Ferdinand VI of Spain

Ferdinand VI

King of Spain (more)
Reign 9 July 1746 – 10 August 1759
Predecessor Philip V
Successor Charles III
Born 23 September 1713
Royal Alcazar of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Died 10 August 1759(1759-08-10) (aged 45)
Villaviciosa de Odón, Madrid, Spain
Burial Convent of the Salesas Reales
Spouse Barbara of Portugal
House House of Bourbon
Father Philip V of Spain
Mother Maria Luisa of Savoy
Religion Roman Catholicism
Signature

Ferdinand VI (Spanish: Fernando VI; 23 September 1713 – 10 August 1759), called the Learned, was King of Spain from 9 July 1746 until his death. He was the fourth son of the previous monarch Philip V and his first wife Maria Luisa of Savoy. Ferdinand, the third member of the Spanish Bourbon dynasty, was born in Madrid on 23 September 1713.

Early life

Aged 10 as an Infante, by Jean Ranc

Born at the Royal Alcázar of Madrid, his youth was a time of sadness for Ferdinand. His father's second wife, Elisabeth of Parma, 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 melancholy, shy and distrustful of his own abilities. When complimented on his shooting, he replied, "It would be hard if there were not something I could do."

Shooting and music were his only pleasures, and he was the generous patron of the famous singer Farinelli, whose voice soothed his melancholy.

Marriage

Ferdinand was married in 1729 to Infanta Barbara of Portugal, daughter of John V of Portugal and Mary Anne of Austria.

Beginning of the reign

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 and her group of Italian courtiers. 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, a supporter of the alliance with Great Britain. 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 Projects of Ensenada

Royal styles of
Ferdinand VI, King of Spain
Reference style His Catholic Majesty
Spoken style Your Catholic Majesty
Alternative style Sir
Ferdinand VI of Spain

The most important tasks during the reign of Ferdinand VI were carried out by the Marquis of Ensenada, the Secretary of the Treasury, Navy and Indies. He suggested that the state help modernize the country. To him, this was necessary to maintain a position of exterior strength so that France and Great Britain would consider Spain as an ally without supposing Spain's renunciation of its claim to Gibraltar.

Reforms

Among his reform projects were:

Foreign policy

Half escudo gold coin of Ferdinand VI, dated 1756

During the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War, Spain reinforced its military might.

The main conflict was its confrontation with Portugal over the colony of Sacramento, from which British contraband was transferred down the Río de la Plata. In 1750 José de Carvajal helped Spain and Portugal strike a deal. Portugal agreed to renounce the colony and its claim to free navigation down the Río de la Plata. In return, Spain ceded to Portugal two regions on the Brazilian border, one in the Amazon and the other to the south, in which were seven of the thirty Jesuit Guaraní towns. The Spanish had to expel the missionaries, generating a conflict with the Guaraní people that lasted eleven years.

The conflict over the towns provoked a crisis in the Spanish Court. Ensenada, favorable to the Jesuits, and Father Rávago, confessor of the King and members of the Society of Jesus, were fired, accused of hindering the agreements with Portugal.

Death

The death of his wife Barbara, who had been devoted to him, and who carefully abstained from political intrigue, broke his heart. Between the date of her death in August 1758 and his own on 10 August 1759, he fell into a state of prostration in which he would not even dress, but wandered unshaven, unwashed and in a nightgown about his park. The memoirs of the count of Fernán Núñez give a shocking picture of his deathbed.

In popular culture

A fictionalized version of Ferdinand VI appears in the 2011 adventure film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. In the film, after learning about the discovery of the Fountain of Youth, Ferdinand (portrayed by Sebastian Armesto) sends his most trusted agent, known only as the Spaniard, to find and destroy the Fountain, because he saw it as the abomination in the eyes of God.

Heraldry

Ancestry

References

  1. Menéndez-Pidal De Navascués, Faustino; (1999)El escudo; Menéndez Pidal y Navascués, Faustino; O´Donnell, Hugo; Lolo, Begoña. Símbolos de España. Madrid: Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales. ISBN 84-259-1074-9
  2. Rodríguez de Maribona, Manuel Las armas del Príncipe de Asturias - ABC. (Spanish) Accessed 2009-05-28.
  3. "Fernando VI, Rey de España (1713-1759)". Ex-Libris Database (in Spanish). Royal Library of Spain. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ferdinand VI of Spain.
Ferdinand VI of Spain
Cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty
Born: 23 September 1713 Died: 10 August 1759
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Philip V
King of Spain
1746–1759
Succeeded by
Charles III
Spanish royalty
Preceded by
Louis
Prince of Asturias
1724–1746
Succeeded by
Charles (IV)

Public Domain This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

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