Philip V of Spain

Philip V (Spanish: Felipe V; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746), known as "the Spirited" (el Animoso), was king of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724 and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign (45 years, 9 months and 8 days) is the longest in the history of the Spanish monarchy, surpassing Philip IV. Although his ascent to the throne precipitated the War of the Spanish Succession, Philip V instigated many important reforms in Spain, most especially the centralization of power of the monarchy and the suppression of regional privileges, via the Nueva Planta decrees, and restructuring of the administration of the Spanish Empire on the Iberian Peninsula and its overseas regions.

Philip was born into the French House of Bourbon during the reign of his paternal grandfather King Louis XIV. He was the second son of Louis, Grand Dauphin, and was third in line to the French throne after his father and his elder brother, Louis, Duke of Burgundy. Philip was not expected to become a monarch, but his great-uncle King Charles II of Spain was childless. Philip's father had a strong claim to the Spanish throne, but since he and his elder brother were expected to inherit the French throne, Charles named Philip as his heir in his will. Philip succeeded in 1700 as the first Spanish monarch of the House of Bourbon.

Philip's accession in Spain provoked the 13-year War of the Spanish Succession, which continued until the Treaty of Utrecht forbade any future possibility of unifying the French and Spanish crowns while confirming his accession to the throne of Spain. While Spain maintained its empire in the New World and East Asia, it removed the Spanish Netherlands and Spanish-controlled territories in Italy from the Spanish monarchy, even if the latter were reconquered as additional Bourbon kingdoms during his reign. In 1724, Philip abdicated in favor of his eldest son, Louis I. Louis died later that year, and Philip took the throne again. As a result of his proneness to depression, his second wife, Elisabeth Farnese, held control over the Spanish government. When Philip died in 1746, he was succeeded by his second son, Ferdinand VI.