Charles V | Accomplishments, Reign, Abdication, & Facts

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[{"p":1,"t":107009},{"p":6,"t":269851},{"p":1,"t":495422},{"p":1,"t":297370},{"p":19,"t":434996},{"p":2,"t":106686},{"p":1,"t":592619},{"p":5,"t":250853},{"p":1,"t":297181},{"p":45,"t":557573}], "sequence": 1, "topics": {} }); </script> <article class="article-content container-lg qa-content px-0 pt-0 pb-40 py-lg-20 content md-expanded" data-topic-id="107009"> <div class="grid gx-0"> <div class="col-auto"> <div class="topic-left-rail md-article-drawer position-relative d-flex border-right-sm border-left-sm open"> <div class="drawer d-flex flex-column open"> <div class="left-rail-section-content"> <div class="topic-left-rail-header text-truncate bg-gray-50 position-relative text-right d-flex align-items-center"> <div class="tlr-title px-20 py-15 text-left"> <em class="material-icons text-gray-400 d-lg-none" data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-V-Holy-Roman-emperor">Charles V</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <ul class="list-unstyled my-0" data-level="h1"><li data-target="#ref1"><div class="pl-25"><a class="link-gray-900 w-100" href="/biography/Charles-V-Holy-Roman-emperor">Introduction & Top Questions</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref326306"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Charles-V-Holy-Roman-emperor#ref326306">Early life</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref326307"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Charles-V-Holy-Roman-emperor#ref326307">Imperialist goals, rivalry with Francis I, and fight against Protestantism</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref326308"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/biography/Charles-V-Holy-Roman-emperor#ref326308">Assessment of Charles’s character</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li></ul> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-V-Holy-Roman-emperor/additional-info">References & Edit History</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/facts/Charles-V-Holy-Roman-emperor">Quick Facts & Related Topics</a> </div> <div class="tlr-media-slider pb-10 mb-30"> <a class="section-header link-gray-900 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mb-10 mx-10" 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href="https://cdn.britannica.com/32/23732-004-1DADADFE/Charles-V-detail-oil-painting-Titian-Munich.jpg" data-href="/media/1/107009/90803" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/32/23732-004-1DADADFE/Charles-V-detail-oil-painting-Titian-Munich.jpg" alt="Charles V; Titian" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/89/115089-050-59FC90D1/Charles-V-Holy-Roman-emperor.jpg" data-href="/media/1/107009/112235" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/89/115089-004-10872726/Charles-V-Holy-Roman-emperor.jpg" alt="Charles V" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/00/134400-050-7AA6414C/Charles-V-wheel-lock-pistol-stag-horn-steel.jpg" data-href="/media/1/107009/142558" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/00/134400-004-D5D66DB5/Charles-V-wheel-lock-pistol-stag-horn-steel.jpg" alt="pistol c. 1540–45" height="50" /> </a> </div> <button disabled class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-blue " aria-label="Previous"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span> </button> <button disabled class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-blue " aria-label="Next"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span> </button> </div> </div> <div class="mb-30 tlr-student-links"> <div class="text-gray-900 p-5 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-10 mb-10"> For Students </div> <div class="imagelink-with-image-on-the-side card card-horizontal tlr-img-with-side-link ml-15 link-gray-900 mb-10" > <div class="position-relative card-media" style="flex: 0;"> <a class="ilf-image position-relative" href="/summary/Charles-V-Holy-Roman-emperor"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/images/shared/default3.png?v=3.133.9" class="default " 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Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). </div> <div class="type-menu"> <label for="feedback-type" class="label mb-10">Feedback Type</label> <select id="feedback-type" class="form-select mb-30" name="feedbackTypeId" required> <option value="" selected="selected">Select a type (Required)</option> <option value="1">Factual Correction</option> <option value="2">Spelling/Grammar Correction</option> <option value="3">Link Correction</option> <option value="4">Additional Information</option> <option value="5">Other</option> </select> </div> <label for="feedback" class="label mb-10">Your Feedback</label> <textarea id="feedback" class="form-control mb-30" name="feedback" maxlength="3000" rows="7" required></textarea> <button class="btn btn-blue" type="submit">Submit Feedback</button> </form> <div class="success-messaging d-none mt-30"> <div class="title">Thank you for your feedback</div> <p>Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="md-websites-modal size-lg d-none"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif pb-15 border-bottom font-weight-bold"> External Websites </div> <div class="pb-20"> <ul class="list-unstyled mt-20 lh-lg"> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.heritage-history.com/index.php?c=resources&s=char-dir&f=charles5s" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Heritage History - Charles V</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.biblicalcyclopedia.com/C/charles-v.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia - Biography of Charles V</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.academia.edu/7080052/136325674_Charles_v_Holy_Roman_Emperor" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Academia - Biography of Charles V</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.habsburger.net/en/persons/habsburg-emperor/charles-v/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">The World of the Habsburgs - Charles V</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://museeprotestant.org/en/notice/charles-quint-1500-1558/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Musée protestant - Charles the Fifth (1500-1558)</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="md-websites-ebk-title">Britannica Websites</div> <div class="md-websites-ebk-subtitle">Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.</div> <ul class="list-unstyled bps-topic-web-sites lh-lg"> <li><a class="external" href="https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/Charles-V/273608" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Charles V - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="toc-header-marker"></div> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 js-header-ai-ask-button d-none btn-sm btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 mr-0 mr-lg-10 ml-5 ml-sm-10 ml-lg-0 p-10"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> <div class="caption alternate-titles">Also known as: Charles I of Spain</div> <div class="md-byline module-spacing "> <div class="font-serif font-12"> <span class="written-by text-gray-700"> Written by </span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/contributor/Michael-de-Ferdinandy/4302" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">Michael de Ferdinandy</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">Emeritus Professor of Humanities, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras. Author of <i>El emperador Carlos V: semblanza de un hombre </i>and others.