Charles III (king of Spain)

Thanks to the efforts of his active mother (the last in the house of Farnese ), Karl was recognized as the Duke of Parma , as well as the heir to her childless relatives - the rulers of Piacenza and Tuscany . Karl's grandmother, Dorothea Sophia of Neuburg , became regent in these possessions.

In 1734, Charles took possession of Naples and Sicily and, recognized by the Vienna Treaty of 1735 as their king, was forced to abandon the remaining Italian possessions in favor of his brother Philip , as well as Franz Stephen of Lorraine . From the first of them come the Parma Bourbons .

Influenced by the ideas of the enlighteners and his minister Tanucci , Carl carried out a number of beneficial reforms in Naples that brought him great popularity.

Karl brought with him from Parma to Naples the picture gallery of his ancestors Farnese (now the Capodimonte Museum ). The monarchs of that time preferred to live with their yards away from the bustle of the capitals, in suburban residences like the French Versailles . Since the 15th century, all Neapolitan kings lived in Spain, so there was nothing like this near Naples.

At first, Karl ordered the construction of a new royal palace in Portici , and his courtiers began to build their villas along the " golden mile " leading to it. Pretty soon it became clear that finding the palace on the coast makes it a convenient target for the enemy fleet. I had to lay a new royal residence in the depths of the peninsula - the grandiose Caserta Palace .

Karl also followed the liberal direction in Spain, whose king he became upon the death of his brother, Ferdinand VI on August 10, 1759 . According to the international agreements in force at that time, when he entered the Spanish throne, Karl renounced the Neapolitan in favor of his third son, the young Ferdinand (Ferdinand IV of Naples, later Ferdinand I, King of Both Sicilies).

During the reign of Charles (1759-1788), Spain continued to recover from the material and moral decline that it was brought into in the 17th century . Its revival was greatly facilitated by the talented and enlightened ministers Aranda , Floridablanca and Campomanes . In the field of administration, the national economy, and education, many important transformations were made. The most burdensome taxes were abolished, freedom of grain trade was established, communication lines were improved, the fleet was restored, settlements of German colonists were founded in the desert Sierra Morena . It was forbidden to carry weapons in cities; laws against poverty and vagrancy have been enacted; the streets of cities are ordered to be paved and lit water pipelines were built, grandiose buildings were erected, etc. Many elementary schools, colleges, military schools, and seminaries were founded; a number of important reforms have been made in university teaching; economic societies and various academies have been established. Science in Spain served as a guide to life; scientists were made state people (Campomanes, Hoveljanos , etc.), the Madrid Astronomical Observatory was founded. The population of Spain increased by 4 million, state revenues tripled.

However, Karl’s reforms, especially those related to the freedom of the grain trade, provoked popular uprisings, supported by ignorant clergy and Jesuits . So, on March 23, 1766, a riot broke out in Madrid, causing Charles to retire to Aranjuez ; then there were riots in Zaragoza , Barcelona , Andalusia , Gipuzkoa and other places. The king spoke of popular unrest as follows: "My people as a child - he cries when they wash him." The harmful influence of the Jesuits caused them to be expelled from Spain in 1767 .

In foreign policy, Karl adhered to an alliance with France ; On August 25, 1761, he entered into a “family agreement” (“pacte de famille”) with the Versailles government, waged an unsuccessful war with Great Britain and Portugal (as part of the Seven Years War ), and in 1763 ceded the United Kingdom Florida and the lands east and south Mississippi tail in North America. During the war of Great Britain with the North American colonies, Spain and France supported the Americans, and in the Versailles Peace Treaty ( September 3, 1783 ), Spain received back Florida and the island of Menorca .

Wife - Maria Amalia of Saxony . From their marriage, 13 children were born, of which only 7 survived.

1. Maria Isabella Anthony ( 1740 - 1742 )
2. Maria Josef Anthony ( 1742 )
3. Maria Isabella Anna ( 1743 - 1749 )
4. Maria Josef Carmela ( 1744 - 1801 )
5. Maria Louise ( 1745 - 1792 ), married Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire Leopold II
6. Philip ( 1747 - 1777 ), Duke of Calabria, excluded from the line of inheritance due to mental disability
7. Charles IV ( 1748 - 1819 ), king of Spain. Wife - Maria-Louise of Parma , his cousin
8. Maria Theresa ( 1749 )
9. Ferdinand I ( 1751 - 1825 ), king of both Sicilies. Wife - Maria Carolina of Austria
10. Gabriel ( 1752 - 1788 ), married to Portuguese infante Marianne Victoria
11. Anna Maria ( 1754 - 1755 )
12. Antonio Pascual ( 1755 - 1817 ), married to his niece Maria Amalia , daughter of his brother Charles IV
13. ( 1757 - 1771 )

On the 200th anniversary of the death of Charles III, in 1988 a postage stamp and a postal block with a denomination of 45 pesetas were issued.

• Charles III of Spain // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Ferrer del Rio (1856). Historia del reinado de Carlos III . Madrid.
• Acton, Sir Harold (1956). The Bourbons of Naples, 1734-1825 . London: Methuen.
• Lynch, John (1989). Bourbon Spain, 1700-1808 . Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
• Petrie, Sir Charles (1977). King Charles III of Spain: An Enlightened Despot. London: Constable.