HISTORICAL DICTIONARY A–Z - Spain and Portugal: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present - page 210

to Spain. When María Luisa died in 1819
(shortly before her husband) she left most
of her possessions to Godoy. The vengeful
Ferdinand VII prevented the implementa-
tion of this will, just as he had already abol-
ished the title príncipe de la Paz. Godoy,
having purchased a papal title, henceforth
called himself “prince of Bassano” and
devoted his later years to writing his mem-
oirs. He died in Paris just as a new Bonaparte
dictator was taking power.
Execrated in his own day as an arch vil-
lain and described by later commentators as
the first modern dictator, Godoy was essen-
tially something much more commonplace.
He was merely the latest in a long line of
privados (royal political favorites), whose

greedy ambition had afflicted the nation
over the centuries. His apologists have
pointed out that he maintained the system
of enlightened despotism practiced under
C HARLES III. He continued or even initiated
many reforms and improvements in cul-
tural, educational, and economic matters
and diminished the ability of the church to
restrict free inquiry. He also curtailed the
power of the S PANISH I NQUISITION . There is
no evidence, however, that he pursued a
deliberate policy or even possessed a coher-
ent understanding of the Enlightenment.
Random and opportunistic in his decisions,
he was obsessed with his own enrichment
and self-gratification. His relationship with
the queen, though lasting, was paralleled
by connections with other women, all
equally shallow in the depth of affection.
After decades of statesmanlike leadership
Spain had the misfortune, during a period
of international crisis, to fall under the sway
of Godoy, a worthless upstart, whose regime
brought his country to the brink of ruin.

Golden Age See S IGLO DE O RO .

Góngora y Argote, Luis de
(1561-1627)
Spanish poet
Born in C ÓRDOBA , the son of a judge, Gón-
gora obtained an ecclesiastical benefice as a
secure source of income. Although he qual-
ified for this position by taking minor orders
in his youth, he was not ordained to the
priesthood until the age of 55 when he
secured a chaplaincy at the royal court.
Both at the University of Salamanca (from
which he failed to graduate) and in his early
clerical career he was notorious for his Queen María Luisa of Spain (Library of Congress)