HISTORICAL DICTIONARY A–Z - Spain and Portugal: A Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present - page 233

rejoining the rebellious Dutch provinces of
the north with those still under Spanish
military control. As a device for the unifica-
tion of the Low Countries, the plan failed,
for the seven United Provinces refused to
return to the old Burgundian realm.
Albert, who had previously served his
Spanish cousins as administrator in the
Netherlands, carried on an intermittent
campaign against the Dutch until 1609
when the Twelve Years' Truce was con-
cluded. Isabella, in the meantime, won the
hearts and minds of her subjects by her per-
sonal charm, generosity, and promotion of
public services. Her status as reina (queen)
of a theoretically sovereign nation was cur-
tailed by the inescapable interference of
Spain, which also controlled the funds nec-
essary for waging war against the Dutch.
When her consort died in 1621, the possi-
bility of their producing a line of succession
ended. Under Philip II's original decree the
territory known as Flanders reverted to
Spain. Isabella stayed on in Brussels, how-
ever, as governor on behalf of her nephew,
P HILIP IV. The resumption of hostilities with
the Dutch Republic and the growing entan-
glements of the region with the campaigns
of the Thirty Years' War made her task
increasingly difficult. Devout and dutiful as
ever and still enjoying public affection, Isa-
bella succumbed to the fatigues of office in
1633. Belgium would not become a truly
independent country for another 200 years.

she would be easily managed by the domi-
nant French clique at the court of Madrid.
To the surprise of this group the new con-
sort quickly displayed a natural intelligence
and firmness of character that not only gave
her dominance over her depressed and
melancholic husband but changed the
direction of Spain's foreign policy. French
influence was supplanted by Isabella's pre-
occupation with Italian affairs, which grew
into an obsession to regain control of the
lost Spanish possessions. Her protégé,
G IULIO A LBERONI , became chief minister and
precipitated a war with France (1718-19).
Despite its unsuccessful outcome and the
minister's downfall, the queen continued to
intrigue during the 1720s and '30s to obtain
Italian thrones for her sons. Two more
major European wars achieved this desired
effect: Charles became duke of Parma in
1731 and then king of Naples in 1735; his
brother, Philip, succeeded him in the for-
mer Farnese duchy of Parma (1735), found-
ing the Bourbon-Parma line that reigned
there until 1860. Inevitably Isabella's power
in Madrid ended with the death of her hus-
band in 1746. The new king, F ERDINAND VI,
sent his stepmother to a dignified but frus-
trating retirement far from court. This
period of internal exile ended in 1759 when
the death of Ferdinand VI without children
resulted in Charles's leaving Naples to
become C HARLES III of Spain. He was
greeted joyfully by his mother, who had not
only fulfilled her aspirations but now saw
her favorite child seated on the Spanish
throne, while one of his sons remained in
Naples to preserve a Spanish-based line of
succession there.
Although Queen Isabella was bitterly
resented by some Spaniards for her preoc-
cupation with dynastic affairs in Italy and

Isabella Farnese (Isabel de Farnesio,
Elizabeth Farnese) (1692-1766)
queen consort of Spain
Daughter of Odoardo Farnese, duke of
Parma, Isabella was chosen as second wife
of P HILIP V (1714) in the expectation that