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Michael de Ferdinandy</span></div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2025-02-10T00:00:00CST" >Feb 10, 2025</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-V-Holy-Roman-emperor/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border 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</div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Died: </dt> <dd>September 21, 1558, San Jerónimo de Yuste, <a href="/place/Spain">Spain</a> (aged 58)</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Title / Office: </dt> <dd><a href="/topic/emperor-title">emperor (1519-1556)</a>, <a href="/place/Holy-Roman-Empire">Holy Roman Empire</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/king-monarch">king (1516-1556)</a>, <a href="/place/Spain">Spain</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>House / Dynasty: </dt> <dd><a href="/topic/House-of-Habsburg">House of Habsburg</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Notable Family Members: </dt> <dd>father <a href="/biography/Philip-I-king-of-Castile">Philip I</a></dd> <dd>mother <a href="/biography/Joan-queen-of-Castile-and-Aragon">Joan</a></dd> <dd>son <a href="/biography/Philip-II-king-of-Spain-and-Portugal">Philip II</a></dd> <dd>son <a href="/biography/Juan-de-Austria">Juan de Austria</a></dd> <dd>brother <a href="/biography/Ferdinand-I-Holy-Roman-emperor">Ferdinand I</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class="facts-item-none d-none"> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Role In: </dt> <dd><a href="/event/Battle-of-Pavia">Battle of Pavia</a></dd> <dd><a href="/event/Italian-Wars">Italian Wars</a></dd> <dd><a href="/event/Peace-of-Augsburg">Peace of Augsburg</a></dd> <dd><a href="/event/Sack-of-Rome-1527">Sack of Rome</a></dd> <dd><a href="/event/Treaty-of-Cambrai">Treaty of Cambrai</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/Spanish-Inquisition">Spanish Inquisition</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/Charles-V-Holy-Roman-emperor"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> <button class="facts-list-show-more-btn mt-15 p-0 mx-auto btn font-14 d-block font-weight-normal"> <span class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></span> <span class="show-more-label">Show More</span> </button> </div><script type="application/ld+json"> { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>What did Charles V try to accomplish during his reign as Holy Roman Emperor?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Although establishing a universal empire was chief among Charles V\u2019s goals as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Holy-Roman-Empire\">Holy Roman<\/a> emperor, he was unable to do so. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Protestantism\">Protestantism<\/a>\u2019s growing momentum made it impossible for Charles to prevent the fragmentation of his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Roman-Catholicism\">Catholic<\/a> empire, and his attempts to unite Europe were further confounded by his enmity with France. He was also unable to establish profitable landholdings overseas: his attempts to conquer North Africa failed, and Spain\u2019s territories in the Americas wouldn\u2019t become lucrative until the reigns of later kings. Charles V abdicated in 1556 without achieving his goal of a universal empire." } } , { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>What were the greatest threats to Charles V\u2019s empire?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Charles V spent his reign trying to maintain the integrity of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Holy-Roman-Empire\">Holy Roman Empire<\/a> against the many forces that sought to undermine it. An emerging <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Protestantism\">Protestantism<\/a> proved to be one of the biggest internal threats. Although the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/papacy\">papacy<\/a> lent Charles V military and fiscal aid in the fight against the Protestants, it was occasionally a thorn in the emperor\u2019s side, particularly when it was allied with Charles\u2019s longtime nemesis, King <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Francis-I-king-of-France\">Francis I<\/a> of France. The biggest external menace to Europe came from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Ottoman-Empire\">Ottoman Empire<\/a>, which applied pressure from the east for much of Charles\u2019s rule. " } } , { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>Why did Charles V abdicate his rule?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : " Charles V abdicated the throne in 1556, apportioning his imperial titles to his brother <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Ferdinand-I-Holy-Roman-emperor\">Ferdinand I<\/a> and his Dutch and Spanish ones to his son <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Philip-II-king-of-Spain-and-Portugal\">Philip II<\/a>. His ill health, particularly his decades-long battle with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/gout\">gout<\/a>, was undeniably a factor in his decision to abdicate. His writings also reveal the weariness that a reign\u2019s worth of wars had instilled in him. It\u2019s unclear what his contemporaries thought about his abdication, although the writings left behind by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/St-Ignatius-of-Loyola\">St. Ignatius of Loyola<\/a> indicate that he, at least, regarded it favourably\u2014as a humble move that befit a \u201Ctrue Christian prince.\u201D " } } , { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>What lands did Charles V inherit?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Charles V inherited a vast empire that stretched from one end of Europe to the other. He acquired the Spanish throne from his parents, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Philip-I-king-of-Castile\">Philip I<\/a> and Queen <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Joan-queen-of-Castile-and-Aragon\">Joan<\/a>, and his maternal grandparents and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Burgundy\">Burgundy<\/a> through his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Mary-duchess-of-Burgundy\">father\u2019s mother<\/a>\u2014who had been the duchess of Burgundy. His claim to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/House-of-Habsburg\">Habsburg<\/a> throne came from his father\u2019s father, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Maximilian-I-Holy-Roman-emperor\">Maximilian I<\/a>. Maximilian had also been the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Holy-Roman-Empire\">Holy Roman<\/a> emperor, a seat to which one was elected. Charles V won the electoral votes necessary to secure his own claim to the empire by, among other things, touting his descent from Maximilian. " } } ] } </script> <div class="top-questions qa-accordion d-flex flex-column module-spacing"><div class="font-weight-bold font-14 mb-5"> Top Questions </div><div id="intent-accordion" class="md-intent-accordion"><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="1"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>What did Charles V try to accomplish during his reign as Holy Roman Emperor?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>Although establishing a universal empire was chief among Charles V’s goals as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Holy-Roman-Empire" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Holy Roman</a> emperor, he was unable to do so. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Protestantism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Protestantism</a>’s growing momentum made it impossible for Charles to prevent the fragmentation of his <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Roman-Catholicism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Catholic</a> empire, and his attempts to unite Europe were further confounded by his enmity with France. He was also unable to establish profitable landholdings overseas: his attempts to conquer North Africa failed, and Spain’s territories in the Americas wouldn’t become lucrative until the reigns of later kings. Charles V abdicated in 1556 without achieving his goal of a universal empire.</p></div></div></div><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="2"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>What were the greatest threats to Charles V’s empire?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>Charles V spent his reign trying to maintain the integrity of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Holy-Roman-Empire" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Holy Roman Empire</a> against the many forces that sought to undermine it. An emerging <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Protestantism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Protestantism</a> proved to be one of the biggest internal threats. Although the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/papacy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">papacy</a> lent Charles V military and fiscal aid in the fight against the Protestants, it was occasionally a thorn in the emperor’s side, particularly when it was allied with Charles’s longtime nemesis, King <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Francis-I-king-of-France" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Francis I</a> of France. The biggest external menace to Europe came from the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Ottoman-Empire" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Ottoman Empire</a>, which applied pressure from the east for much of Charles’s rule. </p></div></div></div><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="3"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>Why did Charles V abdicate his rule?