Charles the Fifth - ruler of the Holy Roman Empire in the 16th century. He was the Spanish king under the name Carlos I and the king of Germany. In the first half of his century - the largest statesman in Europe, who played the greatest role among all the rulers of that time. He remained in history as the last emperor who managed to celebrate a triumph in Rome. In this article, we will reveal moments about his biography, describe important achievements.
Youth
Charles V was born in Ghent in Flanders in 1500. He was born in the possessions of his father - Philip of Burgundy. As a child, Charles hardly saw him, as he spent most of his time in Spain, seeking to inherit the Castilian crown.
When the boy was six years old, his father died and his mother, the Spanish Infanta Juana, went mad. Until adulthood, he was brought up by the ruler of the Netherlands, Margaret of Austria, with whom thenmaintained warm relations until the end of his life.
At the age of 15 he took the first title. The representatives of the Burgundian states insisted that he accept the duchy in Holland. After that, Charles the Fifth became the king of Spain, uniting the country for the first time in its history.
After Isabella's death, Castile passed away to her daughter Juana the Mad, the mother of the hero of our article. At the same time, Ferdinand II, the grandfather of Charles, actually ruled the region. When he died in 1516, Charles inherited both Aragon and Castile. At the same time, he did not declare himself regent, deciding to take full power into his hands. Already in March, he proclaimed himself king of Aragon and Castile, becoming Charles the Fifth of Spain.
An attempt to seize absolute power at once turned into a rebellion for him. In Castile in 1520, the so-called uprising of the comuneros began, which was led in Toledo. In Valladolid, he agreed with the local elite that his mother would remain the formal ruler of Castile. Juana all this time was, in fact, imprisoned in a monastery. She died only in 1555 - just three years before the death of Charles V.
Titles
In fact, the hero of our article became the first ruler of a united Spain, leading the country from 1515 to 1556. At the same time, only his son Philip II was the first to take the official title of king.
Charles the Fifth himself in Spain remained the king of Aragon. He called himself flowery, including listing the many lands and possessions that were part of his empire:
Elect Emperor of Christendom andRoman, ever August, as well as the Catholic King of Germany, Spain and all the kingdoms belonging to our Castilian and Aragonese crowns, as well as the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands and the Indies, the Antipodes of the New World, the land in the Sea-Ocean, the Antarctic Pole Straits and many others the islands of both the extreme East and the West, and so on; Archduke of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, Brabant, Limburg, Luxembourg, Geldern and others; count of Flanders, Artois and Burgundy, count palatine of Gennegau, Holland, Zeeland, Namur, Roussillon, Cerdanya, Zutphen, margrave of Oristania and Gotzania, sovereign of Catalonia and many other kingdoms in Europe, as well as in Asia and Africa, master and others.
Coronation in Aachen
The empire of Charles V continued to expand, when in 1519 the German electors at the college unanimously chose him as king of Germany. The official title was "King of the Romans".
The coronation took place the following year in Aachen. Immediately after the ceremony, the monarch proclaimed himself Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Thus, he automatically deprived the papal throne of the ability to crown and appoint an emperor.
Recognition of this title by all he achieved, but later, when he defeated Rome and France. The official coronation of the Roman Emperor Charles V took place in 1530. The ceremony was held in Bologna by Pope Clement VII. This was the last time in history that the Pope participated in the coronation. In subsequent years, the title of emperor corresponded to the king of Germany, who was chosen by the college of electors.
Reforms
The reign of Charles is associated with numerous reforms carried out by him. In particular, in 1532, a criminal code was adopted, which was later named "Caroline" in his honor.
In its content, it occupies an intermediate position between Germanic and Roman law. For many offenses, especially cruel punishments were supposed. The document was valid until the end of the 18th century.
Relations with France
The foreign policy of the emperor was closely connected with this country. The French rightly feared him when it became clear how much territory he had concentrated in his hands.
With the French monarch Francis I, he has accumulated a lot of contradictions. Charles put forward claims to Burgundy, and Francis was at one with the king of Navarre, unofficially supporting him in the war for lost territories. Mutual reproaches and claims actually expressed the desire of both monarchs to establish hegemony on the continent.
This entered into a phase of open confrontation in 1521, when Charles's army invaded northern France. At this time, the French troops openly came out on the side of the king of Navarre. True, they did not win success - the Spaniards defeated the Navarrese, returning Pamplona.
In the north of France, Charles's armies managed to capture Tournai and several other small fortresses. Despite local victories, at the end of the year he was still forced to retreat. The main thing was his diplomatic success. The English agreed to enter into an alliance with him.king and pope. In 1521, the French suffered several unfortunate defeats and were forced to leave Milan. When the British attacked Picardy and Brittany, and Venice (an ally of France) withdrew, the position of Francis became deplorable.
In 1524, Charles' troops entered Provence through the Alps and laid siege to Marseille. The following year, two powerful armies met at the Battle of Pavia. Each had 30,000 warriors. Charles won a landslide victory, even managing to capture the French king. He forced his prisoner to sign the Treaty of Madrid, according to which Francis recognized his claims to Italy, Flanders and Artois. True, as soon as he was at large, he declared the contract invalid, creating the Cognac League. It includes Milan, Florence, Genoa, Venice, England and the Pope.
The scene of the conflict was again Italy. In 1527, Charles's army won several successful victories and sacked Rome. The emperor managed to make peace with the English king Henry VIII, to win Genoa over to his side. Finally, in 1529, a peace agreement was concluded with France, a common language was found with the Pope. The last opponent of Charles, the Florentine Republic was completely defeated in 1530.
The peace treaty with the French involved the payment of a ransom of two million gold crowns for two princes who had been held captive all this time. Francis also left the Apennine Peninsula. The possession of Italy became, perhaps, the main trophy of Charles. The French king could not accept such a situation. He went to war twice moreCarla, but could not change anything.
The final peace between the monarchs was concluded in 1544. Francis even promised, if necessary, help in the confrontation with the Turks, which allowed Charles to concentrate all his forces in a new direction.
Tunisian War
The war against Turkey Charles began in the guise of a defender of Christianity, for which he even received the nickname of God's standard-bearer. By that time, the Turks were already in charge in Europe. In 1529, having captured Hungary, they laid siege to Vienna. Only a harsh winter forced them to retreat.
In 1535 Charles sent a fleet to the coast of Tunisia. The ships managed to capture the city, freeing several thousand Christians from slavery. The emperor ordered to build a fortress and leave the Spanish garrison.
Unfortunately, this success was nothing compared to the crushing defeat at the Battle of Preveza. In 1538, the fleet of Suleiman I the Magnificent opposed the Christians, which won a landslide victory. For several decades, the Turks regained dominance in the Mediterranean.
Great geographical discoveries
Spain under Charles continued to have superiority in the discovery of distant continents and lands. In 1519, an expedition of Magellan was organized, intending to find a western route to Southeast Asia.
It was under Carla that Pizarro conquered the Incas, and Cortes conquered Mexico. An important support in the policy of the monarch was the flow of gold from South America, which allowed him to finance all the many wars.
Abdication
Under the motto of Charles the Fifth - "Beyond", his whole life passed. But in 1555, after the conclusion of the Peace of Augsburg, he became disillusioned with the idea of building a pan-European empire. He renounces Holland and Spain in favor of his son Philip, giving him possessions in the New World and Italy. In 1558, he abdicated, retired to a monastery, where he died a few months later.
