Editing Charles IV of Spain (section)

==Reign==
[[File:La familia de Carlos IV.jpg|thumb|left|The Family of Charles IV]]
[[File:8 reales Carolus IV 1808 Chopmark.png|thumb|8 reales Carolus IV 1808 Chopmark]]
In 1788, Charles III died and Charles IV succeeded to the throne and ruled for the next two decades. Even though he had a profound belief in the sanctity of the monarchy and kept up the appearance of an absolute, powerful king, Charles never took more than a passive part in his own government. The affairs of government were left to his wife, [[Maria Luisa of Parma|Maria Luisa]], and the man he appointed first minister, [[Manuel de Godoy]]. Charles occupied himself with [[hunting]] in the period that saw the outbreak of the [[French Revolution]], the executions of his Bourbon relative [[Louis XVI]] of France and his queen, [[Marie Antoinette]], and the rise of [[Napoleon]] Bonaparte. Ideas of the [[Age of Enlightenment]] had come to [[Enlightenment in Spain|Spain]] with the accession of the first Spanish Bourbon, [[Philip V of Spain|Philip V]]. Charles' father, Charles III, had pursued an active policy of [[Bourbon Reforms|reform]] that sought to reinvigorate Spain politically and economically and make the Spanish Empire more closely an appendage of the metropole. Charles III was an active, working monarch with experienced first ministers to help reach decisions.  Charles IV, by contrast, was a [[roi fainéant|do-nothing king]], with a domineering wife and an inexperienced but ambitious first minister, Godoy. The combination of a king not up to the task of governance, the queen widely perceived to take lovers (including Godoy) and the first minister with an agenda of his own earned the monarchy increased alienation from its subjects.<ref>Lynch, ''Bourbon Spain'', 376-77</ref>

Upon ascending to the throne, Charles IV intended to maintain the policies of his father and, accordingly, retained his prime minister, [[José Moñino, 1st Count of Floridablanca|the Count of Floridablanca]].<ref name="Payne" /> Floridablanca avoided war with Great Britain in the [[Nootka Crisis|Nootka Sound crisis]], where a minor trade and navigation dispute off the west coast of [[Vancouver Island]] in 1789 could have blown up into a major conflict. Spain could have drawn on its French ally in support against Britain but they refused. In a humiliating move Floridablanca had no choice but to capitulate to British terms and thereby [[Nootka Convention|negotiated with them]].  In 1792, political and personal enemies ousted Floridablanca from office, replacing him with the [[Count of Aranda]]. However, in the wake of the war against [[French Revolution|Republican France]], the liberal-leaning Count of Aranda was himself replaced by [[Manuel de Godoy]], a favorite of the Queen and widely believed to be her lover, who enjoyed the lasting favor of the King.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}

