Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga (31 August 1652 – 5 July 1708) was the only child of Duke
Charles II of
Mantua
Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard language, Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, province of the same name.
In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture ...
and
Montferrat
Montferrat (, ; it, Monferrato ; pms, Monfrà , locally ; la, Mons Ferratus) is part of the region of Piedmont in northern Italy. It comprises roughly (and its extent has varied over time) the modern provinces of Alessandria and Asti. Mo ...
, and the last ruler of the
Duchy of Mantua
The Duchy of Mantua was a duchy in Lombardy, northern Italy. Its first duke was Federico II Gonzaga, member of the House of Gonzaga that ruled Mantua since 1328. The following year, the Duchy also acquired the March of Montferrat, thanks to ...
of the
House of Gonzaga
)
, type = Noble house
, country =
, estates = Ducal Palace (Mantua) Ducal Palace (Nevers)
, titles =
* Prince of Arches
* Duke of Montferrat
* Duke of Mantua
* Duke of Guastalla
* Duke of Nevers
* Duke ...
.
Biography
Born in
Revere
Revere may refer to:
Brands and companies
*Revere Ware, a U.S. cookware brand owned by World Kitchen
* Revere Camera Company, American designer of cameras and tape recorders
*Revere Copper Company
* ReVere, a car company recognised by the Classic ...
, In 1665 Ferdinand Charles received the imperial investiture on the
Duchy of Mantua
The Duchy of Mantua was a duchy in Lombardy, northern Italy. Its first duke was Federico II Gonzaga, member of the House of Gonzaga that ruled Mantua since 1328. The following year, the Duchy also acquired the March of Montferrat, thanks to ...
with the ceremony of Coronation at the
Cathedral of St. Peter. The first act of the government of the Duke was to try to curb the abuses that occurred in the collection of court fees. At the same time, is implemented the reform of public order of the Duchy. Ferdinando Carlo, although he was a very intelligent man and attentive to the world of music (a great lover of music, in 1700 the composer
Tomaso Albinoni
Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni (8 June 1671 – 17 January 1751) was an Italian composer of the Baroque era. His output includes operas, concertos, sonatas for one to six instruments, sinfonias, and solo cantatas. While famous in his day as an opera comp ...
he dedicated his second opera in press), however, proved more inclined to women and to do charitable works, rather than to hold the duchies of Mantua and Monferrato.
Ferdinand Charles first married
Anna Isabella Gonzaga
Anna Isabella Gonzaga (12 February 1655 – 11 August 1703), was a Duchess consort of Mantua and Montferrat and heir of the Duchy of Guastalla, including Luzzara and Reggiolo; married in 1671 to Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Montfer ...
(d. 11 August 1703), daughter of
Ferrante III Gonzaga Ferrante III Gonzaga (4 April 1618 – 11 January 1678), was a Duke of Guastalla.
He was the son of Cesare II Gonzaga, Duke of Guastalla and Duke of Amalfi and Isabella Orsini.
Life
He succeeded his father in 1632. In 1638 he sold all the minor N ...
, sovereign
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
of
Guastalla
Guastalla ( Guastallese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Reggio Emilia in Emilia-Romagna, Italy.
Geography
Guastalla is situated in the Po Valley, and lies on the banks of the Po River. Guastalla is located at around from the citie ...
. This marriage was arranged by the assistance of his aunt empress dowager
Eleanor Gonzaga, and took place in 1671. Anna Isabella Gonzaga was the heir of the
Duchy of Guastalla
The Duchy of Guastalla was an Italian state which existed between 1621 and 1748. It was bordered by the Duchy of Modena and Reggio and the Po River to the north, on the opposite bank of the Duchy of Mantua.
History
On 2 July 1621, Emperor Fe ...
and
Luzzara
Luzzara ( Guastallese: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Reggio Emilia, in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. It is located at the northern end of the province, on the right bank of the river Po.
Luzzara is the birthplace of the composer Maurizio Cazzat ...
, and her rights transferred these areas, which had long been a source of conflict between the two Gonzaga lines, to the Mantua line of the Gonzaga dynasty. During the years of the government of the Duke Ferdinando Carlo, the duchy of Mantua had a period of development and autonomy in respect of the
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
. This aroused the suspicions of the
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
which, fearing the strengthening of the small state of Mantua, decided to suspend payment of the annual contribution of 50,000 crowns a garrison of Casale, thus provoking the wrath of the Duke of Mantua.
Frustrated by the Austrians in the
conquest
Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms.
Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, t ...
of Guastalla, he concluded a
pact
A pact, from Latin ''pactum'' ("something agreed upon"), is a formal agreement between two or more parties. In international relations, pacts are usually between two or more sovereign states. In domestic politics, pacts are usually between two or ...
with
Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Vers ...
of France on 8 December 1678, selling
Casale. In this context his
minister
Minister may refer to:
* Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric
** Minister (Catholic Church)
* Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department)
** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...
, Count
Ercole Antonio Mattioli
Ercole Antonio Mattioli (1 December 1640 – 1694) was an Italian politician, who was a minister of Duke Charles IV of Mantua. He was kidnapped and imprisoned by Louis XIV of France. He has been associated with the Man in the Iron Mask.
Biog ...
