Charles I
King Charles I
Charles Louis was the first King of Argentina from the proclamation of the Kingdom in 1828 until his abdication in 1864. His cousin, Ferdinand VII of Spain originally attempted to block the appointment. In order to secure his appointment, Argentina surrendered the Cisplatin region to Brazil in exchange for Brazilian and American support. He was an aloof ruler, preferring to tour rather than to rule. Because of this, the Royal Parliament and the Prime Minister did much of the governing. Requiring a more hands on and active monarch for the war with Paraguay, the Parliament voted for his abdication in favor of his grandson, Robert I. During his reign, he sold much of the unclaimed land to Italian nobles, negotiated the Partition of Charcas in which Argentina gained the mines on the coast, and expanded the borders to the tip of the continent.
Having Previously served ass Duke of Parma, Duke of Lucca, and breifly as King of Etruria during Napoleon, he was overthrown from his Duchies in Italy in absentia in 1830. He attempted to send troops to reassert control, but was initially blocked by the Congress of Argentina. The Duchies of Lucca and Parma were subsequntly annexed by the ambitious Francis IV, Duke of Modena. Upon the exile and later assassination of his son, Prince Charles di Borbone, he overruled Congress and attempted to rule the defunct Duchy from afar.
He also gave refuge to Italian nobles fleeing the ensuing civil war, offering land and titles corresponding to their Italian ranks. Italian became the lingua franca of the Argentine nobility, as well as a second official language of the country along with Spanish.
Social
Reign
1828 - 1864
Family Ties
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Previously Held Ranks & Titles
Life
1799
1883
84 years old
Family
Children
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