Under Charles IV, [[Enlightenment in Spain|scientific expeditions]] continued to be sent by the crown, some of which were initially authorized by [[Charles III of Spain|Charles III]]. The [[Royal Botanical Expedition to New Granada]] (1783–1816),<ref>{{cite book |first=Enrique |last=Pérez Arbeláez |title=José Celestino Mutis y la real expedición botánica del Nuevo Reyno de Granada |language=es |location=Bogotá |orig-year=1967 |edition= 2nd. |publisher=Instituto Colombiano de Cultura Hispánica |year=1983}}</ref> and the [[Royal Botanical Expedition to New Spain]] (1787–1803),<ref>{{cite journal |first=Harold W. |last=Rickett |title=The Royal Botanical Expedition to New Spain |journal=Chronica Botanica |volume=11 |number=1 |year=1947 |pages=1–81}}</ref> were funded by the crown. The [[Malaspina Expedition]] (1789–94) was an important scientific expedition headed by Spanish naval commander [[Alejandro Malaspina]], with naturalists and botanical illustrators gathering information for the Spanish crown.<ref>Bleichmar, ''Visible Empire'', pp. 16–18.</ref><ref>''La expedición Malaspina 1789–1794''. 9 vols. Madrid: Lunwerg Editores 1987–96.</ref><ref>Andrés Galera Gómez, ''La ilustración española y el conocimiento del nuevo mundo. La ciencias naturales en la expedición Malaspina (1789–1994): La labor científica de Antonio Pineda''. Madrid: CSIC 1988.</ref><ref>Dolores Higueras Rodríguez (ed.) ''La Botánica en la Expedición Malaspina 1789–1794''. Madrid: Turner Libros 1989.</ref><ref>Juan Pimentel, ''La física de la monarquía. Ciencia y política en el pensamiento colonial de Alejandro Malaspina (1754–1810). Madrid: Doce Calles 1998.</ref><ref>María Pilar de San Pío Aladrén and María Dolores Higueras Rodríguez (eds.) ''La armonía natural. La naturaleza en la expedición marítima de Malaspina y Bustamante (1789–1794)''. Madrid: Lunverg Editores 2001.</ref> 
In 1803, he authorized the [[Balmis Expedition]], aimed at [[vaccinating]] Spain's overseas territories against [[smallpox]].<ref>{{cite journal  |author1=Carlos Franco-Paredes |author2=Lorena Lammoglia |author3=José Ignacio Santos-Preciado |title=The Spanish Royal Philanthropic Expedition to bring Smallpox vaccination to the New World and Asia in the 19th Century |publisher=Oxford Journals |volume=41 |issue=9 |pages=1285–1289 |year=2005 |journal=Clinical Infectious Diseases |doi= 10.1086/496930 |pmid=16206103|doi-access=free }}</ref> In 1799, Charles IV authorized Prussian aristocrat and scientist [[Alexander von Humboldt]] to travel freely in Spanish America, with royal officials encouraged to aid him in his investigation of key areas of Spain's empire. Humboldt's ''Political Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain'' was a key publication from his five-year travels.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}
[[File:SpanishEmpire1790.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Apex of [[Spanish Empire]] in 1790]]
Spain's economic problems were of long standing, but deteriorated further when Spain was ensnared in wars that its ally France pursued. Financial needs drove his domestic and foreign policy. Godoy's economic policies increased discontent with Charles's regime.<ref>Burkholder, Suzanne Hiles. "Charles IV of Spain" in ''Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture''. Vol. 2, p. 82. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons 1996.</ref> In an attempt to implement major economic changes, [[Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos]], a reformist, [[Jansenist]] conservative proposed major structural reform of land tenure to promote the revival of agriculture.  His 1795 work, ''Informe en el expediente de ley agraria'' argued that Spain needed thriving agriculture to allow its population to grow and prosper. In his analysis, the concentration of land ownership and traditions and institutional barriers were at the heart of agriculture's problems.  He called for division and sale of public lands, which were held by villages, as well as the swaths of Spanish territory controlled by the [[Mesta]], the organization of livestock owners who had kept grazing lands as an asset for their use. Jovellanos also argued for the abolition of entailed properties (''mayorazgos''), which allowed landed estates to pass undivided through generations of aristocrats, as well as sale of lands held by the Catholic Church. The aim of these policies was to create in Spain yeoman farmers, who would pursue their self-interest and make agricultural land more productive. The cost would be to undermine the power of the Church and the aristocracy.<ref>[[David Brading|Brading, D.A.]] ''The First America: The Spanish monarchy, Creole patriots, and the Liberal state, 1492-1867''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1991, pp. 510-11.</ref>

As the situation with immediate revenue became more fraught, the crown in 1804 imposed measures in its overseas empire forcing the church to call in immediately the mortgages it had extended on a long-term by the Catholic Church. Although aimed at undermining the wealth and power of the church, the wealthy landowning elites were faced with financial ruin, since they had no way to make full payment on their mortgaged properties.<ref>Hamnett, Brian R. "The Appropriation of Mexican Church Wealth by the Spanish Bourbon Government--The Consolidación de Vales Reales', 1805-1809." Journal of Latin American Studies 1.2 (1969): 85-113.</ref> This ill-considered royal decree has been seen as a major factor in the independence movement in [[New Spain]] (Mexico).<ref>Von Wobeser, Gisela. "La consolidación de vales reales como factor determinante de la lucha de independencia en México, 1804-1808." Historia mexicana (2006): 373-425.</ref> The decree was in abeyance once Charles and Ferdinand abdicated, but it undermined elite support while in force.