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p> Charles V abdicated the throne in 1556, apportioning his imperial titles to his brother <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ferdinand-I-Holy-Roman-emperor" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Ferdinand I</a> and his Dutch and Spanish ones to his son <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Philip-II-king-of-Spain-and-Portugal" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Philip II</a>. His ill health, particularly his decades-long battle with <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/gout" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">gout</a>, was undeniably a factor in his decision to abdicate. His writings also reveal the weariness that a reign’s worth of wars had instilled in him. It’s unclear what his contemporaries thought about his abdication, although the writings left behind by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/St-Ignatius-of-Loyola" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">St. Ignatius of Loyola</a> indicate that he, at least, regarded it favourably—as a humble move that befit a “true Christian prince.” </p></div></div></div><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="4"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>What lands did Charles V inherit?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>Charles V inherited a vast empire that stretched from one end of Europe to the other. He acquired the Spanish throne from his parents, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Philip-I-king-of-Castile" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Philip I</a> and Queen <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joan-queen-of-Castile-and-Aragon" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Joan</a>, and his maternal grandparents and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Burgundy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Burgundy</a> through his <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mary-duchess-of-Burgundy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">father’s mother</a>—who had been the duchess of Burgundy. His claim to the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/House-of-Habsburg" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Habsburg</a> throne came from his father’s father, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Maximilian-I-Holy-Roman-emperor" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Maximilian I</a>. Maximilian had also been the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Holy-Roman-Empire" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Holy Roman</a> emperor, a seat to which one was elected. Charles V won the electoral votes necessary to secure his own claim to the empire by, among other things, touting his descent from Maximilian. </p></div></div></div><button class="show-more-button js-toggle-top-questions btn btn-unstyled font-14 d-flex pr-10 rounded-sm"><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></button></div></div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies multiple medialist slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100" data-type="other"><div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex"><div class="rw-track d-flex align-items-center"><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="238215" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/00/197900-050-87BC437F/Charles-V-cameo-Sardonyx-Philip-II-Leone.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/107009/238215"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/00/197900-050-87BC437F/Charles-V-cameo-Sardonyx-Philip-II-Leone.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/00/197900-050-87BC437F/Charles-V-cameo-Sardonyx-Philip-II-Leone.jpg?w=300" alt="Charles V and Philip II" data-width="1287" data-height="1600" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/00/197900-050-87BC437F/Charles-V-cameo-Sardonyx-Philip-II-Leone.jpg" data-href="/media/1/107009/238215">Charles V and Philip II</a><span>Emperor Charles V and his son Philip II, sardonyx cameo by Leone Leoni, 1550; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div></div><button disabled="true" class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span></button><button disabled="true" class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span></button></div><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref112714"></span>Charles V</strong> (born February 24, 1500, Ghent, Flanders [now in Belgium]—died September 21, 1558, San Jerónimo de Yuste, Spain) was the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Holy-Roman-Empire" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Holy Roman emperor</a> (1519–56), <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/king-monarch" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">king</a> of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Spain" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Spain</a> (as Charles I; 1516–56), and archduke of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Austria" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Austria</a> (as Charles I; 1519–21), who inherited a Spanish and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/House-of-Habsburg" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Habsburg</a> empire extending across <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Europe" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Europe</a> from Spain and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Netherlands" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">the Netherlands</a> to Austria and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Kingdom-of-Naples" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Kingdom of Naples</a> and reaching overseas to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States/History#ref77683" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Spanish America</a>. He struggled to hold his empire together against the growing forces of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Protestantism/The-expansion-of-the-Reformation-in-Europe#ref41573" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Protestantism</a>, increasing <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Ottoman-Empire" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Ottoman</a> and French pressure, and even hostility from the pope. At last he yielded, <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="abdicating" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abdicating" data-type="MW">abdicating</a> his claims to the Netherlands and Spain in favour of his son <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Philip-II-king-of-Spain-and-Portugal" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Philip II</a> and the title of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/emperor-title" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">emperor</a> to his brother <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ferdinand-I-Holy-Roman-emperor" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Ferdinand I</a> and retiring to a monastery.