v44_0704 - SPAIN - KINGDOM OF SPAIN - JOANNA AND CHARLES Écu d’or, escudo n.d. Séville

SPAIN - KINGDOM OF SPAIN - JOANNA AND CHARLES

(1516-1555)

Charles V said Charles Quint was born in Ghent on February 25, 1500 from the union of the Archduke Philippe le Beau and Jeanne la Folle. On the paternal side he was the grandson of Maximilian I of Habsburg and on the maternal side, grandson of the Catholic kings, Ferdinand and Isabella. He became ruler of the Netherlands when his father died in 1506, when he was only six years old. A period of regency was exercised by his aunt Margaret of Austria until his emancipation before the States General on January 5, 1515. On January 23, 1516, his maternal grandfather died and he acceded to the throne of Spain under the name of Charles I. After the death of Maximilian I, Charles was elected German Emperor on June 28, 1519, under the name of Charles V. This election was at the origin of a long conflict which opposed him to the King of France François I. Charles Quint abdicated on October 25, 1555 from his possessions in the Netherlands and then on January 16, 1556 from his Spanish possessions. He died on September 21, 1558 in the monastery of San Jeromino de Yuste.