Ferdinand I, Duke of Parma

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Ferdinand I
Portrait by Johan Zoffany, 1779
Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla
Reign18 July 1765 – 9 October 1802
PredecessorPhilip
Successors
  • Jean-Jacques-Régis
    (Parma)
  • Charles-François
    (Piacenza)
  • Pauline (Guastalla)
Born(1751-01-20)20 January 1751
Roman Catholicism
SignatureFerdinand I's signature

Ferdinand I (Ferdinando Maria Filippo Lodovico Sebastiano Francesco Giacomo; 20 January 1751 – 9 October 1802) was

France by the Treaty of Aranjuez on 20 March 1801. He was a member of the Spanish House of Bourbon
.

Early life

Born at the

Louis XV of France and his popular wife Queen Marie Leczinska. As a grandson in the male line of King Philip V of Spain, he was created an infante
of Spain upon his father's death. As the heir to one of the largest collection of sovereign duchies, Ferdinand was an attractive candidate for many royal ladies of Europe. Probable candidates included
mother, heiress to the Duchy of Massa and Carrara, but despite being the last descendant of the Este, she was not also the heiress to the Duchy of Modena and Reggio due to the Salic law that was in force there. Ferdinand's possible marriage to Princess Maria Beatrice was, however, very unlikely since the latter had been engaged to Archduke Leopold of Austria at a very young age and later on to Leopold's younger brother Archduke Ferdinand upon the death of an older brother, Archduke Charles. It is likely that a union between Parma and Modena was only promoted in vain by Parma's minister, Guillaume du Tillot, since the engagement of Modena's princess to an Austrian Archduke was already agreed very early on. Another candidate was Louise Marie Thérèse Bathilde d'Orléans who offered a very large dowry; she was the only surviving daughter of Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléans and the sister of Philippe Égalité
.

The decision of who his future spouse would be was sealed by his mother's close correspondence with the powerful Empress

Louis XV of France
due to his liberal ideas, which were not looked upon with much enthusiasm by those at Versailles.

Reign

Guillaume du Tillot was again used during Ferdinand's reign when he lost his father in 1765 at age 14. Negotiations and ideas were passed from Vienna to Parma, and in 1769 Ferdinand was to marry Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria; the eighth child of the Empress and elder sister of the Queen of Naples and Sicily and the future Queen of France. Maria Amalia had a marriage by proxy in Vienna on 27 June and left her home on 1 July. The future duchess would meet her husband at Mantua on 16 July. His wife was with her brother Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor and Ferdinand with members of the Sforza family. On 19 July there was a formal ceremony for all at the Ducal Palace of Colorno where Ferdinand had been born. During many festivities, the couple made their official entrance to Parma on 24 July. They had nine children in just under twenty years.

A portrait of Ferdinand (c. 1765-1769). The portrait is formally attributed to Giuseppe Baldrighi, however, it was painted by Pietro Melchiorre Ferrari
A portrait of Ferdinand (c. 1765-1769). The portrait is formally attributed to Giuseppe Baldrighi, however, it was painted by Pietro Melchiorre Ferrari

Expelling the Jesuits, abolishing the jurisdiction of the Inquisition within his domains, and suppressing many redundant monasteries, Ferdinand has sometimes been classed among the more minor exponents of Enlightened absolutism.

Ferdinand ceded the Duchy of Parma to France in the

Archbishop of Salzburg
.

He died in Parma at age 51, suspected to be poisoned although French authorities cited another reason for his death, and was buried in the church of Fontevivo Abbey. On his deathbed, however, he named a regency council with his wife Maria Amalia as its head, clearly still opposing the terms of the Treaty of Aranjuez regarding his duchy. The regency lasted only for days and the Duchy of Parma was annexed to France.

Issue

Ferdinand and his wife Maria Amalia had nine children:[1]

  1. Maximilian, Crown Prince of Saxony and had eight children.[2][3]
  2. Prince Louis (5 July 1773 – 27 May 1803); married in 1795 to his cousin, Princess Maria Luisa of Spain, and they had two children.[4]
    Louis became the first King of Etruria.
  3. Princess Maria Antonia (28 November 1774 – 20 February 1841); she was engaged to a prince of the House of Savoy but he died[5] and she became a Ursuline nun in 1803 with the name of Sister Luisa Maria.[6]
  4. Princess Maria Carlotta (1 September 1777 – 6 April 1813); she became a Dominican nun in 1797 with the name of Sister Giacinta Domenica.[7][8]
  5. Prince Philip Maria (22 May 1783 – 2 July 1786); died at the age of three years due to scurvy.[9][10]
  6. Princess Maria Antonietta Luisa (21 October 1784 – 22 October 1785); died at the age of one year due to smallpox.[11][12][13]
  7. Princess Maria Luisa (17 April 1787 – 22 November 1789); died at the age of two due to pleurisy.[14][10][15]
  8. Stillborn son and daughter (21 May 1789).[16]

Ancestry

References

  1. ISBN 978-80-270-3974-6
    .
  2. ISBN 978-80-270-3974-6
    .
  3. ^ Stanga, Idelfonso (1932). Maria Amalia di Borbone duchessa di Parma 1746-1804.
  4. ^ Stanga, Idelfonso (1932). Maria Amalia di Borbone duchessa di Parma 1746-1804.
  5. ^ Botti, Ferruccio. La Principessa Maria Antonia di Borbone suora orsolina.
  6. ^ Botti, Ferruccio. La Principessa Maria Antonia di Borbone suora orsolina.
  7. ^ Spiazzi, Raimondo (1993). Cronache e fioretti del monastero di San Sisto all'Appia.
  8. ^ Stanga, Idelfonso (1932). Maria Amalia di Borbone duchessa di Parma 1746-1804.
  9. ^ Stanga, Idelfonso (1932). Maria Amalia di Borbone duchessa di Parma 1746-1804.
  10. ^ a b Justin C. Vovk: In Destiny's Hands: Five Tragic Rulers, Children of Maria Theresa (2010)
  11. ^ Stanga, Idelfonso (1932). Maria Amalia di Borbone duchessa di Parma 1746-1804.
  12. ISBN 978-80-270-3974-6
    .
  13. ^ "Parma".
  14. ^ Stanga, Idelfonso (1932). Maria Amalia di Borbone duchessa di Parma 1746-1804.
  15. ISBN 978-80-270-3974-6
    .
  16. ^ Stanga, Idelfonso (1932). Maria Amalia di Borbone duchessa di Parma 1746-1804.
  17. ^ Genealogie ascendante jusqu'au quatrieme degre inclusivement de tous les Rois et Princes de maisons souveraines de l'Europe actuellement vivans [Genealogy up to the fourth degree inclusive of all the Kings and Princes of sovereign houses of Europe currently living] (in French). Bourdeaux: Frederic Guillaume Birnstiel. 1768. p. 96.
Ferdinand I, Duke of Parma
Cadet branch of the House of Capet
Born: 20 January 1751 Died: 9 October 1802
Regnal titles
Preceded by Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla
1765–1802 		Vacant
Annexed by
French Republic
Title next held by
Marie Louise

as sovereign duchess
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