Bourbon (b
rbôN`), European royal family, originally of France; a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. One branch of the Bourbons occupies the modern Spanish throne, and other branches ruled the Two Sicilies and Parma. It takes its name from the now ruined castle of Bourbon, at Bourbon-l'Archambault, Allier dept., which was the seat of a powerful family descended from Adhémar, a noble of the 9th cent.
The French Bourbons
Robert of Clermont, sixth son of Louis IX of France, married (1272) Beatrice, heiress of Bourbon, and is considered the founder of the line. Robert's son, Louis, was created (1327) 1st duc de Bourbon. The ducal title remained with the descendants of his eldest son until 1527, when Charles, duc de Bourbon, died without issue. Because of his treason, his extensive fiefs were seized by the crown and the ducal title was discontinued.
A younger son of Louis, 1st duc de Bourbon, gave issue to the line of Bourbon-Vendôme. The marriage (1548) of Antoine de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme, with Jeanne d'Albret added vast territories in S France (see Albret Albret (älbrā`), former duchy, SW France, in the Landes of Gascony.
..... Click the link for more information. ) and the title king of Navarre to his other fiefs (Vendôme, Périgord, Rouergue). From Antoine's brother, Louis I de Condé, the houses of Condé Louis I de Bourbon, prince de Condé, 1530–69, Protestant leader and general. He fought the Spanish at Metz (1552) and Saint-Quentin (1557) but won little favor at court.
..... Click the link for more information. and Conti Armand de Bourbon, prince de Conti, 1629–66, son of Henry II de Condé (see under Condé , family) and brother of Louis II de Bourbon, prince de Condé, with whom he was in rivalry.
..... Click the link for more information. were issued.
Antoine's son became (1589) the first Bourbon king of France as Henry IV Henry IV, 1553–1610, king of France (1589–1610) and, as Henry III, of Navarre (1572–1610), son of Antoine de Bourbon and Jeanne d'Albret ; first of the Bourbon kings of France.
..... Click the link for more information. , the older branches of Louis IX's issue having become extinct (see Valois Valois (välwä`), royal house of France that ruled from 1328 to 1589.
..... Click the link for more information. ). Henry IV was succeeded by his son, Louis XIII, and his grandson, Louis XIV. Louis XIV's descendants ruled France (except during the French Revolution and the Napoleonic era, 1792–1814) until the deposition (1830) of Charles X (see France France (frăns, Fr. fräNs), officially French Republic, republic (2005 est. pop. 60,656,000), 211,207 sq mi (547,026 sq km), W Europe.
..... Click the link for more information. ). With the death (1883) of Henri, comte de Chambord Chambord, Henri Charles Ferdinand Marie Dieudonné, comte de
..... Click the link for more information. , grandson of Charles X, the senior French branch of Bourbon came to an end. From Louis XIV's brother Philip the cadet branch of Bourbon-Orléans (see Orléans Philippe I, duc d'Orléans, 1640–1701, a brother of King Louis XIV. A notorious libertine, Philippe was excluded from participation in state affairs, though he fought in the Dutch War and won the victory of Cassel (1677).
..... Click the link for more information. , family) is issued; it furnished one king, Louis Philippe (1830–48), and inherited the claim to the French crown in 1883.
The Spanish Bourbons
The line of Bourbon-Spain, or Borbón, began with the accession (1700) of Philip V Philip V, 1683–1746, king of Spain (1700–1746), first Bourbon on the Spanish throne. A grandson of Louis XIV of France, he was titular duke of Anjou before Charles II of Spain designated him as his successor.
..... Click the link for more information. , a grandson of Louis XIV, to the Spanish throne. He was succeeded by Ferdinand VI, Charles III, Charles IV, and Ferdinand VII Ferdinand VII, 1784–1833, king of Spain (1808–33), son of Charles IV and María Luisa . Excluded from a role in the government, he became the center of intrigues against the chief minister Godoy and attempted to win the support of Napoleon I.
..... Click the link for more information. . Ferdinand VII set aside the Salic law of succession, introduced into Spain by Philip V, in favor of his daughter, Isabella II Isabella II, 1830–1904, queen of Spain (1833–68), daughter of Ferdinand VII and of Maria Christina . Her uncle, Don Carlos , contested her succession under the Salic law , and thus the Carlist Wars began (see Carlists ).
