Felipe V
Philip V: Promoter of the manufacturing town
Philip V, Duke of Anjou, also known as “the Spirited”, was born on 19 December 1683 in Versailles. His grandfather was the French king Louis XIV, and his parents were the Grand Dauphin of France, Louis, and Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria.
He inherited the Spanish throne upon the death of Charles II (the last monarch of the House of Austria, or Habsburg, in Spain) without offspring, and after Charles named him as his heir upon his death in 1700. He thus became the first Bourbon of the Spanish dynastic line, on the condition that the new dynasty could never be united with the French one. In 1701 he swore in as King of Spain before the Castilian Cortes.
War of Succession and Goyeneche’s role
This appointment did not please the Habsburgs, who considered Archduke Charles to have more legitimate rights to the throne, which led to a confrontation between the King of France, Louis XIV, the Emperor of Austria and the allied countries on both sides, in the so-called War of Succession.
At that time, Goyeneche came to cover certain equipment costs or make loans for supplying the troops. In 1702, at his own expense, he paid for a large part of the equipment of the Spanish fleet for the defence of Cádiz against the English armada, achieving the repulse of the English fleet at the most decisive moment of the conflict.
In addition, thanks to Goyeneche’s influence, it was possible to move the Bourbon armies between France and Spain through the Navarrese border, which proved an important factor in tipping the balance towards Philip V’s victory.
Likewise, Philip V received loans from Goyeneche for supplying the troops, and even when Louis XIV’s support for his relative seemed to waver, Goyeneche built the Cloth Factory to supply uniforms to the General Clothing Store for the Troops, thus avoiding having to import them from France. From this point on, Nuevo Baztán became a centre of production and supply for the army, which later would continue with its luxury products for the nobility.
Finally, the War of the Spanish Succession ended with the Treaties of Utrecht in 1713 and the Treaty of Rastatt the following year, in which Philip was recognised as King of Spain, but in exchange Spain lost its European territories in Italy and in the Netherlands, which passed to the Empire and to Savoy respectively; Menorca and Gibraltar were ceded to Great Britain, and the Colony of Sacramento was handed over to Portugal.
Tomb of Philip V and Elisabeth Farnese
Reign of Philip V
Until the middle of the second decade of the 18th century, Philip V’s policy was strongly shaped by French influence through Orry and the Princess of the Ursins. Under his reign, the renewal of culture in Spain began in the fields of science, literature, philosophy, art, politics, religion and economics. In 1712, even before the War of Succession had ended, the National Library was founded; a year later, the Royal Spanish Academy was created, and later those of Medicine, History... all of them modelled on the French academies.
In domestic politics, he focused on the creation of secretariats and intendancies, as well as carrying out administrative centralisation and unification through the Nueva Planta Decrees, abolishing the Aragonese and Valencian fueros.
After the death of his first wife, Maria Luisa of Savoy, Philip married again in 1714 to Elisabeth Farnese, who gave him seven children, including the future Charles III and Philip, Duke of Parma. This new marriage meant a shift from French influence to Italian influence, and from then on he pursued a policy seeking a revision of what had been agreed at Utrecht and the recovery of the Italian territories.
Cardinal Alberoni initially directed this policy of claims, but the Quadruple Alliance—made up of Great Britain, France, the Netherlands and the Empire—put an end to these attempts. Attempts to recover Menorca and Gibraltar also failed.
In January 1724, Philip V unexpectedly abdicated in favour of his son Louis, the firstborn of his first marriage to Maria Luisa of Savoy, but after the early death of Louis I in August of the same year, Philip returned to reign over Spain.
This second reign of Philip V brought a change from the policy prior to his abdication, with a more Spanish rather than Italian-oriented outlook and surrounded by Spanish ministers. Among them were José Patiño, politician, diplomat and economist; José del Campillo, finance minister; and later the Marquis of Ensenada, a great statesman and an excellent economic planner.
The family alliance with France through the Family Compacts led the Spanish army to help the French in the wars of the Polish and Austrian successions, and made it possible for Elisabeth Farnese’s eldest son, Charles, to become King of Naples and Sicily, later also becoming King of Spain as Charles III; and the other, Philip, to become Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla.
On 9 July 1746, Philip V died in Madrid, succeeded on the throne by his son Ferdinand VI. By the monarch’s express wish, his body was buried in the Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso.
