Charles the Fifth - ruler of the Holy Roman Empire in the 16th century. He was a Spanish king under the name Carlos I and king of Germany. In the first half of his century - the largest statesman in Europe, who played the largest role among all the rulers of that time. In history, he remained as the last emperor, who managed to celebrate the triumph in Rome. In this article, we will reveal moments about his biography, describe important achievements.
Youth
Carl Fifth was born in Ghent in Flanders in 1500. He was born in the possession of his father - Philip of Burgundy. As a child, Carl hardly saw him, since he spent most of his time in Spain, trying to inherit the Castilian crown.
When the boy was six years old, his father died, and his mother, the Spanish infante Juan, went crazy. Until adulthood, he was brought up by the ruler of the Netherlands Margarita of Austria, with whom he then maintained a warm relationship until the end of her life.
Already at the age of 15 he took the first title. Representatives of the Burgundian states insisted that he accept the duchy in Holland. After this, Charles the Fifth became king of Spain, uniting the country for the first time in its history.
After the death of Isabella, Castile left her daughter, Juan Mad, the mother of the hero of our article. Moreover, in fact, the region was ruled by Ferdinand II - Karl's grandfather. When he died in 1516, Karl inherited both Aragon and Castile. At the same time, he did not declare himself regent, deciding to pick up the fullness of power. Already in March, he proclaimed himself king of Aragon and Castile, becoming Charles the Fifth of Spain.
An attempt to take absolute power in his hands at once turned into a riot for him. In Castile in 1520, the so-called Komuneros uprising began, which was led in Toledo. In Valladolid, he agreed with the local elite that his mother should remain the formal ruler of Castile. Juan all this time was, in fact, imprisoned in a monastery. She died only in 1555 - just three years before the death of Charles the Fifth.
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, the official title of king was first accepted only by his son Philip II.
Karl the Fifth himself in Spain remained the king of Aragon. He called himself floridly, including a listing of the many lands and possessions that were part of his empire:
Chosen emperor of the Christian world and Rome, regis Augustus, 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, Canary Islands and India, Antipodes of the New World, sushi in the Sea Ocean, Straits The Antarctic Pole and many other islands of both the Far East and the West, and others; Archduke of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, Brabant, Limburg, Luxembourg, Geldern and others; Count of Flanders, Artois and Burgundy, Palatine of Gennegau, Holland, Zealand, Namur, Roussillon, Cerdanya, Zutphen, Margrave of Oristania and Gotziania, sovereign of Catalonia and many other kingdoms in Europe, as well as in Asia and Africa, Mr. and others.
Coronation in Aachen
The empire of Charles the Fifth continued to expand when, in 1519, the German electors at the collegium unanimously elected it as his king of Germany. Officially, the title sounded: "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 opportunity 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 the Fifth took place in 1530. The ceremony was held in Bologna by Pope Clement VII. This was the last time in history when the Pope participated in the coronation. In the following years, the title of emperor corresponded to the king of Germany, who was elected by the Electoral College.
The reform
The period of Karl’s reign is associated with numerous reforms carried out by him. In particular, in 1532 a criminal code was adopted, which was later named "Carolina" in his honor.
In its content, it occupies an intermediate position between German and Roman law. For many wrongdoings, particularly cruel punishments were supposed. The document was valid until the end of the XVIII 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 many territories he concentrated in their hands.
With the French monarch Francis I, he accumulated a lot of contradictions. Karl made claims to Burgundy, and Francis was at one with the king of Navarre, unofficially supporting him in the war for the lost territory. Mutual reproaches and claims actually expressed the desire of both monarchs to establish hegemony on the continent.
This entered a phase of open confrontation in 1521, when Charles's army invaded northern France. At this time, French troops openly marched on the side of King Navarre. True, they did not succeed - the Spaniards defeated the Navarra, returning Pamplona.
In northern France, the armies of Charles managed to capture Tournai and several other small fortresses. Despite local victories, at the end of the year he was nevertheless forced to retreat. The main thing was his diplomatic success. The English king and the Pope agreed to enter into an alliance with him. In 1521, the French suffered several unfortunate defeats, were forced to leave Milan. When the British attacked Picardy and Brittany, and Venice (an ally of France) emerged from the confrontation, the position of Francis became deplorable.
In 1524, Charles's troops entered Provence through the Alps and besieged Marseille. The following year, two powerful armies met at the Battle of Pavia. Each had 30,000 warriors. Karl won a landslide victory, even being able to capture the French king. He forced his captive to sign the Madrid Treaty, by which Francis recognized his claims to Italy, Flanders and Artois. True, as soon as he was free, he declared the contract invalid, creating the Cognac League. It included Milan, Florence, Genoa, Venice, England and the Pope.
The scene of the conflict was Italy again. In 1527, the army of Charles won several successful victories, plundered Rome. The emperor managed to make peace with the English king Henry VIII, to drag Genoa to his side. Finally, in 1529 a peace agreement was concluded with France, a common language was found with the Pope. The last enemy of Charles, the Florentine Republic was defeated in the head in 1530.
The peace treaty with the French provided for a ransom of two million gold ecu for two princes, who had been held captive all this time. Francis also left the Apennine Peninsula. Obtained in possession of Italy has become perhaps the main trophy of Carl. The French king could not accept this situation. He twice fought against the Karl, but could not change anything.
The final peace between the monarchs was concluded in 1544. Francis even promised, if necessary, assistance in confronting the Turks, which allowed Karl to concentrate all his forces in a new direction.
Tunisian war
Karl began the war against Turkey as a defender of Christianity, for which he even received the nickname of God's standard bearer. By that time, the Turks already ruled in Europe. In 1529, capturing Hungary, they besieged Vienna. Only a harsh winter forced them to retreat.
In 1535, Karl sent a fleet to the shores of Tunisia. The ships managed to capture the city, freeing several thousand Christians from slavery. The emperor ordered the construction of a fortress and leave the Spanish garrison.
Unfortunately, this success was nothing compared to the crushing defeat in the battle of Preveza. In 1538, the fleet of Suleiman I the Magnificent opposed the Christians and won a landslide victory. For several decades, the Turks regained dominance in the Mediterranean Sea.
Great geographical discoveries
Spain under Charles continued to have superiority in discovering distant continents and lands. In 1519, an expedition was organized by Magellan, intending to find the western route to Southeast Asia.
It was under Carl Pizarro who conquered the Incas, and Cortes - Mexico. An important aid 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 the Limits", his whole life passed. But in 1555, after the conclusion of the Augsburg Peace, he became disillusioned with the idea of building a pan-European empire. He abandons Holland and Spain in favor of his son Philip, giving him possession in the New World and Italy. In 1558, abdicated, retiring to the monastery, where he died a few months later.