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Carlos IIIb. 21 Jan 1716, Madrid [1] |
| Title: | Por la gracia de Dios, Rey de Castilla, de León, de Aragón, de las Dos Sicilias, de Jerusalén, de Navarra, de Granada, de Toledo, de Valencia, de Galicia, de Mallorca, de Sevilla, de Cerdeña, de Córdoba, de Córcega, de Murcia, de Jaén, de los Algarbes, de Algeciras, de Gibraltar, de las Islas Canarias, de las Indias Orientales y Occidentales, de las Islas y Tierra-Firme del Mar Océano, Archiduque de Austria, Duque de Borgoña, de Brabante y de Milán, Conde de Habsburgo, de Flandes, del Tirol y de Barcelona, Señor de Vizcaya y de Molina, etc. (By the Grace of God, King of Castile, of Leon, of Aragon, of the Two Sicilies, of Jerusalem, of Navarre, of Granada, of Toledo, of Valencia, of Galicia, of Mallorca, of Seville, of Sardinia, of Cordoba, of Corsica, of Murcia, of Jaen, of the Algarve, of Algeciras, of Gibraltar, of the Canary Islands, of the East and West Indies, of the Islands and Mainland of the Ocean Continent, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, of Brabant and Milan, Count of Habsburg, of Flanders, of Tyrol, and of Barcelona, Lord of Vizcaya and of Molina, etc.) [3] |
| Term: | 18 Aug 1759 - 14 Dec 1788 |
| Chronology: | 18 Aug 1759, succeeded to the throne (proclaimed in absentia in Madrid 11 Sep 1759) [4] |
| 17 Oct 1759, commenced to exercise royal authority upon entering the territory of Spain (landed in Barcelona 17 Oct 1759, entered Madrid 9 Dec 1759) [5] | |
| 14 Dec 1788, died | |
| Names/titles: | Baptized (25 Aug 1716): Carlos Sebastián de Borbón y Farnesio |
| Dux Parme, Placentie, et Castri = Duque de Parma, Placencia y Castro, &c. = Duca di Parma, Piacenza, Castro, ecc. (Duke of Parma, Piacenza, and Castro, etc.) as Carlo I [29 Dec 1731 - 3 Oct 1735] | |
| Dei Gratia Rex Utriusque Sicilie et Hierusalem = Por la Gracia de Dios, Rey de las dos Sicilias, de Hierusalem, &c. = Per la Grazia di Dio, Re delle Due Sicilie e di Gerusalemme, ecc. (By the Grace of God, King of Two Sicilies, of Jerusalem, etc.) as Carlo IV [2 Jun 1734 - 6 Oct 1759] |
| Biography: | |
| Born to King Felipe V and his second wife, Isabel (Italian: Elisabetta) Farnese of Parma; was made duke of Parma, Piacenza, and Castro, in right of his mother (29 Dec 1731 - 3 Oct 1735); occupied Naples and Sicily (1734) in the War of Austrian Succession; ceded his rights to Parma in favor of Kaiser Karl VI. in exchange for recognition of his accession as Carlo IV in both Kingdoms of Sicily, effectively Naples and Sicily (2 Jun 1734 - 6 Oct 1759); encouraged a course of moderate reforms and was seen as one of the "enlightened monarchs"; married Maria Amalia Christina of Saxony (1738); succeeded his childless half-brother Fernando VI as king of the Spains (10 Aug 1759); abdicated the thrones of Sicily in favor of his third son, Fernando, (6 Oct 1759) who acceded as Ferdinando III in Sicily and Ferdinando IV in Naples; sailed for Spain, landing in Barcelona (17 Oct 1759); assumed government upon entering Madrid (9 Dec 1759); authorized signing the Treaty of Paris (1761) aimed at strengthening ties between France, Spain and Two Sicilies (Bourbon family compact); ceded Florida to Great Britain but received Louisiana from France by the Treaty of Paris (1763); favored the reforms in economy and public affairs that caused discontent amongst the populace of Madrid, especially irritated by attempts to change the Spaniards' apparel; was forced to flee from capital during the Esquilache Riots (1766); entrusted the government to his minister Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea, conde de Aranda; consented to the expulsion of the Order of Jesuits (1767) and restricted some powers of the Roman Catholic church in Spain; withdrew his support from the Aragonese faction (partido aragonés) and appointed José Moñino y Redondo, conde de Floridablanca as first secretary of state; encouraged reforms in public administration, asserting the power of the Crown at all administrative levels. | |
| Biographical sources: "Carlos III y la España de la Ilustración", by Antonio Domínguez Ortiz (Madrid: Ed. Alianza, 1990). | |
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| [1] | Gaceta de Madrid, del martes 21 de Enero de 1716. Núm. 3. P. 12: "Madrid 21 de Enero de 1716. Ayer entre tres y quatro de la mañana pariò con felicidad la Reyna nuestra ſeñora vn robusto, hermoſo Infante..." |
| [2] | Gazeta de Madrid, del martes 16 de Diciembre de 1788. Núm. 101. P. 820: "... le cortó la vida á las 12 y 40 minutos de la noche del Sábado al Domingo..." |
| [3] | On coins: DEI GRATIA HISPAN[IARUM] ET IND[IARUM] REX (By the Grace of God, King of the Spains and the Indies); Menorca (Minorca) is included in royal style after reconquering the island in 1782. |
| [4] | Gaceta de Madrid, del martes 18 de Septiembre de 1759. Núm. 38. P. 303. |
| [5] | Gaceta de Madrid, del martes 23 de Octubre de 1759. Núm. 43. P. 343; Gaceta de Madrid, del martes 11 de Diciembre de 1759. Núm. 50. P. 399. |
| Image: portrait by Anton Raphael Mengs (1761). | |
Last update: 29 Nov 2023