306 General History of Europe Empire was nearly defunct, and, in the memorable words of Vol- taire, it had ceased to be either holy, or Roman, or an empire. 516. Maximilian and the Hapsburg Marriages. While still a very young man, Maximilian I married Mary of Burgundy, the heiress to the Burgundian realms, which included what we now call Holland and Belgium and portions of eastern France. In this way the House of Austria got a hold on the shores of the North Sea. Mary died in 1482, and her lands were inherited by her infant son, Philip. Maximilian's next matrimonial move was to arrange a marriage between the young Philip and the daughter and heiress of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. 517. Charles and his Possessions. Philip, Maximilian's son, died in 1506, six years after his eldest son, Charles, was born, and his poor wife, Joanna, became insane with grief and was thus incapacitated for ruling. So Charles could look forward to an unprecedented accumulation of glorious titles as soon as his grandfathers, Maximilian of Austria and Ferdinand of Aragon, should pass away. 1 He was soon to be duke of Brabant, mar- grave of Antwerp, count of Holland, archduke of Austria, count of Tyrol, king of Castile, Aragon, and Naples, 2 and of the vast Spanish possessions in America to mention a few of his more important titles. On the death of his grandfather Ferdinand of Aragon, Charles, a boy of sixteen, became the first " King of Spain," and many were his difficulties in controlling the formerly independent monarchies of which Spain had been built up. 518. Charles elected Emperor (1519). But still further and more perplexing problems were to face Charles before he was i Austria Burgundy Castile Aragon Naples, etc. (America) Maximilian I = Mary (d. 1482) Isabella = Ferdinand (d. 1516) (d. 1519) dau. of Charles (d. 1504) the Bold (d. 1477) Philip (d. 1506) Joanna the Insane (d. 1555) Charles V (d. 1558) Ferdinand (d. 1564) = Anna, heiress to kingdoms Emperor, 1519-1556 Emperor, 1556-1564 of Bohemia and Hungary 2 Naples and Sicily were in the hands of the king of Aragon at this time.
