Tea at Trianon: The War of Spanish Succession

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

The War of Spanish Succession

Philip V and the coming of the Bourbons to Spain. According to Stephanie Mann:

Philip, Duke of Anjou and Petit Fils de France, was born at Versailles on December 19, 1683, the second son of Le Grand Dauphin of the Sun King, Louis XIV, also called Louis. Philips' older brother was Louis Le Petit Dauphin, who would be the father of Louis XV! When poor Charles II of Spain died in 1700, Philip was named as his heir. (I say "poor Charles II" because reports of his disabilities and deformities are rather horrifying.) The prospect of the Bourbon family controlling both the Kingdoms of France and of Spain was too much for the other European powers, including England/Great Britain, and thus began the War of Spanish Succession, which was fought in the North American British colonies as "Queen Anne's War."

CAROLVS II, HISPANIARVM ET INDIARVM REX said...: I invite you to my blog dedicated to the Reign of Charles II of Spain.

Best regards.; December 22, 2010 at 5:12:00 AM EST
Stephanie A. Mann said...: I mention the deformities and deficiencies of Charles II, the only surviving son of Philip IV--he had trouble speaking, eating, swallowing and was mentally disabled. He certainly had the Hapsburg lip but was disfigured. Reports indicate that he did not learn to walk until he was eight years old. His mother, Mariana of Austria served as his regent. Mariana was Philip IV's second wife and she was also his niece.; December 22, 2010 at 7:42:00 AM EST
Theresa Bruno said...: Poor thing! Its never easy to navigate the world with a disability and being in the public eye never helps.

Rest in Peace Charles II; December 22, 2010 at 6:29:00 PM EST