Philip V (Spain) (1683–1746; Ruled 1700–1724, 1724–1746)

PHILIP V (SPAIN) (1683–1746; ruled 1700–1724, 1724–1746)

PHILIP V (SPAIN) (1683–1746; ruled 1700–1724, 1724–1746), king of Spain. Philip V, born in Versailles in 1683, was the first of the Bourbon monarchs and the so-called Enlightenment reformers. The son of the grand dauphin of France and Maria Ana of Bavaria, he was the duke of Anjou and consequently received a meticulous education that inculcated him with religious fervor, a strict respect for conjugal faithfulness, and an enthusiasm for reading and other artistic pursuits, such as music. Appointed king of Spain by the will of Charles II (ruled 1665–1700), he made his first appearance in Madrid in 1701, only to leave immediately for Barcelona, where he was reunited with his wife, María Luisa of Savoy, and where he met with the local parliament or corts. This resulted in a good working relationship between the sovereign and the Catalan Estates.

When the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714) erupted to dispute his kingship, Philip had to depart for Italy. He disembarked in Naples and personally took part in the battles that brought about the victories of Vitoria and Luzzara (1702) before returning to Spain, where he was actively engaged in the events leading up to the decisive battles of Almansa (1707), Brihuega (1710), and Villaviciosa de Tajuña (1710). His tireless energy earned him the nickname "El Animoso," which he was called from then on. The Utrecht (1713) and Rastatt (Rastadt) treaties (1714) that ended the war forced the sovereign to accept the loss of the Low Countries and Italy, the amputation of Minorca (Menorca) and Gibraltar from the peninsula, and some concessions concerning the Americas. Widowed, Philip married Isabel Farnese (1692–1766) in 1714. After the war the king extended his reformist policies regarding government, economic development, culture, and revision of the harshest terms imposed by the Treaty of Utrecht. He relied on a number of notable ministers, including the Frenchmen Jean Orry and Viscount Amelot, the Italian Giulio Alberoni, and the Spaniards José Patiño y Morales, José del Campillo, and Cenón Somodevilla, marqués de la Ensenada.

Philip was not always able to carry on this ambitious program on his own, since he suffered from periodic bouts of melancholy, whichled himtoabandon some governmental matters and to avoid interaction with courtiers. These infrequent episodes also resulted in various other strange habits, including sleeping during the day and performing his ordinary activities at night. As a result of his inclination toward solitude, heabdicatedin1724, grantingthecrownto his firstborn son Luís I, who governed for only a few months before his premature death. The resulting constitutional crisis regarding the reassumption of the crown by Philip V was promptly resolved by the queen's energy and the collaboration of supporting courtiers. Later, again with the purpose of alleviating the sovereign's depression, the court moved to Seville during the so-called Royal Lustrum (1729–1733) before returning definitivelyto Madrid.There the king spent the rest of his life, alternating, as was the custom, with seasonal stays in the other royal palaces (sitios reales).

The reformist measures instituted during Philip's reign included, in the administrative sphere, the "Nueva Planta" decrees, which established a new governmental regime for the states of the Crown of Aragón and subordinated them to royal authority; the creation of secretaries of state as an alternative to councils, which continued to coexist with the new institutions, except for the Council of Castile, at greatly diminished authority; and reinforcement and reorganization of the armed forces, with regiments replacing the traditional tercios, the creation of artillery and engineering corps, the refoundation of the Military Mathematics Academy of Barcelona, the establishment of a new recruitment system for draftees; the creation of the Royal Navy, the foundation of arsenals, the creation of a school for midshipmen in Cádiz, and new legislation regarding the enlistment of seaman.

In the cultural realm Philip V founded Cervera University and the Seminary of Nobles in Madrid. He also provided the impetus for royal academies of history, medicine, jurisprudence, and fine arts. Concerning economic development, he created various royal factories that produced cloth in Guadalajara, tapestries in Madrid, and glassware in San Ildefonso (La Granja). He also reorganized the trade with Spain's American colonies, supporting the foundation of privileged companies, such as the Guipuzcoana Company of Caracas and the Havana Company. In foreign policy, the revision of the Peace of Utrecht led to the reconquest of Sardinia (1717) and Sicily (1718), which Spain had been forced to renounce in 1714; involvement in the War of the Polish Succession (1733–1738) and the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748); the first Family Pacts with France (1733 and 1743); and finally, the initiation of hostilities with England that opened a decadelong conflict (1739–1748). Before the end of the last war, Philip V died in Madrid, and his remains were interred in the Colegiata de la Granja de San Ildefonso near Segovia.

See also Academies, Learned ; Austrian Succession, War of the (1740–1748) ; Ensenada, Cenón Somodevilla, marqués de la ; Farnese, Isabel (Spain) ; Polish Succession, War of the (1733–1738) ; Spain ; Spanish Succession, War of the (1701–1714) ; Utrecht, Peace of (1713) .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

García Cárcel, Ricard. Felipe V y los españoles: Una visión periférica del problema de España. Barcelona, 2002.

Kamen, Henry Arthur Francis. Philip V of Spain: The King Who Reigned Twice. New Haven, 2001.

Martinez Shaw, Carlos, and Marina Alonso Mola. Felipe V. Madrid, 2001.

Vidal Sales, José Antonio. Felipe V. Barcelona, 1997.

Carlos MartÍnez-Shaw (Translated from the Spanish by Carla Rahn Phillips)