Ferdinand VI of Spain

Born 23 September 1713, Ferdinand was the son of Philip V and Maria Luisa, third in the Bourbon line to rule Spain. He took the throne on 9 July 1746 when his father died, inheriting a kingdom still scarred by dynastic war. In 1749 he ordered a general roundup of Spain's Roma population; 9,000 were imprisoned. Beyond that, his reign was defined by what he avoided: he kept Spain neutral, clear of the European conflicts that had bled it dry in previous decades. Moderate reforms followed — taxation adjusted, commerce encouraged, the navy rebuilt, freemasonry banned. By the late 1750s, mental inst…