Ferdinand also founded the university of Salamanca. He was preparing an expedition against the Moors in Africa when he died in 1252, leaving ten sons, of whom the eldest, Alfonso X., succeeded him.—F. M. W.
Ferdinand IV. of Castile and Leon, succeeded his father, Sancho IV., while yet a minor, in 1295. His mother, Maria, administered the kingdom and maintained his rights against several opposing claimants. On coming of age in 1300, he carried on the long-standing wars against the Moors, and expelled them from Gibraltar; but he made disadvantageous treaties with the kings of Arragon and Murcia. He died at the age of twenty-four in 1312. It is said that two men named Carvajal, whom he sentenced to death for an alleged murder, summoned him to meet them before the supreme judgment-seat within thirty days; at the expiration of that term he was found dead in bed. He was succeeded by his son, Alfonso XI.—F. M. W.
Ferdinand V. of Arragon, surnamed the Catholic, son of John II. of Arragon, was born 10th March, 1452. Such at least is the more probable date. The little kingdom of Arragon (including Sicily) was, in his early days, distracted by the feuds between King John and his son by a former marriage—Carlos, known in history as the prince of Viana—feuds which did not terminate with the death of the prince in 1461, but were finally settled by the vigour which the old king displayed at the age of eighty, in 1472. Ferdinand, after a somewhat neglected education, which he afterwards partially repaired, was married 19th October, 1469, to Isabella, daughter of John II. of Castile, and heiress by a disputed title to the throne, which fell to her on the death of her brother, Henry IV. At the time of Ferdinand's marriage, neither the bride nor bridegroom was possessed of sufficient funds to defray the cost of the preparations, and it was not for some time that the king of Castile could be reconciled to the union. The death of Henry, 11th December, 1474, imposed on Ferdinand and Isabella not only the task of vindicating the title of the latter, but the still more arduous duty of repairing the decay into which the financial and judicial administration had fallen. The Santa Hermandad (Holy Brotherhood) was a species of volunteer police, which obtained such political importance that it was afterwards suppressed. The military orders of St. Jago and of Calatrava were an important feature in the reorganization of the military power of this little kingdom. The reign of Isabella (for the sovereign authority was carefully reserved to her) was still further distinguished by the commencement of an opposition to the overweening claims of the papal see. Less laudable steps were the expulsion of the Jews, and the establishment of the inquisition. On the death of Ferdinand's father, 20th January, 1479, the crowns of Arragon and Sicily devolved upon him, thus bringing the whole of Spain under one sceptre, with the exception of the kingdom of Navarre, and the Moorish provinces of Granada. It was the conquest of these latter regions that gained for Ferdinand the title of Catholic, which his successors have since borne. The wars against the Moors were not terminated till the year 1492, when the king and queen made their triumphal entry into Granada. In the same year it was that Christopher Columbus sailed on his first voyage of discovery.—(See Columbus.) The same memorable year was distinguished by those steps on the part of Charles VIII. of France which brought his successor into collision with Ferdinand at a subsequent period; and we may also note that in the same year the first secular dramas were acted at Madrid. The death of Isabella in 1504 cast a shade over the growing glories of the monarchy. The crown of Castile descended to her daughter Joanna, married to Philip, archduke of Austria, who soon showed proofs of insanity. For the first two years after Isabella's death, the government of Castile was thrown into confusion, and for a time was carried on in Philip's name; but at his death in 1506 the regency reverted to Ferdinand. Among the subsequent events in the career of Ferdinand was the conquest of Naples, which kingdom he had previously agreed to divide with Louis XII. of France. Ferdinand thus became the third of his name on the throne of Naples. In this war the celebrated Gonzalvo de Cordova chiefly distinguished himself, but was repaid with distrust by the king. By a similar combination of diplomacy and force, Ferdinand succeeded in recovering the kingdom of Navarre, which had belonged to his ancestors. Isabella, in her will, had enjoined on Ferdinand that he should not marry a second time, in order to avoid the danger of a separation of the two crowns. He did, however, within little more than a year marry Germaine, sister of Louis XII. of France, by whom he had one son, who lived but a few hours. Ferdinand died January 23d, 1516, and his remains were interred by those of Isabella, in the Alhambra. Of Ferdinand's character we must judge by the light of his time. He was brave, vigorous, and adroit. Some have accused him of hypocrisy, but it is rather probable that he was often influenced by Isabella's lofty views without comprehending them. That he was ungrateful to his best friends is but too apparent—that he conducted himself frigidly towards Columbus is an ineffaceable stain upon his memory. He was unfaithful to Isabella while she lived, and his speedy re-marriage was looked upon as a sort of treachery to her memory. Yet it was by a character so strangely compounded that the foundations of Spain's greatness in modern history were laid.—F. M. W.