..... Click the link for more information. . Her succession was contested by supporters (see Carlists Carlists, partisans of Don Carlos (1788–1855) and his successors, who claimed the Spanish throne under the Salic law of succession, introduced (1713) by Philip V.
..... Click the link for more information. ) and descendants of Don Carlos, second son of Charles IV.
Relative order was reestablished after Isabella's son was proclaimed (1874) king as Alfonso XII. His son, Alfonso XIII, was deposed in 1931 and died in exile in 1941. His marriage (1906) with Victoria of Battenberg Battenberg (băt`ənbûrg)
..... Click the link for more information. introduced hemophilia hemophilia (hē'məfĭl`ēə,–fēl`yə)
..... Click the link for more information. into his family. His first and fourth sons both died. His second son, Jaime, renounced his right of succession, which fell to Alfonso's third son, Don Juan, who was free from the disease. His son Juan Carlos Juan Carlos I (hwän kär`lōs), 1938–, king of Spain (1975–), b. Rome.
..... Click the link for more information. , who married Princess Sophia of Greece, was chosen by Spanish dictator Francisco Franco Franco, Francisco (fränthēs`kō fräng`kō), 1892–1975, Spanish general and caudillo [leader].
..... Click the link for more information. as his successor. Juan Carlos became king of Spain in 1975 and established a constitutional monarchy and a liberal democracy.
The Sicilian Bourbons
The line of Bourbon-Sicily came out of the Spanish line. It was founded by Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies Two Sicilies, kingdom of the. The name Two Sicilies was used in the Middle Ages to mean the kingdoms of Sicily and of Naples (see Sicily and Naples, kingdom of ).
..... Click the link for more information. , who succeeded (1759) his father as king of Naples and of Sicily when the latter became king of Spain as Charles III Charles III, 1716–88, king of Spain (1759–88) and of Naples and Sicily (1735–59), son of Philip V and Elizabeth Farnese . Recognized as duke of Parma and Piacenza in 1731, he relinquished the duchies to Austria after Spain reconquered (1734) Naples
..... Click the link for more information. . His great-grandson, Francis II, was deposed in 1860.
The Parma Bourbons
The house of Bourbon-Parma was established (1748) in the duchy of Parma Parma (pär`mä), city (1991 pop. 170,520), capital of Parma prov.
..... Click the link for more information. and Piacenza by Philip, a younger son of Philip V of Spain and Elizabeth Farnese Elizabeth Farnese (färnā`sā)
..... Click the link for more information. of Parma. Robert, fifth duke of the line, was deposed in 1859. Among his numerous children were Empress Zita Zita (zē`tə, Ger. tsē`tä), 1892–1989, last empress of Austria and queen of Hungary.
..... Click the link for more information. of Austria, Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma Sixtus of Bourbon-Parma, Prince, 1886–1934, son of Robert, last duke of Parma. While serving as an officer in the Belgian army, he was the intermediary for his brother-in-law, Emperor Charles I of Austria-Hungary, in Charles's secret attempt to negotiate peace
..... Click the link for more information. , and Prince René, who married Princess Margaret of Denmark. René's and Margaret's daughter, Anne, married (1948) Michael Michael, 1921–, king of Romania (1927–30, 1940–47). His father, Prince Carol (later Carol II ), renounced his right of succession in 1925, and young Michael ascended the throne under a regency on the death of Ferdinand .
..... Click the link for more information. of Romania.
bourbon a whiskey distilled, chiefly in the US, from maize, esp one containing at least 51 per cent maize (the rest being malt and rye) and aged in charred white-oak barrels
Bourbona. a member of the European royal line that ruled in France from 1589 to 1793 (when Louis XVI was executed by the revolutionaries) and was restored in 1815, continuing to rule in its Orleans branch from 1830 until 1848. Bourbon dynasties also ruled in Spain (1700--1808; 1813--1931) and Naples and Sicily (1734--1806; 1815--1860)
b. (as modifier): the Bourbon kings
bourbon [
′bu̇r·bən]
(food engineering)
A whiskey distilled from a corn mash containing at least 51% corn, with malt and rye composing the remaining ingredients, and aged in containers made of charred oak.