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Charles III of Spain
Duke of Parma, King of Naples and Sicily, King of Spain
Reign	August 10, 1759–December 14, 1788
Born	January 20, 1716
	Madrid, Spain
Died	December 14, 1788 (aged 72)
	Madrid, Spain
Predecessor	Ferdinand VI of Spain
Successor	Charles IV of Spain
Consort	Maria Amalia of Saxony
Issue	Maria Louisa of Spain Charles IV of Spain Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies
Royal House	House of Bourbon
Father	Philip V of Spain
Mother	Elizabeth Farnese

Charles III (January 20, 1716 – December 14, 1788) was King of Spain 1759–88 (as Carlos III de Borbón), King of Naples and Sicily 1735–59 (as Carlo VII), and Duke of Parma 1732–35 (as Carlo I). He was a proponent of enlightened absolutism.

Charles was the first son of the second marriage of Philip V with Elizabeth Farnese of Parma.

At the age of sixteen he was sent to rule as Duke of Parma by right of his mother; there, he came under more enlightened influence than he could have found in Spain.

On December 1, 1734 following Montemar's victory over the Austrians at Bitonto, he made himself master of Naples and Sicily by arms. Charles had, however, no military tastes, seldom wore uniforms, and could, only with difficulty, be persuaded to witness a review. The peremptory action of the British admiral commanding in the Mediterranean at the approach of the War of the Austrian Succession, who forced him to promise to observe neutrality under a threat to bombard Naples, made a deep impression on his mind. It gave him a feeling of hostility to the Kingdom of Great Britain which, in after-times, influenced his policy. In 1735, he resigned Parma to Emperor Charles VI in exchange for recognition as King of Naples and Sicily. As King of Naples and Sicily, Charles began there the work of internal reform which he afterwards continued in Spain. Foreign ministers who dealt with him agreed that he had no great natural ability, but he was honestly desirous to do his duty as king, and he showed good judgment in his choice of ministers. The chief minister in Naples, Tanucci, had a considerable influence over him. It was during his rule that the Roman cities of Herculaneum (1738) and Pompeii (1748) were re-discovered. The king encouraged the excavations and was informed about the findings even after moving to Spain.

Spanish House of Bourbon 1700-1833

Philip V Children    Louis I    Ferdinand VI    Charles III    Mariana Victoria, Queen of Portugal    Philip, Duke of Parma    Teresa, Dauphine of France    Infante Louis    Antonia, Queen of Sardinia Louis I Ferdinand VI Charles III Children    Infanta Maria Josepha    Maria Luisa, Holy Roman Empress    Felipe, Duke of Calabria    Charles IV    Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies    Infante Gabriel    Infante Antonio Grandchild of cadet line    Infante Pedro Carlos Charles IV Children    Charlotte, Queen of Portugal    Infanta Maria Amelia    Maria Luisa, Queen of Etruria, Duchess of Parma    Ferdinand VII    Carlos, Count of Molina    Maria Isabella, Queen of the Two Sicilies    Infante Francisco de Paula Grandchildren of cadet lines    Carlos, Count of Montemolin    Juan, Count of Montizón    Infante Fernando    Francis, Duke of Cadiz, King Consort of Spain    Henry, Duke of Sevilla    Infanta Maria Cristina    Amelia, Princess of Bavaria Ferdinand VII Children    Isabella II    Luisa Fernanda, Duchess of Montpensier Edit

On August 10, 1759, his half-brother Ferdinand VI died and Charles succeeded him as King. On October 6, 1759 he abdicated the thrones of Naples and Sicily in favor of his third son, Ferdinand.

As king of Spain, his foreign policy was marked by the alliance with France (the Family Compacts) and the conflict with England over the control of the American possessions. His support for France in the close of the Seven Years' War led to the loss of Florida to the British, although this was partly compensated by the acquisition of the French Louisiana. The rivalry with England also led him to support the American revolutionaries in their War of Independence despite his misgivings about the example it would set for the Spanish Colonies. During the war Spain recovered Minorca and Florida, but failed to capture Gibraltar.

His internal government was, on the whole, beneficial to the country. He began by compelling the people of Madrid to give up emptying their slops out of the windows, and when they objected he said they were like children who cried when their faces were washed. In 1766, his attempt to force the madrileños to adopt the French dress for public security reasons was the excuse for a riot (Motín de Esquilache) during which he did not display much personal courage. For a long time after it he remained at Aranjuez, leaving the government in the hands of his minister Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea, Count of Aranda. Not all his reforms were of this formal kind.