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker h2"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref326306"><h2 class="h1">Early life</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Charles was the son of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Philip-I-king-of-Castile" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Philip I</a> the Handsome, king of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Castile-region-Spain" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Castile</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joan-queen-of-Castile-and-Aragon" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Joan</a> the Mad. His paternal grandparents were the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Holy-Roman-emperor" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Holy Roman emperor</a> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Maximilian-I-Holy-Roman-emperor" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Maximilian I</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mary-duchess-of-Burgundy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Mary, duchess of Burgundy</a>, and his maternal grandparents were <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Isabella-I-queen-of-Spain" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Isabella I</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ferdinand-II-king-of-Spain" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Ferdinand II</a>, the Roman Catholic king and queen of Spain. After his father’s death in 1506, Charles was raised by his paternal aunt <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Margaret-of-Austria" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Margaret of Austria</a>, regent of the Netherlands. His spiritual guide was the theologian Adrian of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Utrecht-Netherlands" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Utrecht</a> (later Pope <span id="ref112715"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Adrian-VI" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Adrian VI</a>), a member of the <span id="ref112716"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/devotio-moderna" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"><em>devotio moderna</em></a>, a religious and educational reform movement promoting literacy among the masses.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In 1515 Charles came of age as duke of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Burgundy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Burgundy</a> and assumed rule over the Netherlands. His scope of activities soon widened. On January 23, 1516, Ferdinand II died. As a result, the problem of the succession in <span id="ref112717"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-Spain" class="md-crosslink ">Spain</a> became <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="acute" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acute" data-type="MW">acute</a>, since by the terms of Ferdinand’s will, Charles was to govern in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Aragon-region-Spain" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Aragon</a> and Castile together with his mother (who, however, suffered from a nervous illness and never reigned). Furthermore, the will provided that Francisco, Cardinal <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Francisco-Jimenez-de-Cisneros" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Jiménez de Cisneros</a>, who was the archbishop of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Toledo-Spain" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Toledo</a> and one of Ferdinand and Isabella’s most-influential advisers, should direct the administration in Castile. The Spanish opponents of Ferdinand who had fled to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Brussels" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Brussels</a> succeeded in having the will set aside, however, and on March 14, 1516, Charles was proclaimed king in Brussels as Charles I of Aragon and Castile.</p><a class="link-module shadow-sm d-block qa-quiz-module" href="/quiz/kings-and-emperors-part-iii-quiz" data-link-module-iframe-link=""> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/95/115195-131-5A6187D9/Napoleon-His-Imperial-Robes-Francois-Gerard-Versailles-1805.jpg" alt="Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon in Coronation Robes or Napoleon I Emperor of France, 1804 by Baron Francois Gerard or Baron Francois-Pascal-Simon Gerard, from the Musee National, Chateau de Versailles." class="rounded-sm mr-15" width="70" /> <div class="line-clamp clamp-5"> <div class="module-title bg-green">Britannica Quiz</div> <div class="font-weight-semi-bold mt-5">Kings and Emperors (Part III) Quiz</div> </div> </a><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In September 1517 he arrived in Spain, a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/nation-state" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">country</a> with whose customs he was unfamiliar and whose language he was as <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="yet" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/yet" data-type="EB">yet</a> barely able to speak. There he instituted, under Burgundian influence, a government that was little better than foreign rule. When his election as king of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Germany" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Germany</a> in 1519 (succeeding his grandfather Emperor Maximilian I) recalled him to that country after some two and one-half years in Spain, Charles left behind him a dissatisfied and restless people. Adrian, whom he had installed as regent, was not strong enough to suppress the revolt of the Castilian cities (<em><span id="ref112718"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/comunero-movement" class="md-crosslink ">comuneros</a></em>) that broke out at that point. Making the most of their candidate’s German parentage and buying up German electoral votes (mostly with money supplied by the powerful <span id="ref112719"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/Fugger-family" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Fugger</a> banking family), Charles’s adherents had meanwhile pushed through his election as emperor over his powerful <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="rival" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/rival" data-type="EB">rival</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Francis-I-king-of-France" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Francis I</a> of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/France" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">France</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker h3"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref326307"><h2 class="h1">Imperialist goals, rivalry with Francis I, and fight against Protestantism</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In October 1520 Charles was accordingly crowned king of Germany in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Aachen" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Aachen</a>, assuming at the same time the title of Roman emperor-elect. In the spring of 1521 the imperial <span id="ref112720"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Diet-of-Worms-Germany-1521" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Diet</a>, before which <span id="ref112721"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Martin-Luther" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Martin Luther</a> had to defend his theses, assembled at <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Diet-of-Worms-Germany-1521" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Worms</a>. The reformer’s appearance represented a first challenge to Charles, beginning with a sweeping invocation of his Roman Catholic ancestors, read out to the Diet. After Luther refused to recant the substance of his writings and left the Diet, Charles drew up the Edict of Worms. With it, he rejected Luther’s doctrines and essentially declared war on Protestantism.</p><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="90803" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/32/23732-004-1DADADFE/Charles-V-detail-oil-painting-Titian-Munich.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/107009/90803"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/32/23732-004-1DADADFE/Charles-V-detail-oil-painting-Titian-Munich.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/32/23732-004-1DADADFE/Charles-V-detail-oil-painting-Titian-Munich.jpg?w=300" alt="Charles V; Titian" data-width="217" data-height="300" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/32/23732-004-1DADADFE/Charles-V-detail-oil-painting-Titian-Munich.jpg" data-href="/media/1/107009/90803">Charles V; Titian</a><span>Charles V, detail of an oil painting by Titian, 1548; in the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Munich, Germany.