The directory «Plots of stamps in the catalogue»

Carlos IV Bourbon
(1748—1819)

Charles IV had the misfortune of reigning during the tumultous period of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. He succeded from his father, Charles III because his older brother was retarded. The Spanish master Goya was a court artist and painted several highly relalistic portraits of the royal family. Unlike his father, he proved to be ineffectual as king. After only a few years (1792) he turned the government over to his first minister, Godoy. Godoy was the favorite of his wife, María Luisa of Parma. After the French Revolution turned increasingly radical, King Charles like other European monarchs, entered the First Coalition against the new French Republic (1793). The war did not go well and Spain in 1795 made peace with France, signing the second Treaty of Basel. King Charles was one of the few European monrachs to ally themselves with Napoleonic France, especially interesting because Charles was a Bourbon king. Spain with the Treaty of San Ildefonso (1796) joined Spain France in a war with England that was mostly fought at sea. The French and Spanish suffered a major naval defeat at Cape St. Vincent (1797) and a disastrous defeat at Trafalgar (1805) totly destroying Spain as a sea power. Trafalgar left Britain in undisputed command of the sea for a century. The convention of Fontainebleau (1807) led to the Peninsular Campaign of the Napoleonic Wars. King Charles, who was attempting to seieze Portugal, allowed a French army to cross Spain and to fight the British in Portugal. Later French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte turned on King Charles and the French marched on Madrid, a popular uprising led to a coup at Aranjuez (1808). King Charles was forced to abdicate in favor of his son, Ferdinand VII. Napoleon then duped both Charles and King Ferdinand who had tried to reach an understanding with him, into a meeting at Bayonne, France. Onece there, he forced both Cgharles and Ferdinand to abdicate. Napoleon made his brother Joseph Bonaparte king of Spain. Napoleon kept both captive in France until 1814, when Allied armies invaded France and forced Napoleon to surender.

Equatorial Guinea, 1996, The Family of Carlos IV

Laos, 1984, The Family of Carlos IV

Sao Tome e Principe, 2007, The Family of Carlos IV

Sierra Leone, 2000, Carlos IV as prince

Spain, 1978, Carlos IV

Spain, 1989, Carlos IV

Spain, 2002, Carlos IV and Napoleon

Spain, 2003.08., Hacinas. Ferdinand VII, Carlos IV and Napoleon