Don Carlos
opera by Giuseppe Verdi

AUTHENTIC EVENTS FROM SPANISH HISTORY
1527 (21 May), Philip II was born
1545 (8 July), Don Carlos was born, he was a son of Philip II and seventeen-year old Maria of Portugal, Maria died on 12 July
1556, Emperor Charles V abdicated. The title of the Emperor and Germany were passed to his brother Ferdinand I. Spanish crown was passed to Charles’s son, Philip II, including the possessions in Netherlands, Italy and America.
1566 (1 December), Duke of Alba was placed at the head of army sent to fight against revolt in Netherlands
1568 (18 January), Don Carlos is imprisoned
1568 (5 June), Count Egmont and Count Horn, leaders of Dutch nobility, were assassinated
1568 (24 July), Don Carlos died
1568 (3 October), Queen Elisabeth dies after childbirth
1572, Dutch uprising against Spain
1581, Provinces in Netherlands declare their independence
1598 (13 September), Philip II died
Even though some historians portrayed infant Don Carlos as a not too intelligent and handicapped young man who should not be given any important state assignment, it seems that Carlos was a sensitive young man who, in the dark kingdom of his father, could never feel well. In the night between 18^th and 19^th January 1568, in the Royal Court in Madrid, the king, with his sword drawn, followed by the group of nobles and a dozen guards entered the prince’s room and imprisoned him. The young price asked, ‘What is happening? Will Your Highness kill me?’ and the king said, ‘Remain calm, this is for your good’. Carlos tried to throw himself out of the window, but he was averted. His letters and documents were confiscated and he was taken to prison. King Philip tried to justify this incident in letters to other rulers and the Pope, but he revealed no information about treason, emphasizing that the young man is challenged with faults that completely prevent his eligibility to be the heir to the throne. It remains unclear if the unfortunate Infant died in prison of natural causes or if his death was yet another crime of king’s followers. Carlos had physical deformities (he was hunchback and one leg was shorter than the other), but these were not the primary reasons for his elimination.

Konstantin Vinaver