Grand Duchy of Tuscany
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The state flag of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany |
The
Grand Duchy of Tuscany (in
Italian:
Granducato di Toscana) was a state in central
Italy which came into existence in
1569, replacing the
Duchy of Florence, which had been created out of the old
Republic of Florence in
1532, and which annexed the
Republic of Siena in
1557. The Grand Duchy consisted of most of the territory of the current Italian region of
Tuscany, with the exception of the northernmost portions, which formed the
Duchy of Massa, the
Principality of Carrara, and the
Republic and then
Duchy of Lucca (up to
1847). The Grand Duchy's capital was in
Florence.
The Grand Duchy was initially ruled by the
Medici family, until its extinction in
1737, when it was inherited by Duke
Francis Stephen of Lorraine, son-in-law of Emperor
Charles VI. Francis Stephen, who became Emperor in
1745, ruled Tuscany until his death in
1765, when he was succeeded by his younger son,
Peter Leopold, who ruled well until
1790, when he returned to Vienna to succeed his brother as Emperor. In
1786, the duchy became the first sovereign state to end the
death penalty, influenced by
Cesare Beccaria's 1764
On Crimes and Punishments.
He was succeeded by his younger son,
Ferdinand III, who was forced out by the French in
1801, becoming instead Elector of Salzburg.
The Grand Duchy was then dissolved, and replaced by the
Kingdom of Etruria, under
Bourbon-Parma dynasts. Etruria was, in its turn, annexed by the French in
1807, becoming the
départements of
Arno,
Méditerranée, and
Ombrone. With the fall of the Napoleonic system in
1814, Ferdinand was restored to the Grand Duchy, ruling until his death in
1824. His son,
Leopold II of Tuscany, ruled until April
1859, when he was driven out by revolution following the defeat of the Austrians by the French and Piedmontese.
In July, Leopold, in exile in Vienna, abdicated in favor of his son,
Ferdinand IV, who never reigned — Tuscany was under Sardinian administration, and Ferdinand was formally deposed on
16 August. In December of 1859, the Grand Duchy officially ceased to exist, being companied with the Duchies of
Modena and
Parma to form the
United Provinces of Central Italy, which was annexed by the
Kingdom of Sardinia a few months later, in March of
1860.
*
Rulers of Tuscany*
Historical states of Italy
