Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Essay -- Biography, Roman Emperor

Charles Hapsburg, who later became Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, was born in the Flemish city of Ghent on February 24, 1500 (3) to Phillip the Handsome and Joanna the Mad (2). He had four sisters: Eleanor, Isabel, Mary, and Katherine. Ferdinand I was his only brother (7). His maternal grandparents were the very famous Isabel of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon who funded Columbus’s expeditions (6). His paternal grandfather was Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (7). Charles V was raised in the Netherlands without his parents (3). His aunt, Margaret of Austria raised him after the death of his father (9) due to the fact that his mother was insane and therefore incapable of caring for him (11). Adrian of Utrecht, who later became Pope Adrian VI, taught Charles V during his early years and became a mentor of sorts to him (8). Charles V married Isabel of Portugal in 1526. They were married for thirteen years and had three children named Mary, Joanna, and Phillip II (7). Charles V died on September 21, 1558 at the San Jeronimo de Yuste monastery in Spain (3) from malaria (4) nineteen years after his wife had passed away (7). Charles V gained control of the Netherlands and many other countries when his father passed away. At the age of 16, his grandfather, Ferdinand II died, leaving Charles V as joint ruler of Castile and the full ruler of Aragon, Naples, and Spanish America as well as multiple other kingdoms. The death of Ferdinand II opened the door for Charles V to become King Carlos I of Spain in 1516. In 1519 when Maximilian I died, Charles V was left with the Hapsburg domains and was elected Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (11). With all of the nations he inherited combined, his domain was estimated at four millio... ...is retirement, Charles went to live in a Spanish monastery until his death (3). Charles V essentially failed in all aspects of his universal empire plan (3). In the end, he was never able to stop the spread of the Reformation in his empire (5). Although he fell short of his own goals for his reign, people still remember him for his sense of duty, strength of will, and integrity (11). Although Charles V’s reign was not as successful as he would have liked, he is credited with carrying on the very powerful Hapsburg line. All of the children he fathered went on to continue it. His son, Phillip II, married Mary of England (7) who is also known as Bloody Mary (13). This marriage made him Queen Elizabeth I of England’s brother-in-law. Marriages of Charles V’s descendents to the royal elite of Europe assured the Hapsburg legacy for many generations to follow (7).