Ferdinand VII of Spain

Ferdinand VII (Spanish: Fernando VII; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was a King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. He was known to his supporters as el Deseado (the Desired) and to his detractors as el Rey Felón (the Felon/Criminal King).

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Ferdinand VII
Portrait by Vicente López Portaña, 1814–1815
King of Spain (more...)
1st reign	19 March 1808 – 6 May 1808
Predecessor	Charles IV
Successor	Joseph
2nd reign	11 December 1813 – 29 September 1833
Predecessor	Joseph
Successor	Isabella II
Prime Ministers	See list Víctor Damián Sáez The Marquess of Casa Irujo The Count of Ofalia Francisco Cea Bermúdez The Duke of the Infantado Manuel González Salmón The Count of la Alcudia
Born	14 October 1784 El Escorial, Spain
Died	29 September 1833(1833-09-29) (aged 48) Madrid, Spain
Burial	El Escorial
Spouses	Maria Antonia of Naples and Sicily ​ ​ (m. 1802; died 1806)​ Maria Isabel of Portugal ​ ​ (m. 1816; died 1818)​ Maria Josepha Amalia of Saxony ​ ​ (m. 1819; died 1829)​ Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies ​ ​ (m. 1829)​
Issue more...	Isabella II of Spain Infanta Luisa Fernanda, Duchess of Montpensier
Names Spanish: Fernando Francisco de Paula Domingo Vincente Ferrer Antonio José Joaquín Pascual Diego Juan Nepomuceno Januario Francisco Javier Rafael Miguel Gabriel Calisto Cayetano Fausto Luis Raimundo Gregorio Lorenzo Jerónimo de Borbón y Borbón-Parma
House	Bourbon-Anjou
Father	Charles IV of Spain
Mother	Maria Luisa of Parma
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Signature

Born in Madrid at El Escorial, Ferdinand VII was heir apparent to the Spanish throne in his youth. Following the 1808 Tumult of Aranjuez, he ascended the throne. That year Napoleon overthrew him; he linked his monarchy to counter-revolution and reactionary policies that produced a deep rift in Spain between his forces on the right and liberals on the left. Back in power in December 1813, he re-established the absolutist monarchy and rejected the liberal constitution of 1812. A revolt in 1820 led by Rafael del Riego forced him to restore the constitution, starting the Liberal Triennium, a three-year period of liberal rule. In 1823 the Congress of Verona authorized a successful French intervention, restoring him to absolute power for the second time. He suppressed the liberal press from 1814 to 1833, jailing many of its editors and writers.

Under his rule, Spain lost nearly all of its American possessions, and the country entered into a large-scale civil war upon his death. His political legacy has remained contested since his death; some historians regard him as incompetent, despotic, and short-sighted.[1][2]