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Gradually, the other chief task of his reign also unfolded: the struggle for <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="hegemony" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hegemony" data-type="MW">hegemony</a> in western <span id="ref112722"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Italian-Wars" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Europe</a>. That goal was a <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="legacy" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/legacy" data-type="MW">legacy</a> of his Burgundian forefathers, including his ancestor <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-duke-of-Burgundy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Charles the Bold</a>, who had come to naught in his fight against the French <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Valois-dynasty" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Valois</a> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-XI" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Louis XI</a>. His great-grandfather’s quest was to become a fateful problem for Charles as well.</p><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD7 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">After defeating Duke <span id="ref112723"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sforza-family" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Massimiliano Sforza</a> at the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Marignano" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Battle of Marignano</a> in 1515, <span id="ref112724"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Francis-I-king-of-France" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Francis I</a> of France compelled him, in the Treaty of Noyon, to renounce his claim to the duchy of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Milan-Italy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Milan</a>. The vanquished Sforza turned for help to Pope <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Leo-X" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Leo X</a> and Charles V, with whom he concluded a treaty in 1521. Despite the outbreak of war with <span id="ref112725"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-France" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">France</a>, Charles hurried back to Spain, where his followers had meanwhile gained the upper hand over the <em>comuneros</em>. Even though he granted an amnesty, the young monarch proved to be an <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="intransigent" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intransigent" data-type="MW">intransigent</a> ruler, bloodily suppressing the revolt and signing 270 death warrants. Those actions were nevertheless followed by a rapid and complete rapprochement between the pacified people and their sovereign; in fact, it was during that second and protracted sojourn in Spain (1522–29) that Charles became a Spaniard, with Castilian grandees replacing the Burgundians. There soon developed an emotionally tinged understanding between Charles and his Spanish subjects that was to be steadily deepened during his long rule. Henceforth, it was primarily the material resources of his Spanish domains that sustained his far-flung policies and his Spanish troops who acquitted themselves most bravely and successfully in his wars.</p><div class="module-spacing"> <DIV class="marketing-INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION marketing-content" data-marketing-id="INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION"><style> .student-promo-banner-wrapper { container-type: inline-size; margin-bottom: 15px; } @container (min-width: 475px) { .student-promo-banner { flex-direction: row; } .student-promo-banner-img-wrapper { margin-bottom: 0; margin-right: 10px; justify-content: flex-start; } .student-promo-banner-text-wrapper { text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; } .student-promo-banner-button-wrapper { margin-right: 0; } }</style> <div class="student-promo-banner-wrapper"> <div class="student-promo-banner d-flex flex-column align-items-center bg-blue rounded p-20"> <div class="student-promo-banner-img-wrapper mb-20 mr-0 d-flex justify-content-center"> <img class="rounded" style="max-width: 100px; min-width: 80px" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/BlueThistle.webp" /> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-text-wrapper ml-0 mb-10 text-center text-white"> <div class="h2 mb-10">Get Unlimited Access</div> <div class="h4 font-weight-semi-bold">Try Britannica Premium for free and discover more.</div> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-button-wrapper d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center ml-auto mr-auto"> <a class="btn btn-m btn-orange" href="https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=august-2024">Subscribe</a> </div> </div> </div> </DIV></div><span class="marker MOD7 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD8 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In 1522 his teacher Adrian of Utrecht became pope, as Adrian VI. His efforts to <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="reconcile" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reconcile" data-type="MW">reconcile</a> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Francis-I-Holy-Roman-emperor" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Francis I</a> and the emperor failed, and three years later Charles’s army defeated Francis I at <span id="ref112726"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Pavia" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">the Battle of Pavia</a>, taking prisoner the king himself. The victory ensured Spanish supremacy in Italy. Held in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/alcazar-Spanish-fortress" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">alcazar</a> of <span id="ref112727"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Madrid" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Madrid</a>, the royal captive feigned agreement with the conditions imposed by Charles, even taking the emperor’s oldest sister, Eleanora, the dowager queen of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Portugal" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Portugal</a>, for his wife and handing over his sons as hostages. The <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Treaty-of-Madrid" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Treaty of Madrid</a> concluding hostilities between the two countries was signed in January 1526, but as soon as he had regained his freedom, Francis rejected the treaty and refused to ratify it.</p><span class="marker MOD8 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD9 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">With the accession of <span id="ref112728"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Suleyman-the-Magnificent" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Süleyman the Magnificent</a> to the Ottoman sultanate in 1520, <span id="ref112729"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Ottoman-Empire" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Turkish</a> pressure on Europe increased once more. The sultan threatened not only <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Hungary/History#ref214181" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Hungary</a> but also those <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="hereditary" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/hereditary" data-type="EB">hereditary</a> provinces of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/House-of-Habsburg" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Habsburgs</a> that, by Charles’s agreement in 1522 with his brother <span id="ref112730"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ferdinand-I-Holy-Roman-emperor" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Ferdinand</a>, thenceforth belonged to the younger branch of the Habsburgs. When <span id="ref112731"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-II-king-of-Hungary-and-Bohemia" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Louis II</a> of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Hungary" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Hungary</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Bohemia" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Bohemia</a> was defeated and killed by the Ottoman Turks in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Mohacs" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Battle of Mohács</a> in August 1526, Ferdinand assumed his throne both as the childless former monarch’s brother-in-law and by virtue of the treaty of succession concluded in 1491 between his own grandfather and Louis’s father, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vladislas-II" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Vladislas II</a>. After that, the Turkish danger became the Habsburgs’ foremost concern on land, as it had been on the seas ever since Charles’s accession to the throne of Spain. Although Charles realized that his first duty as emperor of Christendom lay in <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="warding" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/warding" data-type="EB">warding</a> off that peril, he found himself so enmeshed in the affairs of western Europe that he had little time, energy, and money left for the task. In 1526 Charles married Isabella, the daughter of the late king <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Manuel-I" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Manuel I</a> of Portugal.