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The 17 of October of 1629 queen Elisabeth of France gives birth to her first son, the heir of Castile,Aragon,Portugal,Navarra,Naples,Lombardy,Flanders,the French-comte and the eastern and western indies.The heir of the Hispanic monarchy.

Balthasar Charles with a court imp.
During Balthasar's childhood Spain was in a constant state of war.The monarchy was fighting muslim piracy in the mediterraneum.English,French and Dutch pirates and corsairs were striking the vast possesions of the monarchy in the west Indies and targeting the Spanish convoys.And in the north Spain was fighting an unending war in the low countries and the protestant princes of the Holy Roman Empire.

Phillip was always more interested in the arts than in ruling and he left his trusted advisor the Count-Duke of Olivares. The Duke was a proud and arrogant man.He always acted like tyrant and every person that could outshine him or question his rule felt quickly out of grace,even the most capable and loyal people like Spinola.

Count-Duke of Olivares​
Olivares power was undisputed in Spain to the point that her wife was assigned to educate the young heir of the empire.Olivares influence on the prince was total.
Balthasar and Olivares had a very deep bond.They hunted together which was always one of the king's favorite hobbies. Balthasar always showed great skills in warfare and hunting.At the age of 8 he hunted a boar and some months later he killed a bull in the Retiro's festivals.This showed that Balthasar was different than his father.He never was a sensitive and his father and was more akin to Olivares than to the previous Habsburgs.He was of quick temper,arrogant,willing to take a lot of risks and very resentful of his enemies which would mark all his reing.

Balthasar Carlos and Olivares in Retiro's festival​

After the soft coup d'etat of Olivares with the Union de Armas some provinces were not happy with his administration which would lead to revolts in Catalonia,Portugal,Andalucia and Naples. In these period king Phillip tried to make Balthasar his absolute succesor so the court move to Zaragoza to get crowned prince of Gerona and to Pamplona to be named king of Navarra.In Zaragoza Balthasar got sicked with smallpox.It was almost certain that the prince was going to die but against all odds the 16 years old prince survived.The miracle of Zaragoza is one of the most defining moments of the god fearing prince.When he had fever and was about to die the king kneeled and started praying in front of the full for 2 weeks court.And after that period of weakness the prince survived and would reafirm the prince faith in God and the catholic church. This very moment would be crucial for the outcomes in the history of Europe.

The miracle of Zaragoza​
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