Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany
| Ferdinand III | |||||
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Grand Duke of Würzburg | |||||
| Reign | 26 December 1805 – 3 June 1814 | ||||
| Born | 6 May 1769 Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany | ||||
| Died | 18 June 1824 (aged 55) Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany | ||||
| Spouse | |||||
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Roman Catholicism | |||||
| Signature |  | ||||
Ferdinand III
Biography
Ferdinand was born in
In 1792, during the French Revolution, Ferdinand became the first monarch to recognize the new French First Republic formally, and he attempted to work peacefully with it.[2] As the French Revolutionary Wars commenced, however, the rulers of Britain and Russia persuaded him to join their side in the War of the First Coalition. Ferdinand provided his allies with passive support but no enthusiasm, and after he witnessed a year of resounding victories by the French, he became the first member of the coalition to give up. In a proclamation dated 1 March 1795, he abandoned the alliance and declared Tuscany's neutrality in the war.[3]
His normalization of relations with France helped stabilize his rule for several years but by 1799 he was compelled to flee to Vienna for protection when republicans established a new government in Florence. He was forced to renounce his throne by the
Ferdinand was compensated with the Electorate of Salzburg, the secularized former territory of the Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg. He was also made a Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire (a role which expired with the empire's dissolution in 1806), receiving the title and land on 26 December 1802.
On 25 December 1805, Ferdinand had to give up Salzburg as well, which by the
On 30 May 1814, after Napoleon's fall, Ferdinand was restored as grand duke of Tuscany.
Ferdinand died in 1824 in Florence and was succeeded by his son Leopold.
Family and children
In Naples on 15 August 1790 by proxy and in Vienna on 19 September 1790 in person, Ferdinand married firstly his double first cousin, Princess Luisa of Naples and Sicily (1773–1802), daughter of Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and Maria Carolina of Austria.
Their children were:
- Archduchess Carolina Ferdinanda of Austria (2 August 1793 – 5 January 1802)
- Francis Leopold, Grand Prince of Tuscany (15 December 1794 – 18 May 1800)
- Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany (3 October 1797 – 29 January 1870)
- Archduchess Maria Luisa of Austria (30 August 1798 – 15 June 1857)
- Archduchess Maria Teresa of Austria(21 March 1801 – 12 January 1855)
Their first two children, Carolina and Francis, died at very young ages (eight and five respectively) but the later three prospered under their father's care. Luisa died when they were all quite young, on 19 September 1802, together with a stillborn son who was unnamed. Two decades later, in
Ancestry
| Ancestors of Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany Maria Louisa of Spain | | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14. Augustus III of Poland | |||||||||||||
| 7. Maria Amalia of Saxony | |||||||||||||
| 15. Maria Josepha of Austria | |||||||||||||
Notes
References
- ^ a b Gilman, Daniel Coit, ed. (1905). "Ferdinand III (1769–1824)". The New International Encyclopædia. Vol. 7. New York: Dodd, Mead. p. 539. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
- ^ a b c Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 268–269.
- ^ Baines, Edward (1817). History of the Wars of the French Revolution. London: Longman, Hurst, et al. p. 136. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
- ^ 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. 109.
External links
- House of Habsburg, Tuscan Branch, family tree by Ferdinand Schevill in A Political History of Modern Europe (1909)