Charles V

Charles V may refer to:

See also

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V (French: Charles Quint; German: Karl V.) (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558), also known as Charles I of Spain (Spanish: Carlos I), was Duke of Burgundy and ruler of the Netherlands from 1506, ruler of the Spanish Empire from 1516 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1519, until he voluntarily stepped down from these and other positions by a series of abdications between 1554 and 1556. Through inheritance, he brought together under his rule extensive territories in central, western, and southern Europe, and the Spanish colonies in the Americas and Asia. As a result, his domains spanned nearly four million square kilometers, and were the first to be described as "the empire on which the sun never sets".

Charles was the heir of three of Europe's leading dynasties: the Houses of Habsburg, Valois-Burgundy and Trastámara. From his own dynasty, the Habsburgs, he inherited Austria and other lands in central Europe. He was also elected to succeed his Habsburg grandfather, Maximilian I as Holy Roman Emperor, a title held by the Habsburgs since 1440. He inherited the Burgundian Netherlands and the Franche-Comté as heir of the House of Valois-Burgundy. From the Spanish House of Trastámara, he inherited the crowns of Castile, which was in the process of developing a nascent empire in the Americas and Asia, and Aragon. The latter included a Mediterranean empire that extended to Southern Italy. Charles was the first king to rule Castile and Aragon simultaneously in his own right, and, as a result, is sometimes referred to as the first King of Spain. The personal union, under Charles, of the Holy Roman Empire with the Spanish empire resulted in the closest Europe would come to a universal monarchy in the post-classical era.

Charles V of France

Charles V (21 January 1338 – 16 September 1380), called the Wise (French: "le Sage"), was a monarch of the House of Valois who ruled as King of France from 1364 to his death.

In 1349, as a young prince, Charles received from his grandfather King Philip VI the province of Dauphiné to rule. This allowed him to bear the title "Dauphin" until his coronation, which led to the integration of the Dauphiné into the crown lands of France. After 1350, all heirs apparent of France bore the title of Dauphin until their coronation.

Charles became regent of France when his father John II was captured by the English at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356. To pay the ransom, Charles had to raise taxes and deal with the hostility of the nobility, led by Charles the Bad, King of Navarre; the opposition of the French bourgeoisie, which was channeled through the Estates-General led by Etienne Marcel; and with peasant revolts known as Jacqueries. Charles overcame all of these rebellions, but in order to liberate his father, he had to conclude the Treaty of Brétigny in 1360, in which he abandoned large portions of south-western France to Edward III of England and agreed to pay a huge ransom.