Carlos III of Spain
Carlos III of Spain (Spanish: Carlos Sebastián de Borbón y Farnesio; 20 January 1716 - 14 December 1788) was King of Spain in the years 1759 to 1788. He was also the Duke of Parma and Piacenza, as Charles I (1731-1735); King of Naples, as Charles VIII; and King of Sicily, as Charles III (1735-1759). He was the fourth son of Felipe V of Spain and the eldest son of Felipe's second wife, Elisabeth Farnese. A proponent of enlightened absolutism and regalism. Having signed the Royal Decree of American Emancipation in 1783, he is known as the "Grandfather of the Americas" (Spanish: Abuelo de las Américas), due to the document granting most of the Spanish Americas independence under the reign of several of his children.
In 1731, the 15-year-old Carlos became Duke of Parma and Piacenza following the death of his childless grand-uncle Antonio Farnese. In 1734, aged 18, he led Spanish troops in a bold and almost entirely bloodless march down Italy to claim the thrones of Naples and Sicily, following the War of the Polish Succession. His success in Italy solidified his reputation as a formidable leader and adept military strategist. In 1738, he married Princess Maria Amalia of Saxony, daughter of Augustus III of Poland, who was an educated, cultured woman. The couple had 13 children, eight of whom reached adulthood, and resided in Naples for 19 years.
Carlos gained valuable experience in his 25-year-long rule in Italy, governing there until he ascended to the Spanish throne in 1759, after the death of his childless half-brother Fernando VI. His policies in Italy prefigured the ones he would put in place during his 30-year-long rule in Spain, where he embarked on a path of significant reforms aimed at modernizing the Spanish state and its territories. Carlos III was known for his dedication to the principles of the Enlightenment, which he sought to incorporate into his rule, facilitating trade and commerce, modernizing agriculture and land tenure, and promoting science and university research. He implemented regalist policies to increase the power of the state regarding the Catholic Church. He also expelled the Jesuits from the Spanish Empire in 1767 and strengthened the Spanish Army and the Navy. Although he did not achieve complete control over Spain's finances and was sometimes obliged to borrow to meet expenses, most of his reforms proved successful in providing increased revenue to the crown and expanding state power, leaving a lasting legacy.
His reign was deeply influenced by Spanish minister José de Gálvez y Gallardo, who served as the Minister of the Indies. Gálvez was instrumental in administering the widespread territorial reforms in the Americas. It was under his guidance that Carlos undertook a series of ambitious reforms known as the Caroline Reforms, within the wider Bourbon Reforms. These reforms aimed to improve governance, increase revenue, and reduce corruption in the Spanish colonies. Reforms included the restructuring of colonial administration by creating more efficient and smaller administrative units known as intendencies. Another significant reform was the promotion of free trade within the empire through the Regulation of Free Trade (Reglamento de Libre Comercio) of 1778, which lifted many restrictions on commerce between Spain and the American viceroyalties. Carlos also created the Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata in 1776, the precursor state of Argentina.
In the 1780s, Carlos dealt with the growing problem of American desires for independence and sent royal commissioner Francisco de Saavedra to travel to New Spain to inspect the situation. In the following years, he received multiple plans, such as those of Gálvez, the Count of Floridablanca, and that of the Count of Aranda. The latter plan was embraced by Carlos, proposing the creation of three new American monarchies governed by the children of Carlos, while other parts of the American continent would remain under his dominion, such as Cuba, Argentina, and the Antilles. In 1785, Carlos approved the Royal Decree of American Emancipation, and the new monarchs would begin their reigns between late 1788 and early 1789. Carlos, however, would not live to see or hear of the completion of this plan, as he died only two days after the arrival of Gabriel I to New Spain.
Carlos III left a complex and enduring legacy for Spain and its former colonies. His reign is often regarded as a period of enlightened reform which breathed new life into the Spanish Empire, both in Europe and the Americas. In Spain, his efforts to reform the bureaucracy, the military, and the economy laid the groundwork for modernization. Historian Maximiliano Cevallos writes that Carlos "was probably the most successful European ruler of his generation, and arguably one of the best monarchs Spain had seen since the reign of the Catholic Monarchs".