, might have become the
Man in the Iron Mask
The Man in the Iron Mask ( French ; died 19 November 1703) was an unidentified prisoner of state during the reign of King Louis XIV of France (1643–1715). Warranted for arrest on 28 July 1669 under the pseudonym of "Eustache Dauger", he w ...
, being imprisoned in
Pinerolo
Pinerolo (; pms, Pinareul ; french: Pignerol; oc, Pineròl) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont, northwestern Italy, southwest of Turin on the river Chisone. The Lemina torrent has its source at the boundary be ...
since April 1679 for disclosing this pact to the enemies of France.
The duke denied everything, but concluded a new pact with the French in 1681, obtaining thereby a yearly pension of sixty thousand
lire, a career as an army
general
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
, and a part in any future French conquests in Italy. The French occupied Casale on 29 September 1681 and the Duke of Mantua lost respect in Italy.
![Franz Geffels, ritratto di Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Franz_Geffels%2C_ritratto_di_Ferdinando_Carlo_Gonzaga.jpg)
Although the Lorraine-Elbeufs were reckoned among the ''
princes étrangers'' at the
court
A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...
of France, as a
cadet branch
In history and heraldry, a cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets— realm, title ...
(
Elbeuf
Elbeuf () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France.
Geography
A light industrial town situated by the banks of the Seine some south of Rouen at the junction of the D7, D321 and the D313 roads.
The c ...
) of a non-reigning cadet branch (
Guise
Guise (; nl, Wieze) is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. The city was the birthplace of the noble family of Guise, Dukes of Guise, who later became Princes of Joinville.
Population
Sights
The remains ...
) of the
House of Lorraine
The House of Lorraine (german: link=no, Haus Lothringen) originated as a cadet branch of the House of Metz. It inherited the Duchy of Lorraine in 1473 after the death without a male heir of Nicholas I, Duke of Lorraine. By the marriage of Fran ...
, it was not their custom to marry crowned heads. Nevertheless, following the death of his first wife, Ferdinando sought
Suzanne Henriette de Lorraine's hand in pursuit of an heir and a
dynastic alliance with another
reign
A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g., Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Andorra), of a people (e.g., the Franks, the Zulus) or of a spiritual community (e.g., Catholicism, Tibetan Buddhism, N ...
ing ducal house under French influence. She was the daughter of
Charles de Lorraine, Duke d'Elbeuf by his third wife, Françoise de Montault de Navailles, daughter of Philippe de Montault, Duke de Navailles. Duke Ferdinando Carlo married ''Mademoiselle d'Elbeuf'' in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
on 8 November 1704. To the French, her husband was known as ''Charles de Gonzague''. This marriage was childless.
Ferdinando Carlo again chose the French side in the
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...
. In 1701, when the anti-French coalition forces conquered Mantua, he fled to Casale, leaving his consort Anna Isabella Gonzaga behind as regent during his absence. He paid heavily for his choice, when the French were chased back over the
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
in 1706. after the death of
Duchess of Mantua
Lady of Mantua
House of Gonzaga, 1328–1433
Marchioness of Mantua
House of Gonzaga, 1433–1530
Duchess of Mantua
House of Gonzaga, 1530–1627
House of Gonzaga
)
, type = Noble house
, country =
, estates ...
, Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga his appointment Prime Minister
Ascanio Andreasi
''Ascanio'' is a grand opera in five acts and seven Tableau vivant, tableaux by composer Camille Saint-Saëns. The opera's French libretto, by Louis Gallet, is based on the 1852 play ''Benvenuto Cellini'' by French playwright Paul Meurice which wa ...
thus constituting the 'last state board Ducale, with the task of keeping at bay the internal changes of the state Mantovano against war.
i Tre consigli di Governo
/ref> Already declared a traitor in 1701 by Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor
, father = Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
, mother = Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Vienna, Austria
, death_date =
, death_place = Vienna, Austria
, burial_place = Imperial Crypt, Vienna
, ...
, he was blamed with felony by the Diet of Regensburg, 30 June 1708, and all his possessions were confiscated.
The House of Savoy
The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...
obtained the remaining half of Montferrat
Montferrat (, ; it, Monferrato ; pms, Monfrà , locally ; la, Mons Ferratus) is part of the region of Piedmont in northern Italy. It comprises roughly (and its extent has varied over time) the modern provinces of Alessandria and Asti. Mo ...
, having already conquered the first half in the War of the Mantuan Succession
The War of the Mantuan Succession (1628–1631) was a related conflict of the Thirty Years' War, caused by the death in December 1627 of Vincenzo II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, Vincenzo II, last male heir in the direct line of the House of Gonzaga ...
in 1631. The Duchy of Mantua became Austrian and ceased its independent existence. Ferdinando Carlo died the same year in Padua
Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
.
Ancestry
References and notes
Bibliography
Alessandro Cont, ''Sotto tutela: il sovrano bambino in Italia (1659–1714)'', “Rivista storica italiana”, 124, 2 (agosto 2012), pp. 537–581
F. Amadei, ''Cronaca universale della città di Mantova. Volume IV'', Mantova, 1954
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzaga, Ferdinand Charles
1652 births
1708 deaths
Dukes of Mantua
Dukes of Montferrat
Ferdinand Charles
F
17th-century Italian nobility
18th-century Italian people
Burials at the Palatine Basilica of Santa Barbara (Mantua)