</p><span class="marker MOD9 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD10 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In early 1527, instead of fighting the Turks, Charles’s Spanish troops and his German mercenaries marched against <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Clement-VII-pope" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Pope Clement VII</a>, who had been his enemy since the establishment of the League of Cognac, the pope’s alliance with France, Venice, Florence, and Milan against the emperor. Mutinous and with their pay in arrears, Charles’s forces entered the defenseless city of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Rome" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Rome</a> and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="looted" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/looted" data-type="EB">looted</a> it during the infamous <span id="ref112732"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Sack-of-Rome-1527" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">sack of Rome</a> (May 1527).</p><span class="marker MOD10 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD11 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The pope, having surrendered to the mutinous troops, was ready for any compromise. The newly started war between the emperor and France also came to a close when the mother of Francis I approached Margaret of Austria, the emperor’s aunt, through whose mediation the so-called “ladies’ peace,” the <span id="ref112733"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Treaty-of-Cambrai" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Treaty of Cambrai</a>, was concluded in August 1529. The status quo was preserved: Charles renounced his claim to Burgundy; Francis, his claims to Milan and Naples. The pope, having made peace with Charles, met him in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Bologna-Italy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Bologna</a>; there he crowned him emperor in February 1530. It was to be the last time that a Holy Roman emperor was crowned by a pope.</p><span class="marker MOD11 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD12 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In 1530 Charles, attempting to bring about a reformation within the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Roman-Catholicism" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Roman Catholic Church</a> through the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="convocation" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/convocation" data-type="MW">convocation</a> of a universal council, also tried to find a modus vivendi with the <span id="ref112734"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Protestantism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Protestants</a>. The Roman Catholics, however, condemned the <span id="ref112735"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Augsburg-Confession" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Augsburg Confession</a>—the basic confession of the Lutheran doctrine faith presented to Charles at the Diet of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Augsburg" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Augsburg</a>—and responded with the <span id="ref112736"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Confutation" class="md-crosslink ">Confutation</a>, which met with Charles’s approval. The final decree issued by the <span id="ref112737"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Diet-of-Augsburg" class="md-crosslink ">Diet</a> accordingly confirmed, in somewhat expanded form, the resolutions embodied in the Edict of Worms of 1521. That, in turn, caused the Protestant princes to close ranks in the following year in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Schmalkaldic-League" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Schmalkaldic League</a>. Faced with renewed Turkish onslaughts, the emperor granted some <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="concessions" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/concessions" data-type="MW">concessions</a> in return for armed support against the enemy. In 1532 a large army under Charles’s personal command faced Süleyman’s forces before the city of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Vienna" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Vienna</a>, but the order to give decisive battle was withheld. Instead, the emperor returned to Spain in 1533, leaving his brother Ferdinand behind as his deputy.</p><span class="marker MOD12 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD13 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">By taking up his grandfather Ferdinand of Aragon’s project of conquering <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/North-Africa" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">North Africa</a>, Charles endeavoured to undertake by sea what he had not done on land. The attempt to repulse the <span id="ref112738"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Barbary-pirate" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">corsair</a> (and admiral of the Ottoman fleet) <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Barbarossa" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Barbarossa</a> (Khayr al-Dīn) was nonetheless no more than a <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="marginal" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/marginal" data-type="EB">marginal</a> operation, since Charles’s capture of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/La-Goulette" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">La Goulette</a> (Ḥalq al-Wādī) and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Tunis" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Tunis</a> (1535) did nothing to diminish the strength of Süleyman’s position.</p><span class="marker MOD13 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD14 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">From Africa the emperor sailed to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Naples-Italy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Naples</a>, entering Rome in 1536 to deliver his famous political address before Pope <span id="ref112739"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Paul-III" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Paul III</a> and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/cardinal-Roman-Catholicism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Sacred College of Cardinals</a> in which he challenged the king of France (who had meanwhile invaded <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Savoy-historical-region-Europe" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Savoy</a> and taken <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Turin-Italy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Turin</a>) to personal combat. When Francis declined, Charles invaded <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Provence-region-France" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Provence</a> in an operation that soon faltered. Through the pope’s intercession, a <span id="ref112740"></span>peace agreement, the Truce of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Nice" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Nice</a>, was concluded in June 1538.