Ferdinand VII 1784-1833
King of Spain

He was born in Escorial, near Madrid, the eldest son of Charles IV and Marie Luisa of Parma, who banished him from Madrid (1807). When Napoleon I invaded Spain (1808), Charles abdicated in favour of Ferdinand, but he was replaced by Napoleon's brother Joseph Bonaparte. For six years he lived in exile on the estate of the French Foreign Minister, Talleyrand, at Valen�ay, where the treaty was signed with Napoleon (1813) that restored him to the throne. In 1820 a revolution obliged him to recognize Napoleon's liberal Constitution of Cadiz (1812) but repressive absolutism was reinstated three years later and lasted until his death (1833), which signalled the outbreak of the first Carlist war (1833-39). By 1826 all the Spanish possessions in the USA had gained their independence.