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in addition, the patience of many Spanish
Americans with their colonial subordination
was wearing thin, especially after the exam-
ple of Britain's rebellious colonies on the
Atlantic seaboard stimulated the long-stand-
ing grievances of the criollos.
Charles III has been variously described
as the greatest of the Spanish Bourbons and
a disorganized, random reformer who
achieved no lasting results. A true judg-
ment probably lies somewhere between
these extremes. But there is no doubt that
his inability to prepare his successor,
C
HARLES
IV, for the demands of kingship left
Spain without either enduring enlighten-
ment or effective despotism as it entered
the Age of Revolution.
Charles IV (Carlos IV)
(1748-1819)
king of Spain
The son of C
HARLES
III, whom he succeeded
in 1788, this monarch was unable either to
continue his father's policy of enlightened
despotism or to secure the country against
the cataclysmic forces generated by the
French Revolution of 1789. During most of
his reign he was dominated by his wife,
Maria Luisa of Parma, and her paramour,
M
ANUEL
DE
G
ODOY
. Godoy, who was named
chief minister in 1792, at first tried to keep
Spain neutral in the spreading revolution-
ary warfare, then joined an anti-French
coalition, and finally formed an alliance
with France. After more than a decade of
misfortunes, including Spain's abandon-
ment of L
OUISIANA
and the naval defeat at
T
RAFALGAR
, Charles IV found himself virtu-
ally subject to the will of the emperor
Napoléon I. After the intrigues of Godoy
brought a French army into Spain, suppos-
edly to seize and divide Portugal, Charles
King Charles IV
(Library of Congress)
was overthrown by his son the prince of
Asturias. When the ousted monarch peti-
tioned the emperor for help, the entire
royal family was invited to Bayonne to con-
fer about their problems. Once in Napoléon's
presence, both Charles IV and the prince
were taken prisoners, the Bourbon dynasty
was declared deposed, and Napoléon's
brother Joseph was named King J
OSEPH
I of
Spain. While the fate of his country was
being decided during the subsequent years
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