Manuel Godoy in the context of "Tumult of Aranjuez"

Charles IV (Spanish: Carlos Antonio Pascual Francisco Javier Juan Nepomuceno José Januario Serafín Diego de Borbón y Sajonia; 11 November 1748 – 20 January 1819) was King of Spain and ruler of the Spanish Empire from 1788 to 1808.

The Spain inherited by Charles IV gave few indications of instability, but during his reign, Spain entered a series of disadvantageous alliances and his regime constantly sought cash to deal with the exigencies of war. He detested his son and heir Ferdinand, who led the unsuccessful El Escorial Conspiracy and later forced Charles's abdication after the Tumult of Aranjuez in March 1808, along with ousting Charles's widely hated first minister Manuel Godoy. Summoned to Bayonne by Napoleon Bonaparte, who forced Ferdinand VII to abdicate, Charles IV also abdicated, paving the way for Napoleon to place his elder brother Joseph Bonaparte on the throne of Spain. The reign of Charles IV turned out to be a major negative turning point in Spanish history.

The Treaty of Fontainebleau was a secret agreement signed on 27 October 1807 in Fontainebleau, France between King Charles IV of Spain and the French Emperor Napoleon. Under the treaty, the House of Braganza was to be driven from the Kingdom of Portugal with the country subsequently divided into three regions, the north and south to be ruled by Louis II, King of Etruria and Spanish minister Manuel Godoy respectively, while the provinces of Beira, Tras-os-Montes and Portuguese Estremadura would remain in abeyance until a later peace. Within seven months the government of Spain had collapsed and two Spanish kings abdicated. In August 1808 Napoleon imposed his brother Joseph as King of Spain.

Negotiated and agreed between Don Eugenio Izquierdo [es], plenipotentiary of Charles IV, and Marshal Géraud Duroc as the representative of Napoleon, the accord contained 14 articles along with supplementary provisions relating to troop allocations for the planned invasion of Portugal.

The Treaty of Aranjuez (1801) was signed on 21 March 1801 between France and Spain. It confirmed a previous secret agreement in which Spain agreed to exchange Louisiana for territories in Tuscany. The treaty also stipulated Spain's cession of Louisiana to be a "restoration", not a retrocession.

Napoleon wanted Louisiana as the hub of a new French empire in North America, to replace that lost after the 1763 Treaty of Paris. While Spanish chief minister Manuel Godoy was happy to transfer the territory, he demanded six French ships of the line and compensation in Italy to make it politically acceptable to Charles IV of Spain.

Maria Luisa of Parma (Luisa Maria Teresa Anna; 9 December 1751 – 2 January 1819) was, by marriage to King Charles IV of Spain, Queen of Spain from 1788 to 1808 leading up to the Peninsular War. Her relationship with Manuel Godoy and influence over the King made her unpopular among the people and aristocrats. She was rivals with the Duchess of Alba and the Duchess of Osuna. The death of her daughter-in-law Princess Maria Antonia of Naples and Sicily, whom she disliked, was said to be the result of poisoning by the Queen.