Ferdinand VII

Ferdinand VII (Spanish: Fernando VII; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was King of Spain and the Indies during the early 19th century, and king of the Spains during the Spanish liberal period. He reigned as a prisoner of Napoleon, in absentia, or without effective sovereignty during the periods of Spanish liberalism, 1808–1813 and 1820–1823 (Trienio Liberal). Before 1813, he was known as el Deseado (the Desired), and after, as el Rey Felón (the Criminal King). Born in Madrid at El Escorial, Ferdinand was heir apparent to the Spanish throne in his youth. Following the 1808 Tumult of Aranjuez, he ascended the throne. That year, Napoleon overthrew him; he linked his monarchy to counter-revolution and reactionary policies that produced a deep rift in Spain between his forces on the right and liberals on the left. Back in power in December 1813, he re-established the absolutist monarchy and rejected the liberal constitution of 1812. A revolt in 1820 led by Rafael del Riego forced him to restore the constitution, starting the Liberal Triennium, a three-year period of liberal rule. In 1823, the Congress of Verona authorised a successful French intervention, restoring him to absolute power for the second time. He suppressed the liberal press from 1814 to 1833, jailing many of its editors and writers. Under his rule, the liberal revolution took place throughout the Spanish Empire; Spanish America obtained its independence and Spain entered into a large-scale civil war upon his death. His political legacy has remained contested since his death; some historians regard him as incompetent, despotic, and short-sighted.