Charles II of Spain, also known as El Hechizado or the Bewitched, was the last Habsburg ruler of the Spanish Empire. He was described as’short, lame, epileptic, senile and completely bald before 35, always on the verge of death but repeatedly baffling Christendom.
About Charles II of Spain in brief
Charles II of Spain, also known as El Hechizado or the Bewitched, was the last Habsburg ruler of the Spanish Empire. He is best remembered for his alleged physical disabilities, and the war that followed his death. Charles suffered ill health throughout his life; from the moment he became king at the age of four in 1665, the succession was a prominent consideration in European politics. He married twice but remained childless. When he died in 1700, his heir was 16-year-old Philip of Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV and his first wife, Charles’s elder half-sister, Maria Theresa. But the succession of Charles was less important than the division of his territories. The failure to resolve that question led to war in 1701. The Monarchy proved remarkably resilient, and remained largely intact when Charles died, when he appointed the Count-Duke of Olivares as his successor. But it is debatable how far or far he held the long-term trends responsible for trends predating his reign responsible for long- term trends in Europe, such as the Dutch Republic, England, France and the Netherlands. The extent to which this inbreeding was responsible for his numerous health issues is unclear, and disputed; Margaret Theresa, his elder sister, did not have the same issues. Very little is known for certain, and much of what is suggested unproved, or incorrect.
But he was described as’short, lame, epileptic, senile and completely bald before 35, always on the verge of death but repeatedly baffling Christendom by continuing to live’ He may have suffered from combined pituitary hormone deficiency and distal renal tubular acidosis. These conditions could be indicative of rare genetic disorders, possibly caused by inbreeding. Another suggestion is his health problems derived from a herpetic infection shortly after birth, while his autopsy report indicates hydrocephalus. He had measles, chickenpox, rubella, and smallpox, each of which was then potentially fatal. Although prone to illness, contemporaries reported he spent much of his time hunting. The system of delegating duties to a personal minister or valido was established in 1621 by Mariana Olivares, when Charles was a legal minor when Philip died on 17 September 1665. Mariana was appointed Queen Regent by the Council of Castile. While the Spanish empire, or ‘Monarchy’, remained an enormous global confederation, its economic supremacy was challenged by the DutchRepublic, and increasingly England, while Europe was destabilised by French expansion under Louis XIV. However the 17th century was a period of economic crisis for many European states, including Spain.
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This page is based on the article Charles II of Spain published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 14, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
