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image of Spanish grandeur that no longer
corresponded to reality. Through the genius
of an artist whom the king may have con-
sidered no more than a servant who
painted, Philip IV has long outlasted an
empire that he helped to destroy.
efforts as he did make. Perhaps the greatest
fault of Philip V was his preoccupation with
external ambitions, particularly his designs
on the French throne, which he pursued
even though he had sworn to make no
claim to it. These concerns led to a brief war
with France in 1718-20 and an effort to
position himself for a claim to the French
throne in 1724 when young Louis XV
seemed in danger of death. It was perhaps
for this reason that he abdicated the Span-
ish throne in 1724 in favor of his son Louis,
alleging that he was weary of the stress of
government and wished to devote himself
to the quiet pursuit of his religious inter-
ests. In any event his resumption of power
in Madrid when Louis died suddenly six
months later heightened an already-grow-
ing reputation for eccentricity.
During his “second reign,” Philip V was
dominated by his second wife, I
SABELLA
F
ARNESE
, the last of the ruling line in Parma.
Her determination to secure thrones for her
sons reinforced the king's own desire to
regain the Italian territories that he had been
obliged to surrender to Austria. These goals
were attained by Spain's successive inter-
vention in the War of the Polish Succession
(1733-35) and the War of the Austrian Suc-
cession (1740-48). The ultimate result of
these military entanglements was the estab-
lishment of Bourbon dynasties in the Duchy
of Parma and the Kingdom of Naples. Philip,
however, did not live to see the final success
of these projects, and his mental deteriora-
tion in his last years guaranteed that domes-
tic policy continued to be neglected.
For all the expectations created by the
arrival in Spain of a promising young ruler
and the introduction of a progressive new
dynasty, the reign of Philip V proved a dis-
appointment. Although some of his minis-
Philip V (Felipe V)
(1683-1746)
king of Spain
Grandson of Louis XIV of France, he was
designated as successor to the Spanish
throne in the will of C
HARLES
II, his great-
uncle. The accession of this B
OURBON
mon-
arch precipitated the political and military
opposition of Austria, Great Britain, and
the Dutch Republic, who had agreed to a
partition of Spanish dependencies upon the
extinction of the H
ABSBURG
dynasty in
Madrid. In the W
AR
OF
THE
S
PANISH
S
UCCES
-
SION
(1701-14) Philip, with assistance from
France, succeeded in defending his new
realm. By 1711 the fighting had spread
throughout Europe and overseas, and the
British and Dutch had become unwilling to
support the Austrian claimant. Eventually
the peace settlements confirmed Philip as
ruler of Spain and its overseas possessions,
though he was obliged to surrender the
Belgian and Italian possessions.
Although initially popular among most
of his Spanish subjects, the young monarch
lost most of the prestige he had gained
through vigorous defense of the kingdom
by his favoritism to French advisers and his
harsh treatment of opponents in A
RAGON
and C
ATALONIA
. Those who had hoped for
modernization of the Spanish administra-
tion and economy along French lines were
disappointed by Philip's failure to press
major reforms, and those who feared loss of
privilege were angered by such reforming
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