FOREING POLICY CARLOS II


-During the reing of Charles II, the war in Portugal continued and in 1668 he had to recognize his independance.

-Louis XIVseized the most important cities of Flanders and the France-Comté, without being able to do anything, since the court of Charles II was full of rivaries to obtain goverment posts.

-The tradition of wars continues in this reing, but not by Spain iniciative but due to economic problems of the century in Spain:

• In the first war, Louis XIV invaded the Spanish Low countries, with the excuse that he had not paid his wife´s dowry; so it is called THE WAR OS RETURN. The French king, in addition to winning in numerous battles, seeks alliances in other countries in order to isolate Spain. In 1668, the PEACE OF AQUIGRÁN was signed, so Louis XIV returned the Franche-Comté.

• Louis XIV offers Roussillon and Sirdinia in exchange for the Netherlands that interestes him for his particular war with Hollan, but Spain, refuses and beings the second war. Louis invades Holland that allies itself with Spain and the French king crushes them with an army of 35,000 soldiers. In 1678 the PEACE OF NIJMEN was signed by which Spain loses the French- Comté and squares in the Netherlands. 

 

NOTE:

We have to point out that Charles II died at an early age and had health problems, which meant he could not fight big battles.

DOMESTIC POLICY
 -The disastrous economic situation and the political and social crisis inherited from the reign of his father Felipe IV together with the inefficiency and incapacity of the rulers increased the critical situation of Spain and especially of Castile, giving rise to a series of monetary devaluations and the subsequent fall of economic activity.

-The life of the country was characterized by an economic crisis, although in Aragon and the Mediterranean area there was a recovery movement. 
-The internal crisis of the reign of Charles II had been promoting the decentralization of the territories of the Crown of Aragon and the development of economic structures, taking advantage of its geographical position and its natural resources. 

-But just when Carlos died, a war began in Spain: The War of Spanish Succession


 

 -It was an international conflict that lasted from 1701 until the signing of the treaty of Utrecht in 1713, which had as a fundamental cause the death without descendants of Charles II of Spain, the last representative of the House of Habsburg, and which left the main consequence of the establishment of the House of Bourbon on the throne of Spain.

- In the interior of the country, the War of Succession evolved into a civil war between Bourbons, whose main support was found in the Crown of Castile, and Austrians, majority in the Crown of Aragon.

-For the Hispanic Monarchy, the main consequences of the war were the loss of their European possessions and the disappearance of the Crown of Aragon, which put an end to the "federal" model of monarchy.



      
NOTE:

We know that it is not a war in which Carlos participated, but we saw it necessary to put this war on our blog since its beginning was the lack of descent of Carlos and was one of the most important wars in the history of Spain.

  BIOGRAPHY

Carlos II of Spain, called "El Hechizado", was born in Madrid on November 6, 1661. He was king of Spain between 1665 and 1700.He was the son of Philip IV and Mariana of Austria.
Upon the death of his father he inherited all the possessions of the Spanish Habsburgs, including Sicily

 

- His nickname came from the attribution of his unfortunate physical state to witchcraft and diabolical influences, it is likely that successive marriages of the royal family caused the heir to suffer from Klinefelter syndrome, with symptoms such as weak musculature and infertility, that brought about a serious successory conflict, when dying without descendants and thus extinguishing the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs.

-Carlos II was proclaimed king in 1665, at three years. His bad health made him suspect that he would die young, so his education in the tasks of government was neglected.

-The King, of 18 years of age, marries in first nuptials with Maria Luisa de Orleans, niece of Luis XIV of France. Although she never truly became in love with her husband, over the years Maria Luisa came to feel a genuine affection for him. Carlos, for his part, loved his wife tenderly. Finally she died in 1689, leaving the king in a depressed state.

-After two days in a coma, preceded by a high fever, he died on November 1 of 1700. He had, after, an attack of epilepsy, which lasted 3 hours, leaving no signs of life.

There we leave a video with very interesting information about the autopsy of Carlos II:(it's only 3 minutes XD)