FERDINAND VI. of Spain, born 23d September, 1713, was son of Philip V. of Bourbon, whom he succeeded in 1746, being then married to Barbara, infanta of Portugal. His first efforts were devoted to the pacification of Europe, and he was a party to the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748. It was he who made use of the expression so remarkable from a Bourbon—“Peace with England, even if at the price of war with all the world;" and had his reign lasted longer, it is probable that a still closer alliance with England, under the guidance of William Pitt, might have been brought about. In European politics, Ferdinand's policy was to hold, as far as possible, a neutral position, and at the breaking out of the war in 1756 his alliance was sought in vain by both parties. Among the distinguished men who surrounded his throne, we can only name Ensenada, Carvajal, and Farinelli. Ferdinand sedulously promoted agriculture, and also had the honour of recovering, by a concordat with Pope Benedict XIV., the ancient rights of the kings of Spain to church patronage. He died in 1759, leaving no issue.—F. M. W.
FERDINAND VII. of Spain, eldest son of Charles IV. and of Maria Louisa of Parma, born at the Escurial, 14th October, 1784. Under the rule of the queen's favourite, Godoy, prince of Peace, the heir-apparent (prince of Asturias) was brought up in a manner little calculated to fit him for his future rank. His first wife (his cousin Maria Antonia ,of Bourbon, daughter of the king of Naples, married in 1802; died without issue in 1806) was an able and well-educated woman; but she became only the companion of his dependence. A plan seems to have been formed to marry Ferdinand to a sister of the princess of Peace. Ferdinand, however, was at this time not without able counsellors, especially the canon Escoiquiz.—(See Escoiquiz.) He resolved to make an effort to throw off the degrading yoke of Godoy. A document was prepared, which Ferdinand was to lay before the king, setting forth the disastrous state of the kingdom, and asking the dismissal of the favourite. Nearly at the same time (11th October, 1807), Ferdinand wrote to Napoleon, who, having recently concluded the peace of Tilsit, was at liberty to turn his attention to the peninsula. Ferdinand laid before the emperor the state of confusion into which public affairs had fallen, and in too humble terms for the heir of the Spanish monarchy asked the hand of a princess of the Napoleon family. But the watchfulness of Godoy detected the movements of the prince; his papers were seized, and an absurd charge of plotting against the lives of his father and mother was made the excuse for placing him under close arrest. A so-called confession, in which he declares himself to be "guilty," was obtained; but there is in this document no word that can justify the charge of attempted parricide. Charles IV., terrified at the menacing aspect of public affairs, was meditating a flight to America, when an outbreak among the guards at Aranjuez, 17th March, 1808, showed it was too late. The life of Godoy was in imminent danger, and only the interference of Ferdinand prevented still further excesses. On the 19th March, Charles signed a formal abdication in favour of Ferdinand; but on the 21st he recalled it, and wrote to Napoleon—who by this time was preparing an army for the subjugation of Spain—reiterating the charge against Ferdinand, and declaring that he could never ascend the Spanish throne. Napoleon, however, under the pretence that he himself was about to visit Madrid, induced Ferdinand to come to Bayonne to meet him; and after an interview which lasted but a few minutes, Ferdinand received from General Savary the intimation that the Bourbons had ceased to reign in Spain. It was, however, still Napoleon's policy to keep up the appearance of respect for the king and queen, who by
