fwo_990902 - SPAIN - KINGDOM OF SPAIN - CHARLES IV 2 Reales 1806 Madrid

SPAIN - KINGDOM OF SPAIN - CHARLES IV

(14/12/1788-19/03/1808)

Charles IV (12/11/1748-19/01/1819) is the son of Charles III and Marie-Amélie de Saxe. He married Marie-Louise de Parme (1751-1819) in 1765. He was dominated by his wife and his prime minister, Manuel Godoy. He was forced to ally himself with revolutionary, then imperial France. The Spanish fleet was decimated at Trafalgar (1805). Napoleon I having views on Spain, he forced Charles IV, then his eldest son, Ferdinand VII, to abdicate in favor of Joseph. Charles retired first to Compiègne, then to Marseilles, before settling in Rome where he died.