In foreign policy Godoy continued Abarca de Bolea's policy of neutrality toward as France, but after Spain protested the execution of [[Louis XVI]] of France in 1793, France declared war on Spain. After the declaration, Portugal and Spain signed a treaty of mutual protection against France.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y9VVAAAAYAAJ&q=Collec%C3%A7%C3%A3o+dos+tratados,+conven%C3%A7%C3%B5es,+contratos+e+actos+publicos+1610&pg=PA3|title=Supplemeto á Collecção dos tratados, convenções, contratos e actos publicos celebrados entre a corôa de Portugal e as mais potencias desde 1640|last1=Portugal|first2=José Ferreira Borges de Castro (Visconde|last2=de)|first3=Julio Firmino Judice|last3=Biker|first4=Portugal Ministério dos Negócios|last4=Estrangeiros|date=19 June 2018|publisher=Imprensa nacional}}</ref> In 1796 France forced Godoy to [[Second Treaty of San Ildefonso|enter into an alliance]], and declare war on the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]]. As a consequence, [[Spanish Empire#The Spanish Bourbons: reform and recovery .281700.E2.80.931808.29|Spain]] became one of the [[colonialism|maritime empires]] to have been allied with Republican France in the [[French Revolutionary War]], and for a considerable duration.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8_kRVkCDBs&t=2m16s| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211113/x8_kRVkCDBs| archive-date=13 November 2021 | url-status=live|title=The French Revolutionary Wars: Every Other Day|last=Ollie Bye|date=3 February 2016|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Spain remained an ally of France for a while, lost against the British in the [[battle of Trafalgar]], and supported the [[Continental Blockade]]. After [[Napoleon]]'s victory over [[Prussia]] in 1807, Godoy kept Spain with the French side.

But the switching of alliances devalued Charles's position as a trustworthy ally, increasing Godoy's unpopularity, and strengthening the ''fernandistas'' (supporters of [[Ferdinand VII of Spain|Crown Prince Ferdinand]]), who favoured an alliance with the [[United Kingdom]].{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}

Economic troubles, rumors about a sexual relationship between the Queen and Godoy, and the King's ineptitude, caused the monarchy to decline in prestige among the population. Anxious to take over from his father, and jealous of the prime minister, Crown Prince Ferdinand attempted to overthrow the King in an aborted coup in 1807.<ref name="Payne 2">Payne, page 420</ref> He was successful in 1808, forcing his father's abdication following the [[Tumult of Aranjuez]].

<gallery>
File:2 escudos en or à l'effigie de Charles IV, 1798.jpg|Coins with image of Charles IV of Spain, 1798
File:Charles IV of Spain 1794 Colombia 8 Escudos.jpg|Coin of Charles IV of Spain Colombia 8 Escudos, 1794
File:José Moñino y Redondo, conde de Floridablanca.jpg|Count de Floridablanca, painting by [[Goya]] ca. 1783
File:Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea, Count of Aranda.jpg|Count of Aranda
File:Francisco de Goya - Godoy como general - Google Art Project.jpg|Manuel de Godoy, as general. Painting by Goya 1801
File:Francisco de Goya y Lucientes - Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos.jpg|Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos. Painting by Goya 1798
File:Ferdinand VII (1784–1833), When Prince of Asturias MET DT236256.jpg|Crown Prince Ferdinand, Painting by Goya 1800
</gallery>

=== Abdications of Bayonne ===
{{Main|Abdications of Bayonne}}

Riots, and a popular revolt at [[Mutiny of Aranjuez|the winter palace Aranjuez]], in 1808 forced the king to abdicate on 19 March, in favor of his son.<ref name="Payne 2" /> Ferdinand took the throne as [[Ferdinand VII]], but was mistrusted by Napoleon, who had 100,000 soldiers stationed in Spain by that time due to the ongoing [[War of the Third Coalition]].

The ousted King, having appealed to Napoleon for help in regaining his throne, was summoned before Napoleon in [[Bayonne]], along with his son, in April 1808. Napoleon forced both Charles and his son to abdicate, declared the Bourbon dynasty of Spain deposed, and installed his brother, [[Joseph Bonaparte]], as King Joseph I of Spain, which began the [[Peninsular War]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Griffin |first1=Julia Ortiz |last2=Griffin |first2=William D. |publisher=Facts on File|year=2007 |title=''Spain and Portugal:A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present''|url=https://archive.org/details/spainportugalref00grif_367 |url-access=limited |isbn=978-0-8160-4592-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/spainportugalref00grif_367/page/n157 151]}}</ref>