1403, his grandfather, Nuno Álvares Pereira, Fernando became an accomplished military man, participating in various Portuguese imperial campaigns. Fernando Is children, by his wife, Joana de Castro, Lady of Cadaval, of his nine children, all six who survived to adulthood established themselves either through positions or marriages, though the actions of King João II would seek to weaken their influence. Fernando Is first son and successor, Fernando II, was initially a bright and popular nobleman, but his conflict with King João II would see his and the Houses downfall. His second son, João of Braganza, 1st Marquis of Montemor-o-Novo, was a military man and was made Constable of Portugal. Fernandos third son, Afonso of Braganza, became a nobleman of society and was made 1st Count of Faro. The Dukes fourth son, Álvaro of Braganza, inherited the fiefs of his mother, becoming the 5th Lord of Ferreira, 4th Lord of Cadaval, fernandos eldest surviving daughter, Beatriz of Braganza, married Pedro de Meneses, 1st Marquis of Vila Real
8.
House of Bourbon
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The House of Bourbon is a European royal house of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century, by the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma. Spain and Luxembourg currently have Bourbon monarchs, the royal Bourbons originated in 1268, when the heiress of the lordship of Bourbon married a younger son of King Louis IX. The house continued for three centuries as a branch, while more senior Capetians ruled France, until Henry IV became the first Bourbon king of France in 1589. Restored briefly in 1814 and definitively in 1815 after the fall of the First French Empire, a cadet Bourbon branch, the House of Orléans, then ruled for 18 years, until it too was overthrown. The Princes de Condé were a branch of the Bourbons descended from an uncle of Henry IV. Both houses were prominent in French affairs, even during exile in the French Revolution, until their respective extinctions in 1830 and 1814. When the Bourbons inherited the strongest claim to the Spanish throne, the claim was passed to a cadet Bourbon prince, a grandson of Louis XIV of France, who became Philip V of Spain. The Spanish House of Bourbon has been overthrown and restored several times, reigning 1700–1808, 1813–1868, 1875–1931, Bourbons ruled in Naples from 1734–1806 and in Sicily from 1734–1816, and in a unified Kingdom of the Two Sicilies from 1816–1860. They also ruled in Parma from 1731–1735, 1748–1802 and 1847–1859, all legitimate, living members of the House of Bourbon, including its cadet branches, are direct agnatic descendants of Henry IV. The term House of Bourbon is sometimes used to refer to this first house and the House of Bourbon-Dampierre, the second family to rule the seigneury. In 1268, Robert, Count of Clermont, sixth son of King Louis IX of France, married Beatrix of Bourbon, heiress to the lordship of Bourbon and their son Louis was made Duke of Bourbon in 1327. His descendant, the Constable of France Charles de Bourbon, was the last of the senior Bourbon line when he died in 1527. Because he chose to fight under the banner of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and lived in exile from France, the remaining line of Bourbons henceforth descended from James I, Count of La Marche, the younger son of Louis I, Duke of Bourbon. With the death of his grandson James II, Count of La Marche in 1438, all future Bourbons would descend from James IIs younger brother, Louis, who became the Count of Vendôme through his mothers inheritance. In 1514, Charles, Count of Vendôme had his title raised to Duke of Vendôme and his son Antoine became King of Navarre, on the northern side of the Pyrenees, by marriage in 1555. Two of Antoines younger brothers were Cardinal Archbishop Charles de Bourbon, Louis male-line, the Princes de Condé, survived until 1830. Finally, in 1589, the House of Valois died out and he was born on 13 December 1553 in the Kingdom of Navarre
9.
