Philip VII | |
---|---|
Philip V as King of Spain | |
Reign | 10 June 1737 –
18 November 1742 |
Coronation | 22 March 1740 |
Predecessor | Louis XVI |
Successor | Charles X |
Reign | 23 October 1700 –
5 April 1725 |
Predecessor | Charles II |
Successor | Charles III |
Spouse | Maria Luisa of Savoy |
Issue | |
Louis, Prince of Asturias Maria Teresa Adelaide, Queen of Sicily Charles X Maria Anna Victoria Maria Antonia Fernanda, Holy Roman Empress Luis, Count of Dreux Maria Josefa Philip VIII | |
House | House of Bourbon |
Father | Louis, Dauphin of France |
Mother | Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria |
Born | 19 December 1683 Palace of Versailles, France |
Died | 18 November 1742 (aged 58) Palace of Versailles, France |
Burial | Saint Denis Basilica, Saint-Denis, France |
Signature | |
Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Philip VII (French: Philippe VII; 19 December 1683 – 18 November 1742) was the King of Spain (as Felipe V in Castille and Felipe IV in Aragon) from 23 October 1700 to 5 April 1725, and the King of France and Navarre from 10 June 1737 to his death.
Prior to this reigns, Philip was a high ranking member in the exalted Bourbon family of France. His father, Louis, the Grand Dauphin, had the strongest genealogical claim to the throne of Spain when it became vacant in 1700. However, since the Grand Dauphin and Philip's older brother, Louis, Duke of Burgundy, could not be displaced from their place in the succession to the French throne, King Charles II of Spain named Philip as his heir in his will. It was well known that the union of France and Spain under one monarch would upset the balance of power in Europe, such that other European powers would take steps to prevent it.
Indeed, after Philip ascended to the throne the 6 year War of the Spanish Succession which ended in the signing of the Treaty of Mainz which forbid any unification between the French and Spanish crowns. However, near the end of the subsequent Fifteen Years War, Philip attempted to seize the French throne in a last ditch attempt to turn the war in his favour despite having been sided with it throughout he majority of the conflict. Ultimately defeated in southern France, Philip fled with his family and court to New Spain, it's governors granting him asylum from the newly appointed King of Spain, Charles III.
Spending twelve years in exile in the Americas, Philip would later return to France in 1737 after a conspiracy of nobles overthrew his nephew, Louis XVI. Having made prior arrangements with the nobility to extend their power in exchange for the throne of France, Philip's actions would ultimately lead to the outbreak of hostilities with England later in the year when they sided with the deposed Louis, this series of events sparking the declaration of war that officially began the War of the French Succession. Fighting for five years of the conflict, the new King of France would later die in his sleep in 1742 at the age of 58, the realm remaining embroiled in conflict after his son and appointed heir, Charles X, opted to continue the war.
For the majority of history after 1742, Philip was seen as an incompetent military commander and government leader, historians tending to view his personal ambitions with contempt; his aspiration to enhance his own power being one of the primary factors in the wars of the 18th century. More recently however, chroniclers have been more inclined to view his public achievements as the monarch of Spain and France in a more positive light, his extension of the ideas of 'enlightened absolutism' and parliament rule being recognized as having fueled later enlightenment thinkers and world leaders.