Joseph Ferdinand of Bavaria
Joseph Ferdinand Leopold Anton Franz Kajetan Simon Thaddäus Ignaz Joachim Gabriel of Bavaria (born October 28, 1692 in Vienna , † February 6, 1699 in Brussels ) was Prince Elector of Bavaria . His death at the age of six is seen as a pivotal event that ultimately led to the War of the Spanish Succession .
family
He was the son of Elector Maximilian II Emanuel of Bavaria and his first wife Maria Antonia of Austria , a daughter of Emperor Leopold I and his first wife Margarita Theresa of Spain . Joseph Ferdinand was therefore a great-grandson of the Spanish King Philip IV on his mother's side .
Historical role
Before the start of the War of the Spanish Succession , Joseph Ferdinand was the favorite of England and the Netherlands for the Spanish throne and was made his heir by Charles II of Spain in 1698. With that Joseph Ferdinand would not only have become Elector of Bavaria, but also King of the Spanish Empire and would have finally been able to satisfy his father's ambitions to create a great power in Wittelsbach. His unexpected death at the age of six made the Anglo-French partition treaty over the Spanish possessions ineffective and on March 2, 1700 led to a second partition treaty between France, England and the Netherlands. Thereafter Philip of Anjou was to receive Naples, Sicily and Milan, while the remaining Spanish possessions were to pass to Karl , the son of Leopold I. However, Leopold did not accept this treaty and Louis XIV broke the treaty by enthroning Philip in Spain.
Life
Joseph Ferdinand was born in Vienna after his mother had returned to her father's court after her husband had moved to Brussels in spring 1692 and left her pregnant in Munich . She died two months after giving birth. The following spring the prince was brought to Munich in a convoy of mule litters.
He was brought up by the princess governess Comtesse de la Perousa in the manner customary for the hereditary princes at the time, had his own court as a toddler and received private lessons in playing the drums and flutes, acting, riding, hunting, fencing and courtly behavior. Because of the elector's absence, he was considered the highest-ranking person at the Munich court and was the focus of attention.
When he was brought up for discussion as a candidate for the Spanish throne in 1698, his father brought him to Brussels, to the displeasure of the Bavarian estates and the majority of the Bavarian bourgeoisie, in order to be able to prepare him for the future task. And after the Spanish king had declared him a universal heir in his will on November 14th, preparations for the proper move to Madrid began immediately, but this was not to happen again.
Since early childhood, Joseph Ferdinand suffered from toothache as well as stomach and headaches, combined with vomiting and diarrhea. On January 15, 1699, he fell ill with a minor ailment with unspecific symptoms. These worsened rapidly and after excruciating weeks of high fever, severe headache, chills, convulsions, impaired consciousness, and constant vomiting, often associated with painful choking and stomach cramps, resulted in death on the night of February 6th.
Joseph Ferdinand was buried in the Cathedral of St. Michel et Gudule in Brussels.
Cause of death theories
The detailed medical and autopsy report obtained from the head of the body physicians' college , Carl Ferdinand Vachieri , on the background of today's medical knowledge, identifies cardiovascular failure as a result of gastrointestinal inflammation as the cause of death , which ultimately results in peritonitis and, due to the constant vomiting, one extreme disturbance of the electrolyte balance. The patient also suffered from meningitis . Its type and cause can no longer be determined, since the autopsy report is limited to macroscopic findings in accordance with the diagnostic status at the time . The fact that the sick child was constantly forced to eat, often against the most violent resistance, is likely to have made the disease considerably worse, if not fatal in the first place.
The obvious presumption of a poisoning, on the other hand, can be ruled out with great probability based on the autopsy report. Corresponding rumors and conspiracy theories arose very quickly and continued well into the 20th century, with either the Vienna Hofburg or - more rarely - the surroundings of Louis XIV being accused. The rumors were favored not only by the close temporal connection between the appointment as a universal heir and the illness, but also by the undisguised satisfaction of the Viennese court. The father, Elector Maximilian II. Emanuel, seemed to believe the rumors about a Habsburg poison attack. In any case, he used them to justify his entry into the war on France's side in August 1702.
literature
- Reginald de Schryver: Max II. Emanuel of Bavaria and the Spanish inheritance . The European ambitions of the House of Wittelsbach 1665–1715. Ed .: Institute for European History Mainz (= publications of the Institute for European History . Volume 156 ). von Zabern, Mainz 1996, ISBN 3-8053-1621-6 .
- Peter Boruth: The medical history of Prince Elector Joseph Ferdinand of Bavaria (1692–1699) . Text edition with translation (= dissertation Technical University of Munich ). Munich 1985.
- Julius von Sandegg: Lectures on the history of war . Second part. Köhler, Stuttgart 1856 ( online ).
- Elisabeth Weinberger: Prince Elector Joseph Ferdinand, Prince of Asturias (1692–1699) . Children's life in a concert of powers. Ed .: General Directorate of the Bavarian State Archives (= publications of the Bavarian State Archives . Volume 37 ). State Archives of Bavaria's Small Exhibitions, Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-938831-39-7 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ludwig Hüttl: Max Emanuel. The Blue Elector, 1679–1726 . A political biography. 3. Edition. Süddeutscher Verlag, Munich 1976, ISBN 3-7991-5863-4 , p. 246 .
- ^ Hüttl: Max Emanuel . 1976, p. 250 .
- ^ Hüttl: Max Emanuel . 1976, p. 257 .
- ↑ The old Bavaria . The territorial state from the end of the 12th century to the end of the 18th century. In: Andreas Kraus (Ed.): Handbook of Bavarian History . Founded by Max Spindler. tape 2 . Beck, Munich 1988, ISBN 3-406-32320-0 , p. 490 ( reading sample ).
- ^ Adam Boost: History of the Reformation and Revolution (1517-1843) of France, England, Germany . Second division. Verlag der Matthias Rieger'schen Buchhandlung, Augsburg 1845, p. 63 f . ( online ).
- ^ Hüttl: Max Emanuel . 1976, p. 254 .
- ^ Hüttl: Max Emanuel . 1976, p. 259 .
- ↑ a b Hüttl: Max Emanuel . 1976, p. 264 .
- ↑ for example A. von Ow-Piesing: The Bavarian Prince Elector Joseph Ferdinand and the problem of his death . In: Yellow Notebooks . Historical and political magazine for Christian Germany. No. 13 . Munich 1937, p. 553-570 and 610-629 (quoted from Hüttl: Max Emanuel. 1976, p. 616 (note 678).).
- ↑ z. B. in the Bavarian Manifesto . In: Paris Archives du Ministère des Affaires Étrangères. Correspondance politique Bavière . vol. 52, 1706 (quoted from Hüttl: Max Emanuel. 1976, p. 618 (note 699).). There it is argued that the prince "before he dedicated himself to the Spanish succession" had already survived such illnesses "several times without any danger".
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Joseph Ferdinand of Bavaria |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Joseph Ferdinand Leopold Anton Franz Kajetan Simon Thaddäus Ignaz Joachim Gabriel of Bavaria |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Prince Elector of Bavaria; designated heir to the throne of Spain |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 28, 1692 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Vienna |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 6, 1699 |
| Place of death | Brussels , Spanish Netherlands |