Philipp V

Philip V of Spain, also called Philippe Duc d’Anjou reigned Spain from 1700-1746 as the first king of the bourbon dynasty which still reigns today. Philip of Anjou reluctantly became king of Spain in 1700 as the successor of Charles II who declared on his death bed that the French duke of Anjou should inherit the throne which can be seen as the end of the war of the Spanish succession. Charles II who belonged to the Habsburg dynasty declared that the throne should go to a member of the Bourbon dynasty, which simultaneously was the starting point of the reign of the Bourbon dynasty in Spain.

Philip was born as the son of Louis, who was the son of Louis XIV of France, and Marie Anne. When Philip became king of Spain he inherited the throne of a large empire that consisted of Spain, Spanish America, the Spanish Netherlands, and parts of Italy. In 1713 however, (Treaty of Utrecht) his territories were diminished so that only the Spanish throne and Spanish America were left to him. Philip was married twice. After the death of his first wife, María Luisa of Savoy, he married his second wife Princess Isabella Farnese. She had a huge influence on Philip and was the reason why Spain was involved in wars for territory in Italy for example. In January 1724, he abdicated from the Spanish throne and his oldest son Luis took over. But only seven months later in August 1724 Luis died of smallpox so that Philip V took over the throne again. Philip’s reign is usually seen as a period of reforms and a time in which Spain was again more active in international affairs. He supported many developments in the different fields of for instance politics, government, finance etc.

Sources:

Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc. (2013): http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/456228/Philip-V

Kamen, Henry (2001): Philip V of Spain: The king who reigned twice.