Maximilian, the German emperor, was not satisfied with securing Burgundy for his house by his marriage with the daughter of Charles the Bold. He also arranged a marriage between their son, Philip, and Joanna, the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella. Philip died in 1506, and his poor wife, Joanna, became insane with grief and was thus incapacitated for ruling. So their eldest son, Charles, could look forward to an unprecedented accumulation of glorious titles as soon as his grand-fathers, Maximilian and Ferdinand, should pass away.[257] He was soon to be duke of Brabant, margrave of Antwerp, count of Holland, archduke of Austria, count of Tyrol, king of Castile, Aragon, and Naples, and of the vast Spanish possessions in America,--to mention a few of his more important titles. [Sidenote: Charles and his Spanish possessions.] Ferdinand died in 1516, and Charles, now a lad of sixteen, who had been born and reared in the Netherlands, was much bewildered when he landed in his Spanish dominions. His Flemish advisers were distasteful to the haughty Spaniards; suspicion and opposition awaited him in each of his several Spanish kingdoms, for he found by no means a united Spain. Each kingdom demanded special recognition of its rights and suggested important reforms before it would acknowledge Charles as its king. [Sidenote: Charles elected emperor, 1519.] It seemed as if the boy would have his hands full in asserting his authority as "king of Spain"; nevertheless, a still more imposing title and still more perplexing responsibilities were to fall upon his shoulders before he was twenty years old. It had long been Maximilian's ambition that his grandson should succeed him upon the imperial throne. After his death in 1519 the electors finally chose Charles instead of the rival candidate, Francis I of France. By this election the king of Spain, who had not yet been in Germany and who never learned its language, became its ruler at a critical juncture, when the teachings of Luther were producing unprecedented dissension and political distraction. We shall hereafter refer to him by his imperial title of Charles V. [Illustration: Charles V] 131. In order to understand the Europe of Charles V and the constant wars which occupied him all his life, we must turn back and review the questions which had been engaging the attention of his fellow-kings before he came to the throne. It is particularly necessary to see clearly how Italy had suddenly become the center of commotion,--the battlefield for Spain, France, and Germany. [Sidenote: Charles VIII of France invades Italy.]