Mariana of Austria (d. 1696)
Mariana of Austria (Spanish: Mariana de Austria) or Maria Anna (24 December 1634 – 16 May 1696) was the queen consort of her uncle Philip IV of Spain from their marriage in 1649 until Philip died in 1665. She was then appointed regent for their three-year-old son Charles II, and due to his ill health remained an influential figure until her own death in 1696.
Her regency was overshadowed by the need to manage Spain's post-1648 decline as the dominant global power, internal political divisions and the European economic crisis of the second half of the 17th century. The inability of her son Charles to produce an heir led to constant manoeuvring by other European powers, which ultimately ended in the 1701 to 1714 War of the Spanish Succession. The Mariana Islands consisting of 14 islands in the northwestern Pacific Ocean are named after her.
1634Dec, 22
Mariana of Austria
Choose Another Date
Events on 1634
- 6Sep
Battle of Nördlingen (1634)
Thirty Years' War: In the Battle of Nördlingen, the Catholic Imperial army defeats Swedish and German Protestant forces. - 11Nov
John Atherton
Following pressure from Anglican bishop John Atherton, the Irish House of Commons passes An Act for the Punishment for the Vice of Buggery.