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In the 1550s, late in Charles's reign, gold and silver were brought back from the New World in large quantities.Ĭharles was a devoted Roman Catholic but was unable to stop the great religious and social revolution, called the Reformation, that was started by the German monk Martin Luther. Charles led a defense of Vienna in 1532 and later sailed to northern Africa to fight the Muslim pirates who raided his coast towns in Spain and Italy.Īcross the Atlantic Ocean, Charles's Spanish armies were conquering the rich empires of Mexico and Peru. The armies of Suleyman the Magnificent, sultan of the Ottoman Turks, pressed up the Danube River into central Europe. Between 15, Spanish armies defeated French forces three times before Francis gave up his claim.

The French king claimed Charles's possessions in Italy. Shortly afterward, in a vote of nobles, he was elected Holy Roman emperor as well, though he was not actually crowned until later.Ĭharles's chief rival for power in Europe was Francis I of France, who had wanted to be emperor himself. In 1519 his grandfather Maximilian died, leaving him the German Hapsburg realms. In 1517 he went to Spain for the first time to set up a court at Valladolid. He also became king of Sicily and Naples. With the death of his grandfather Ferdinand 10 years later, Charles gained control of the rest of Spain—and of Spain's colonies in the New World—as Charles I. His father died in 1506, bequeathing to him the kingdoms of Castile and the Netherlands. Charles's mother was Joan the Mad, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, king and queen of Spain. His father was Philip of Hapsburg, whose own father was Maximilian, archduke of Austria and Holy Roman emperor. 24, 1500, at Ghent in the Netherlands (now Belgium). Yet at 56 he voluntarily gave up his vast realm and retired to spend his last days in a Spanish monastery.Ĭharles was born on Feb. The first was Charlemagne, the founder of the empire, whose name means "Charles the Great." Of the other six, Charles V is especially notable for his widespread holdings and eventful reign.Ĭharles's territories stretched across most of Europe—except for England, France, and Russia—and into the Americas. Seven rulers of the Holy Roman Empire were named Charles.