</p><span class="marker MOD14 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD15 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Intent on suppressing the open revolt that had broken out in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Ghent" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Ghent</a>, his native city, the emperor himself went to the Netherlands. The country’s regent—Charles’s sister, <span id="ref112741"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mary-of-Hungary" class="md-crosslink ">Mary of Hungary</a>—had proved incapable of settling the conflict between herself and the city, which jealously guarded its <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="prerogatives" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prerogatives" data-type="MW">prerogatives</a>. On his arrival in February 1540, Charles revoked Ghent’s privileges, had 13 leading rebels executed, and gave orders to build a fortified castle. Once again his actions, as severe as those he had taken against the <em>comuneros</em> in 1522, were crowned by success. Toward the German Protestants, on the other hand, he showed himself conciliatory; in 1541 the Diet of <span id="ref112742"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Regensburg" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Regensburg</a> granted them major concessions, even if those were later rejected by both the pope and Luther. Although Ferdinand, having lost his Hungarian capital in August 1541, pleaded for a land campaign against <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Suleyman-the-Magnificent" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Süleyman I</a>, Charles again decided on a naval <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="venture" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/venture" data-type="EB">venture</a>, which failed dismally after an unsuccessful attack on <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Algiers" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Algiers</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD15 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD16 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">When Charles granted his son <span id="ref112743"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Philip-II-king-of-Spain-and-Portugal" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Philip</a> the duchy of Milan, the king of France, enraged because he had hoped to regain indirect control of Milan himself, rearmed and declared war in August 1542. Fighting broke out the following year, even though the pope had finally convoked, in Trent (<a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Trento-Italy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Trento</a>, Italy), the council for which the emperor had been pressing. Once again Charles’s precarious financial situation partially accounted for the failure of his plans. His finances were in a perpetually unsettled state. The Spanish possessions in the <span id="ref112744"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Latin-America" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">New World</a> were, of course, in an uninterrupted state of expansion throughout his entire reign, marked by, among other ventures, the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Mexico/The-rise-of-the-Aztecs#ref27353" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">conquest of Mexico</a> and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Peru/Discovery-and-exploration-by-Europeans#ref28007" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">conquest of Peru</a>. The gold from those possessions did not add up to any sizable sum at the time. Only in 1550 did 17 Spanish ships provide the emperor with 3,000,000 ducats and others with a like sum, the earliest significant <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="monetary" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/monetary" data-type="MW">monetary</a> transfusion from the New World. The silver mines of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Potosi-Bolivia" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Potosí</a> were not exploited systematically until the 1550s; thus, their revenue arrived too late for Charles. In 1516 Spain’s floating debt amounted to 20,000 livres; by 1556 it had risen to 7,000,000. In 1556 the exchequer owed 6,761,272 ducats. Thus, the campaign of 1543–44, inadequately financed, bogged down. It was to no avail that the French and imperial armies faced one another in the field in November 1543 and again in August 1544. As in 1532, when Charles had faced the Ottoman Turks before Vienna, neither side cared to open hostilities, with the result that the <span id="ref112745"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Peace-of-Crepy" class="md-crosslink ">Peace of Crépy</a> (September 1544) again more or less confirmed the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="status quo" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/status quo" data-type="EB">status quo</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD16 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD17 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Council-of-Trent" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Council of Trent</a> did not open until December 1545, but Paul III had earlier offered Charles men and money against the heretics. When the Protestant princes failed to put in an appearance at the imperial Diet of Regensburg in 1546, the religious and political situation turned critical once again. Charles prepared for war. In a battle that decided the whole campaign and placed his archenemies at his mercy, the emperor (who had been attacked by the German princes the previous September) defeated the Protestants at <span id="ref112746"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Battle-of-Muhlberg" class="md-crosslink ">Mühlberg</a> in April 1547. Ill much of the time, he spent the following year at Augsburg, where he succeeded in detaching the Netherlands from the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="imperial" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/imperial" data-type="EB">imperial</a> Diet’s jurisdiction while yet assuring their continued protection by the empire. Also while in Augsburg, Charles drew up his “political testament” for Philip and reorganized the Spanish court. The <span id="ref112747"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Diet-of-Augsburg" class="md-crosslink ">Diet of Augsburg</a> furthermore saw the publication of the “<span id="ref112748"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Interim-document-by-Charles-V" class="md-crosslink ">Interim</a>,” a formula conciliatory to the Protestants but retaining the Roman Catholic ritual in general. Although Charles believed that he had granted far-reaching concessions to the people and the Protestant authorities in that document, his main concern was to make the Protestants return to the Roman Catholic Church.</p><span class="marker MOD17 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD18 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">North Germany was now on the brink of revolt. The new king of France, <span id="ref112749"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henry-II-king-of-France" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Henry II</a>, was eagerly awaiting an opportunity to renew the old rivalry between the houses of Valois and Burgundy, while the German princes believed that the moment was at hand to repay Charles for Mühlberg. After a secret <span id="ref112750"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Treaty-of-Chambord" class="md-crosslink ">treaty</a> was signed in October 1551 between <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henry-II-king-of-Navarre" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Henry II</a>, <span id="ref112751"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Albert-II-Alcibiades" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Albert II Alcibiades</a>, margrave of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Brandenburg-Germany" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Brandenburg</a>, and <span id="ref112752"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Maurice-elector-of-Saxony" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Maurice</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/elector" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">elector</a> of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Saxony-historical-region-duchy-and-kingdom-Europe" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Saxony</a>, Maurice in January 1552 ceded to France the cities of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Metz" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Metz</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Toul" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Toul</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Verdun-France" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Verdun</a>, thus handing over imperial lands. When Maurice tried to capture the emperor himself, the latter barely managed to escape. He soon gathered reinforcements, but the changed political situation compelled him to ratify an agreement made between his brother Ferdinand and the rebels, according to which the new Protestant religion was to be granted <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/equality-human-rights" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">equal rights</a> with Roman Catholicism. Charles’s attempt to retake Metz that fall ended in a complete fiasco, with Burgundy <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="capitulating" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/capitulating" data-type="MW">capitulating</a> to Valois and the emperor defeated in his struggle for hegemony in western Europe.