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The Spanish Bourbons: The History of a Tenacious Dynasty
The Spanish Bourbons The History of a Tenacious Dynasty Author:John D Bergamini As a generalization, The Spanish Bourbons have ruled neigher wisely or well; but their personal idiosyneracies, combined with the incredible courtiers with whom they surrounded themselves, make them one of the most arresting and intriguing royal families. Representative of them all is Felipe V, founder of the dynasty, who reluctantly forsook th... more »e elegant court of his grandfather Louis XIV at Versailles to journey south across the Pyrenees. One of his most outrageous acts was to build the palace of San Ildefonso so far from Madrid that he could have nothing to do with the affairs of state. In this gloomy and austere edifice he would laspe into catatonic silences from which he could be aroused only by crisis manufactured by his wife and his devious principle advisor, the devious Cardinal Alberoni.
His granson Carlos IV would hunt for 6 hours each day. In his absence, Spain was administered by his wife and her lover, Godoy, whose scandalous relationship was recorded by Goya in a group portrait in which the two children purportedly fathered by Godoy are the only attractive figures.
Naponeonic invasion, mistreatment, humiliation, and the reduction to a 3rd rate power continue on to the 20th century..« less