The Story of Philip V

Philip The Fifth believed his power came from his grandfather Louis XIV and Charles II (former Spanish king), his predecessors. Philip had many able secretaries who made an aristocracy of merit rather than of privilege which in turn allowed Spain to centralize its government by reducing the amount of semi-autonomous states within it. Philip was a very religious king who has led many historians to conclude that he was a supporter of absolute monarchy.

It is said that for Philip to live holy to prepare for the afterlife, he promoted the reign of his son, Louis. However, Louis died eight months as king, and Philip was then advised to take the Spanish throne again. Ironically, Philip died without a confessor at his side. This is humorous because a confessor is someone who tells their sins to a priest and a preacher who offers spiritual counsel to the one confessing, and dying without a confessor reduces the chance of one being granted into heaven.

Philip V was involved in many internal matters in Spain. In 1701, war broke out in Spain over who should get the throne, called the War of the Spanish Succession. After taking part in a couple key battles, Philip V signed treaties that ended the war, and also instituted policies concerning government, economic development, culture, and revisions to the harsher terms in the treaty.

As a whole, Philip V contributed to Spain by centralizing Spain, modernizing the navy, and developing trading companies, but hurt Spain by suspending the fleet system and replaced it with register ships, which caused Spain to lose military power.

Bibliography:

Madrid the Royal Palace King Philip V of Spain. Photograph. Alamy. Accessed February 20, 2017. http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-madrid-the-royal-palace-king-philip-v-of-spain-6423036.html.

Martinez-Shaw, Carlos. “Philip v (Spain).” In Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World. N.p., 2004. http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/whic/BiographiesDetailsPage/BiographiesDetailsWindow?disableHighlighting=false&displayGroupName=Biographies&currPage=&scanId=&query=&source=&prodId=WHIC&search_within_results=&p=WHIC%3AUHIC&mode=view&catId=&u=lake19096&limiter=&display-query=&displayGroups=&contentModules=&action=e&sortBy=&documentId=GALE%7CCX3404900860&windowstate=normal&activityType=&failOverType=&commentary=.

“Philip V, king of Spain.” In The Columbia Encyclopedia, by Paul Lagasse, and Columbia University. Columbia University Press, 2016. http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/columency/philip_v_king_of_spain/0?institutionId=4977

Philip V of Spain. Illustration. Quatr.us. Accessed February 20, 2017. http://quatr.us/moderneurope/history/spanishsuccession.htm#topbar.

The Spanish King Philip V. Illustration. Felipe Rodriguez.com. 2017. Accessed February 20, 2017. http://www.felipe-rodriguez.com/Art/Museum-of-Fine-Arts-Seville/i-XSZM58Q/.

The Young King Philip V of Spain. Illustration. Menorca Britannia. Accessed February 18, 2017. http://www.menorcabritannia.org/articles/2016/The_union_flag_part%20two.php.