Charles was a thorough despot of the benevolent order, and had been deeply offended by the real or suspected share of the Jesuits in the riot of 1766. He therefore consented to the expulsion of the order, and was then the main advocate for its suppression. His quarrel with the Jesuits, and the recollection of some disputes with the Pope he had had when king of Naples turned him towards a general policy of restriction of the overgrown power of the church. The number of the idle clergy, and more particularly of the monastic orders, was reduced, and the Spanish Inquisition, though not abolished, was rendered torpid.

Equestrian statue of Charles III in Madrid.

In the meantime, much antiquated legislation which tended to restrict trade and industry was abolished; roads, canals and drainage works were carried out. Many of his paternal ventures led to little more than waste of money, or the creation of hotbeds of jobbery. Yet on the whole the country prospered. The result was largely due to the king, who even when he was ill-advised did at least work steadily at his task of government. He created the Spanish Lottery and introduced Christmas cribs following Neapolitan models. During his reign, the movement to found "Economic Societies" (a rough prototype Chamber of Commerce) was born.

His example was not without effect on some at least of the nobles. In his domestic life King Charles was regular, and was a considerate master, though he had a somewhat caustic tongue and took a rather cynical view of mankind. He was passionately fond of hunting. During his later years he had some trouble with his eldest son and his daughter-in-law. If Charles had lived to see the beginning of the French Revolution he would probably have been frightened into reaction. As he died on the 14th of December 1788 he left the reputation of a philanthropic and philosophic king, still nicknamed "the mayor of Madrid" because of the public works there. In spite of his hostility to the Jesuits, his dislike of friars in general, and his jealousy of the Spanish Inquisition, he was a very sincere Roman Catholic, and showed much zeal in endeavouring to persuade the Pope to proclaim the Immaculate Conception as a dogma necessary to salvation.

Silver 8 real coin of Carlos III, dated 1776. The Latin inscription reads: (obverse) 1776 CAROLUS III DEI GRATIA, (reverse) HISPAN[IARUM] ET IND[IARUM] REX M[EXICANIUS] 8 R[EALES] F M; in English, "1776 Charles III, by the Grace of God, King of the Spains and of the Indies, Mexico City Mint, 8 Reales." The reverse depicts the arms of Castile and León, with Granada in base and an inescutcheon of Anjou, supported by the Pillars of Hercules.

Charles III married Maria Amalia of Saxony (1724-1760), daughter of Augustus III of Poland in 1738. They had 13 children (of whom seven reached adulthood):

• María Isabel (6 September 1740 - 2 November 1742)
• María Josefa (20 January 1742 - 1 April 1742)
• María Isabel (30 April 1743 - 5 March 1749)
• María Josefa (6 July 1744 - 8 December 1801)
• Maria Louisa (24 November 1745 - 15 May 1792). Married Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor.
• Felipe Antonio (13 June 1747 - 19 September 1777). Duke of Calabria, excluded from succession to the throne due to his imbecility.
• Charles IV (11 November 1748 - 19 January 1819), through whom the Spanish branch of Bourbons continued.
• María Teresa (2 December 1749 - 2 May 1750)
• Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (12 January 1751 - 4 January 1825), founder of the Sicily branch of Bourbons.
• Gabriel Antonio (11 May 1752 - 23 November 1788). Married Mariana Vitória Josefa of Portugal (daughter of Maria I of Portugal) and had issue.
• María Ana (3. July 1754 - 11 May 1755)
• Antonio Pascal (31 December 1755 - 20 April 1817). Married his niece María Amalia, daughter of Charles IV. No issue.
• Francisco Javier (15 February 1757 - 10 April 1771).

• Enlightenment Spain
• Order of Charles III and Saint Fernando

• Acton, Sir Harold (1956). The Bourbons of Naples, 1734-1825. London: Methuen. 
• Lynch, John (1989). Bourbon Spain, 1700-1808. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-14576-1. 
• Petrie, Sir Charles (1971). King Charles III of Spain: An Enlightened Despot. London: Constable. ISBN 0-09-457270-4. 

v • d • e Monarchs of Spain
House of Habsburg (Philippine Dynasty excluding Charles I)	Charles I of Spain • Philip II of Spain • Philip III of Spain • Philip IV of Spain • Charles II of Spain
House of Bourbon	Philip V of Spain • Louis I of Spain • Philip V of Spain • Ferdinand VI of Spain • Charles III of Spain • Charles IV of Spain • Ferdinand VII of Spain
House of Bonaparte	Joseph Bonaparte
House of Bourbon, First Restoration	Ferdinand VII of Spain • Isabella II of Spain
House of Savoy	Amadeo I of Spain
House of Bourbon, Second Restoration	Alfonso XII of Spain • Alfonso XIII of Spain
House of Bourbon, Third Restoration	Juan Carlos I of Spain