Charles
V was the Holy Roman Emperor between 1519-1556 and arguably the most powerful
figure of this era. He presided over a great deal of territory in Europe and
the colonial world (west, central, southern Europe, the Americas and Asia) during
a time when the political milieu was affected by the emerging Reformation
crises. Charles was born in 1500 and inherited four million square kilometers
of territory that included the Holy Roman Empire, the Spanish Empire (where he
ruled as Charles I) and the Duchy of Burgundy. His grandparents on his maternal
side were Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castille (whose marriage
united Spain). On his paternal side his grandparents were Maximilian I
(previous Holy Roman Emperor) and Mary of Burgundy. This lineage gave him
claims as an heir to both the Austrian Habsburg and French Valois dynasties.
His
reign was dominated by war. The Habsburg-Valois conflict saw his forces pitted
against the French, he held off Turkish advances in Hungary and Modern Day
Romania and clashed with various German Princes in the Religious struggles of
the 16th century.
It
was Charles who took the lead as the champion of Catholic Orthodoxy and it was
Charles himself who called Martin Luther in 1521 to appear before the Diet of
Worms. He would later outlaw Martin Luther.
Charles
also championed the Council of Trent (that drove the Counter Reformation) and
took a strong stance against the Lutheran Schmalkaldic League. His forces were
victorious against those of the Protestants at the Battle of Mühlberg but were beaten back in the Netherlands.
Charles would abdicate in 1554 handing over control
of Sicily and Naples to his son Philip who would become King of Spain in 1556.
His brother Ferdinand I would take over as King of Austria and Holy Roman
Emperor. Charles would spend the remainder of his life as a Monk at the
Monastery of Yuste in Spain.
Charles V
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