</p><span class="marker MOD18 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD19 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In order to save what he could of that hegemony, Charles, already severely racked by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/gout" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">gout</a>, tried new paths by preparing the ground for his widowed son’s marriage with <span id="ref112753"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mary-I" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Mary I</a> of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/England" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">England</a>. It looked for a while as if his great hopes were about to be fulfilled, the joining of north and south and the realization of the dream of a universal empire. But, even though Philip married Mary in July 1554, the English <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Parliament" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Parliament</a> emphatically refused to crown him. Since Mary remained childless, Charles’s hopes came to naught. After an abortive last campaign against France, he prepared for his abdication, renouncing, in 1555 and 1556, his claims to the Netherlands and Spain in favour of Philip and those to the imperial crown in Ferdinand’s favour. He disembarked in Spain at the end of September 1556 and moved to the monastery of Yuste, which he had long before selected as his final refuge, in early February 1557. There he laid the groundwork for the eventual <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="bequest" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bequest" data-type="MW">bequest</a> of <span id="ref112754"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-Portugal" class="md-crosslink ">Portugal</a> to the Habsburgs after the eventual death of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sebastian-king-of-Portugal" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">King Sebastian</a> (who was then still a child) with the help of his sister Catherine, grandmother of Sebastian and regent of Portugal. He aided his son in procuring funds in Spain for the continuation of the war against France, and he helped his daughter Joan, regent of Spain during Philip’s absence in the Netherlands, in persecuting Spanish heretics.</p><span class="marker MOD19 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker h4"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref326308"><h2 class="h1">Assessment of Charles’s character</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD20 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="112235" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/89/115089-050-59FC90D1/Charles-V-Holy-Roman-emperor.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/107009/112235"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/89/115089-050-59FC90D1/Charles-V-Holy-Roman-emperor.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/89/115089-050-59FC90D1/Charles-V-Holy-Roman-emperor.jpg?w=300" alt="Charles V" data-width="1253" data-height="1600" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/89/115089-050-59FC90D1/Charles-V-Holy-Roman-emperor.jpg" data-href="/media/1/107009/112235">Charles V</a><span>Charles V, Holy Roman emperor.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Not only the task but the man to whom it was given had a dual nature. By background and training, Charles was a <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="medieval" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/medieval" data-type="MW">medieval</a> ruler whose outlook on life was stamped throughout by a deeply experienced Roman Catholic faith and by the knightly ideals of the late chivalric age. Yet his sober, rational, and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="pragmatic" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pragmatic" data-type="MW">pragmatic</a> thinking again mark him as a man of his age. Although Charles’s <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="moral" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/moral" data-type="MW">moral</a> uprightness and sense of personal honour make it impossible to regard him as a truly <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="Machiavellian" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Machiavellian" data-type="MW">Machiavellian</a> statesman, his unswerving resolve and his refusal to give up any part whatsoever of his patrimony are evidence of a strong and unconditional will to power. More than that, it is precisely this individual claim to power that forms the core of his personality and explains his aims and actions.</p><span class="marker MOD20 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD21 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Charles’s abdication has been variously interpreted. While many saw in it an unsuccessful man’s escape from the world, his contemporaries thought differently. Charles himself had been considering the idea even in his prime. In 1532 his secretary, <span id="ref112755"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alfonso-de-Valdes" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Alfonso de Valdés</a>, suggested to him the thought that a ruler who was incapable of preserving the peace and, indeed, who had to consider himself an obstacle to its establishment was <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="obliged" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/obliged" data-type="EB">obliged</a> to retire from affairs of state. Once the abdication had become a fact, <span id="ref112756"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/St-Ignatius-of-Loyola" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">St. Ignatius of Loyola</a> had this to say:</p><span class="marker MOD21 mod-inline"></span> <blockquote><p>The emperor gave a rare example to his successors…in so doing, he proved himself to be a true Christian prince…may the Lord in all His goodness now grant the emperor freedom.</p></blockquote> <span class="marker PREMOD23 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In this last, metaphysically tinged period of his life, Charles’s freedom consisted in his conscious and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="conscientious" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conscientious" data-type="MW">conscientious</a> preparation for the <em>buen morir</em>, for a lucid death.</p><span class="marker MOD23 mod-inline"></span><span class="md-signature"><a href="/contributor/Michael-de-Ferdinandy/4302">Michael de Ferdinandy</a></span> <span class="md-signature"><a href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</a></span> </section><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":1,"pageId":107009,"pageLength":2926,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.133.9"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.133.9' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"C","adLeg":"C","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"BIO_LARGE","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":true} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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Charles V | Accomplishments, Reign, Abdication, & Facts | Britannica