John V of Portugal
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Dom John V, known as the Magnanimous and the Portuguese Sun King, was a monarch of the House of Braganza who ruled as King of Portugal and the Algarves during the first half of the 18th century. John Vs reign saw the rise of the prestige of Portugal and its monarchy, John Vs reign saw an enormous influx of gold into the coffers of the royal treasury, supplied largely by the royal fifth that was received from the Portuguese colonies of Brazil and Maranhão. John nearly depleted his countrys tax revenues on ambitious architectural works, most notably Mafra Palace, disregarding traditional Portuguese institutions of governance, John V ruled as an absolute monarch. On the imperial front, John V pursued an expansionist policy, with significant territorial gains in Portuguese India, John V was a very pious man who devoted large parts of his day to prayer and religious study. He rewarded his long-awaited recognition as a monarch by Pope Benedict XIV with a fervent devotion to the Catholic Church. The Pope granted John V the style Most Faithful Majesty, which appealed to him greatly, however, Johns relationship with the papacy varied at different periods in his reign, there were both close relations and conflicts at different times during the reigns of five different popes. John was born on 22 October 1689 at Ribeira Palace in Lisbon to King Pedro II and he was baptized on November 19 at the Royal Palace Chapel and given the name João Francisco António José Bento Bernardo. John was not his fathers first son, he had a brother, João, Prince of Brazil. Upon his baptism, John was not given the titles of the heir apparent to the Portuguese throne, Prince of Brazil and Duke of Braganza. This was intended as a sign of respect for his brothers death. John had a stimulating upbringing surrounded by some of the most brilliant minds of Europe at the time. It was agreed by the court that Johns care as a child was to be run by women only, a custom of the Portuguese court. Johns governess was Maria de Lencastre, the Marquise of Unhão, the political policies of Johns father had made the Portuguese court wealthy, the national economy stable, and the imperial military strong. This made a varied and interesting childhood possible for John. As a child, he was under the tutelage and heavy influence of the Jesuit Fathers Francisco da Cruz, John Seco, and Luís Gonzaga. Father Luís Gonzaga was in charge of the education of all of King Pedros children, he taught them military education, politics, astronomy, nautical studies, mathematics, and history. As the prince grew up, he was mentored in political affairs by Luís da Cunha and this was formalised when he and his brother Francisco, Duke of Beja, were admitted into the Order of Christ on 7 April 1696. Later that year, the king decided to confer on John the titles of the heir apparent, namely Prince of Brazil
10.
Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
11.
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
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Leopold I was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and Croatia, King of Bohemia and King of Serbia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, by his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain, elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1658, Leopold would rule as such until his death in 1705. Leopolds reign is known for the conflicts with the Ottoman Empire in the east, and the rivalry with Louis XIV, after more than a decade of warfare, Leopold emerged victorious from the Great Turkish War thanks to military talents of Prince Eugene of Savoy. By the Treaty of Karlowitz, Leopold recovered almost all of the Kingdom of Hungary which had fallen under the Turkish yoke in the years after the 1526 Battle of Mohács. Leopold fought three wars against France including the Dutch War, the Nine Years War, and the War of the Spanish Succession, in this last, Leopold sought to give his younger son the entire Spanish inheritance, disregarding the late Spanish kings will. To this end, he started a war which soon engulfed much of Europe, when peace returned at the end of it all, Austria could not be said to have emerged as triumphant as it did from the war against the Turks. Born on 9 June 1640 in Vienna, Leopold received an education by excellent teachers. From an early age Leopold showed an inclination toward learning and he became fluent in several languages, Latin, Italian, German, French, and Spanish. In addition to German, Italian would be the most favored language at his court, Leopold was schooled in the classics, history, literature, natural science and astronomy, and was particularly interested in music, having inherited his fathers musical talents. Originally intended for the Church, Leopold had received an ecclesiastical education. But fate put in motion a different plan for him when smallpox took his elder brother Ferdinand on 9 July 1654, nonetheless, Leopolds church education had clearly marked him. Leopold remained influenced by the Jesuits and his education throughout his life, and was uncommonly knowledgeable for a monarch about theology, metaphysics, jurisprudence and he also retained his interest in astrology and alchemy which he had developed under Jesuit tutors. A deeply religious and devoted person, Leopold personified the pietas Austriaca, Leopold was said to have typically Habsburg physical attributes. Short, thin, and of sickly constitution, Leopold was cold and reserved in public, however, he is also said to have been open with close associates. Coxe described Leopold in the manner, His gait was stately, slow and deliberate, his air pensive, his address awkward, his manner uncouth, his disposition cold. He grew to manhood without the military ambition that characterized most of his fellow monarchs, from the beginning, his reign was defensive and profoundly conservative. Hungary elected Leopold as its king in 1655, with Bohemia and Croatia following suit in 1656 and 1657 respectively. To conciliate France, which had influence in German affairs thanks to the League of the Rhine
