Charles was born in Ghent in 1500

Son of Joanna THE MAD and Philip THE HANDSOME.

He forged an empire in which “the sun never set”.

Upon the death of his grandfather, Ferdinand the Catholic, Charles arrived in Spain from the NETHERLANDS to become King of Spain as co-monarch of the Spanish kingdoms with his mother. CARDINAL CISNEROS WAS REGENT OF CASTILE UNTIL HIS ARRIVAL.

In 1518, the courts of Castile and Aragon were convened to swear in Charles as their king.

Upon the death of his grandfather Maximilian I, Charles was crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

This appointment led to repeated confrontations with the king of France, Francis I.

As a result, Charles agreed to form an alliance with Henry VIII of England.

WHILE Charles V WAS AWAY FROM THE PENINSULA, the discontent of the kingdoms of Spain grew DUE TO THE APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGNERS TO POWERFUL GOVERNMENT POSITIONS AND THE USE OF THE CASTILIAN TREASURY TO DEFRAY THE EMPIRE’S EXPENSES, sparking three significant revolts: The War of the Communities of Castile (Revolt of the Comuneros), the Revolt of the Brotherhoods in Valencia and Francis I’s attempt to invade the kingdom of Navarre; CONFLICTS WHICH HE WON.

There were also several open fronts in Europe AGAINST HIM: SUCH AS the constant battles against the French king; the religious issue of Protestantism; the Ottoman Empire of Suleiman, and the League of Cognac.
TO CONFRONT THESE MATTERS, Charles V allied himself with Portugal by arranging the marriage of his sister Catherine to King John II and HE HIMSELF MARRIED Princess Isabella OF PORTUGAL.
THE SACK OF ROME BY REBELLIOUS IMPERIAL TROOPS WAS UNDERTAKEN AGAINST the League of Cognac.

Once the wars in Italy were over, Charles V was ratified and crowned emperor by Pope Clement VII.
In 1532, Suleiman would lead another campaign against Vienna, but Charles V rallied all the Catholic and Protestant Christians to march against the Turk, who, AWARE OF WHAT HE WAS UP AGAINST, RETREATED WITHOUT BATTLE.

The Turkish conflict RESURGED, this time, in the Mediterranean with the pirate Barbarossa (Redbeard) who had taken Tunisia and was ravaging Italy from Algiers. In a fresh crusade, the emperor conquered several of his enclaves, but Barbarossa managed to escape from the imperial troops.
THE FRESH ATTEMPT TO REVIVE THE CRUSADE, TWO YEARS LATER, WITH THE CAPTURE OF ALGIERS, WAS A HEAVY BLOW FOR THE IMPERIAL FORCES.
Charles V had help from the Old Tercios, among others, as the problems were now LOOMING over northern Europe, with the formation of a league that brought together all the Protestant princes.

AT THIS TIME, THE CATHOLIC CHURCH CONVENED THE COUNCIL OF TRENT AGAINST PROTESTANTISM.
IN 1547, CHARLES V DEFEATED THE PROTESTANT LEAGUE, OR SCHMALKALDIC LEAGUE, IN THE BATTLE OF MÜHLBERG, IMMORTALIZED BY THE PAINTER TITIAN.

Under his REIGN, the great feat of the first round-the-world voyage of Magellan and Juan Sebastian Elcano was undertaken AND MEXICO, PERU AND OTHER AMERICAN TERRITORIES WERE CONQUERED.
With regard to the succession of the emperor and, in the wake of the death of Joanna the Mad, the Holy Roman Empire would remain in the hands of his brother Ferdinand, and Spain IN THOSE OF his son Philip II WITH the territories of America, Italy and the Low Countries.

FOLLOWING HIS ABDICATION, the emperor retired to the monastery of YUSTE in Extremadura, where he died at the age of 58.