Charles V

The Emperor of Spain, Aragon, the Netherlands, Burgundy and the Holy Roman Empire

Emperor Charles V Habsburg

Charles V was the ruler of both the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and the Spanish Empire (as Charles I of Spain) from 1516, as well as of the lands of the former Duchy of Burgundy from 1506. Charles was the heir of three of Europe's leading dynasties: Valois of Burgundy, Habsburg of Austria, and Trastámara of Spain. As the heir of the House of Burgundy, he inherited areas in the Netherlands and around the eastern border of France. As a Habsburg, he inherited Austria and other lands in central Europe, and was also elected to succeed his grandfather, Maximilian I, as Holy Roman Emperor. As a grandson of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, from the Spanish House of Trastámara he inherited the Crown of Castile, which was developing a colony in the Caribbean, and the Crown of Aragon, which included a Mediterranean empire extending to southern Italy. Charles was the first king to rule Castile and Aragon simultaneously in his own right (as a unified Spain), and as a result, he is often referred to as the first king of Spain. This power led to massive paranoia by the French, who tried to take a massive hold on the Italian states but was ousted in 1516, sparking a rivalry between the Spanish Empire and the French Kingdom. In 1520, he traveled to Cádiz after receiving word from a Spanish Captain that the heir of a powerful clan in Ocrea wants him to meet her at their nearest port. He then ordered the Captain to guide her to the port city. When the enormous ship arrived, Charles was noted to be in utter shock at the mysterious ship that docked at his port. Takeda Shajin introduced herself to the Emperor and gifted him all the items within the ship, including a "blue cat" as a pet and hundreds of cherry blossom seeds to be planted in Toledo. Later, he signed a treaty that forged the alliance and trade agreement with the entire Shajin clan, allowing them to build an embassy in Cádiz and gaining a foothold on the continent of Ocrea. Charles even awarded Hernán Cortés the official title of Lord over all lands in Ocrea, including the Caribbean, and allowed him to openly recruit soldiers from his armies for his second expedition into Ocrea, as well as the purchase of thousands of matchlock muskets and cannons on his request - which almost bankrupted Cortés.