Karl V.

Charles V was born on 24 February 1500 in Ghent, the son of Philip the Fair and Joanna of Castile. Through him, the dynastic claims of the Habsburgs, the Burgundian Valois line, and the Castilian-Aragonese Trastámara dynasty were united. He later inherited an exceptionally extensive realm encompassing the Netherlands, the Burgundian lands, the kingdoms of the Spanish Crowns, possessions in Italy and overseas, and, for a time, the Austrian hereditary lands. These territories did not form a unified state, however, but a composite monarchy with its own laws, estates, and political traditions. Charles spent most of his childhood in the Netherlands. After his father’s early death in 1506, he nominally became ruler of the Burgundian hereditary lands. Actual government was initially exercised by his grandfather Maximilian I and his aunt Margaret of Austria, who also supervised his upbringing. Mechelen became the center of his education. There he studied religion, history, law, heraldry, and courtly conduct, while also being trained in riding, fencing, hunting, and ceremonial duties. The French-influenced Burgundian court remained his most formative cultural environment. Among his influential tutors were the cleric Adriaan Boeyens, the future Pope Adrian VI, and the nobleman Guillaume de Croÿ, Lord of Chièvres. Charles initially learned chiefly French; he studied Castilian more intensively only in connection with his future rule on the Iberian Peninsula. On 5 January 1515, Charles was declared of age prematurely in Brussels and began governing his Netherlands territories personally. After the death of his grandfather Ferdinand II of Aragon in 1516, he was proclaimed king of Castile and Aragon jointly with his mother Joanna. Joanna remained queen in law, but had been under supervision for years and could not exercise her rule in practice. Charles had to have his position confirmed by the estates of each individual country. During his first stay in Spain in 1517, he met his mother in Tordesillas and also encountered his younger brother Ferdinand for the first time; Ferdinand had grown up in Spain. The Castilian cities criticized Charles’s foreign advisers, the appointment of Netherlanders to offices, and his heavy financial demands. In 1519, the electors chose Charles as King of the Romans, and he adopted the title of elected Roman Emperor. In October 1520, he was crowned King of the Romans in Aachen. The papal imperial coronation followed only on 24 February 1530 in Bologna; Charles was the last Holy Roman Emperor crowned by a pope. His imperial position therefore rested both on election by the electors and on his dynastic power. His reign was shaped by three major conflicts: the struggle for power with France, the advance of the Ottoman Empire, and the Reformation. In the Holy Roman Empire, Charles sought to preserve Catholic unity and imperial authority. At the Diet of Worms in 1521, he summoned Martin Luther and subsequently placed him under the imperial ban through the Edict of Worms. Luther was nevertheless protected, and Charles failed to suppress the Reformation permanently. The Diet of Augsburg in 1530 deepened the religious division. After defeating the Protestant Schmalkaldic League at Mühlberg in 1547, Charles attempted to impose a provisional ecclesiastical order through the Augsburg Interim. Resistance remained strong, however. The Princes’ Revolt of 1552 forced him to flee Innsbruck and brought his policy of religious coercion to an end. The Peace of Augsburg in 1555 finally recognized Lutheranism alongside Catholicism in law, although Charles personally opposed this settlement. In the west, Charles repeatedly fought the French king Francis I. The disputes concerned, among other things, Milan, Naples, Burgundy, Navarre, and France’s position in Italy. His most important success was the victory at Pavia in February 1525, where Francis I was captured. The Treaty of Madrid in 1526 demanded extensive French concessions, but it proved impossible to enforce permanently. After the Sack of Rome in 1527, carried out by poorly paid imperial troops, Charles concluded the Peace of Barcelona with Pope Clement VII. The Peace of Cambrai in 1529 temporarily ended the war with France and prepared the way for Charles’s coronation in Bologna. Later wars against Francis I and his successor Henry II produced mixed results. Charles maintained his position in Italy, but had to accept French influence along France’s eastern frontier and in the three bishoprics of Metz, Toul, and Verdun. Charles also fought the Ottoman Empire and North African corsairs in the Mediterranean. In 1535, he personally took part in the conquest of Tunis and restored the expelled ruler there. The expedition against Algiers in 1541 failed, however, because of a severe storm and supply problems. Ottoman naval power remained strong. At the same time, the Spanish conquest and colonization of the Americas expanded dramatically during Charles’s reign. The destruction of the Aztec and Inca empires and the creation of an extensive colonial administration fundamentally altered the political, economic, religious, and demographic conditions of American societies. In 1526, Charles married Isabella of Portugal, a close relative from the Iberian high nobility. The marriage strengthened relations with Portugal and, despite its political foundation, became a close personal partnership. Isabella served several times as regent in Spain during Charles’s long absences. She died in 1539 at the age of 35 after giving birth. Her death deeply affected Charles, and he never remarried. The couple had seven children, of whom Philip, Mary, and Joanna reached adulthood. Philip became heir to the Spanish Crowns, the Netherlands, the Italian territories, and the overseas possessions. Charles’s sisters Eleanor and Mary also played important dynastic roles. In addition, Charles acknowledged two illegitimate children: Margaret of Parma and John of Austria. From 1555 onward, Charles began withdrawing from political life. In October, he transferred the Netherlands to Philip in Brussels; in January 1556, Castile, Aragon, and their associated Italian and overseas territories followed. The imperial title and the Austrian hereditary lands went to his brother Ferdinand. This created the Spanish and Austrian branches of the Habsburg dynasty. Ferdinand’s imperial succession was legally recognized in 1558. After his abdication, Charles withdrew to a residence beside the monastery of San Jerónimo de Yuste in Extremadura. There he remained informed about European politics through letters and messengers and advised his son. He had suffered from severe gout since his youth, and his final years were marked by increasing weakness and restricted mobility. In August 1558, he probably contracted malaria. Charles V died at Yuste on 21 September 1558, aged 58. His remains were later transferred to El Escorial, where they were placed alongside those of Isabella of Portugal.