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Charles III (Spanish: ''Carlos''; Italian: ''Carlo''; 20 January 1716 – 14 December 1788) was the King of Spain and the Spanish Indies from 1759 to 1788. He was the fifth son of Philip V of Spain, but eldest by his second wife, Elisabeth Farnese. In 1731, the 15-year-old Charles became the Duke of Parma and Piacenza, as Charles I, on the death of his childless granduncle Antonio Farnese. In 1734, as Duke of Parma, he conquered the kingdoms of Naples and of Sicily, and was crowned king on 3 July 1735, reigning as Charles VII of Naples and Charles V of Sicily. In 1738 he married Princess Maria Amalia of Saxony, an educated, cultured woman who gave birth to 13 children, eight of whom reached adulthood. Charles and Maria Amalia resided in Naples for 19 years; she died in 1760. Upon succeeding to the Spanish throne on 10 August 1759, Charles, a proponent of enlightened absolutism, on 6 October 1759 abdicated the Neapolitan and Sicilian thrones in favour of Ferdinand, his third surviving son, who became Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies. As king of Spain Charles III tried to rescue his empire from decay through far-reaching reforms such as weakening the Church and its monasteries, promoting science and university research, facilitating trade and commerce, modernizing agriculture and avoiding wars. He never achieved satisfactory control over finances, and was obliged to borrow to meet expenses. His reforms proved short-lived and Spain relapsed after his death, but his legacy lives on to this day.〔Nicholas Henderson, "Charles III of Spain: An Enlightened Despot," ''History Today'', Nov 1968, Vol. 18 Issue 10, p673-682 and Issue 11, pp 760–768〕 Historian Stanley Payne states Charles III: :"was probably the most successful European ruler of his generation. He had provided firm, consistent, intelligent leadership. He had chosen capable ministers....() personal life had won the respect of the people."〔Stanley G. Payne, ''History of Spain and Portugal'' (1973) 2:371〕 ==Spanish imperial legacy== In 1713, the Treaty of Utrecht concluded the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14) and reduced the political and military power of Spain, which the House of Bourbon had ruled since 1700. Under the terms of the treaty, the Spanish Empire retained its Latin American territories, but ceded to Habsburg Austria the Southern Netherlands, the kingdoms of Naples and Sardinia, the Duchy of Milan, and the State of Presidi. Moreover, the House of Savoy gained the Kingdom of Sicily, and the Kingdom of Great Britain gained the island of Minorca and the fortress at Gibraltar. In 1700, Charles' father, the French-born "Philippe de France", became King of Spain as Philip V. For the remainder of his reign (1700–46), he continually attempted to regain the ceded territories. In 1714, after the death of the king's first wife, the Princess Maria Luisa Gabriella of Savoy, the Piacenzan Cardinal Giulio Alberoni successfully arranged the marriage between Philip and the ambitious Elisabeth Farnese, niece and stepdaughter of Francesco Farnese, Duke of Parma. Elisabeth and Philip married on 24 December 1714; she quickly proved a domineering consort, and influenced King Philip to make Cardinal Giulio Alberoni the Prime Minister of Spain in 1715. In 1716, Elisabeth gave birth to the Infante Charles of Spain at the ''Real Alcázar of Madrid''. He was fourth in line to the Spanish throne, after three elder half-brothers: the Infante Luis, Prince of Asturias (who ruled briefly as Louis I of Spain before dying in 1724), the Infante Felipe (who died in 1719), and Ferdinand (the future Ferdinand VI). Because the Duke Francesco of Parma and his heir were childless, Elisabeth sought the duchies of Parma and Piacenza for Charles. She also sought for him the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, because Gian Gastone de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1671–1737) was also childless. He was a distant cousin of hers, related via her great-grandmother Margherita de' Medici, giving Charles a claim to the title through that lineage. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Charles III of Spain」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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