v16_1931 - CHILI - FERDINAND VII 8 escudos or 1809 Santiago du Chili

CHILE - FERDINAND VII

(1808-1833)

Ferdinand VII (13/10/1784-29/09/1833) is the eldest son of Charles IV and Marie-Louise de Parme. Prince of Asturias, he opposes Godoy, favorite of his mother and Prime Minister. His father abdicated in his favor after the Aranjuez uprising (03/19/1808). French troops commanded by Murat invade Madrid on May 1, 1808. On May 2, "Dos de Mayo" immortalized by Goya, the people rise up. The repression is terrible. On the 5th, by the Treaty of Bayonne, Charles IV abdicated and Ferdinand VII renounced the throne. On June 6, Napoleon chose his brother Joseph to reign over Spain.. It was the start of the Spanish Civil War which was Napoleon I's first defeat.. On December 11, 1813, the Treaty of Valençay returned the crown to Ferdinand VII, who had been a prisoner since 1808.. Returned to Spain in 1814, he governed as an absolute monarch. He loses the American colonies. He must establish a liberal constitution in 1820. He can restore absolute power thanks to the French intervention in 1823 of the Duke of Angoulème. Married four times, he abolishes the Salic law in favor of his only daughter, Isabella, to the detriment of his brother Charles, origin of the Carlist wars of the 19th century. He died in 1833.