Francis I Rákóczi (February 24, 1645,

Gyulafehérvár Alba Iulia (; german: Karlsburg or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; hu, Gyulafehérvár; la, Apulum) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the Mureș River in the historical ...

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

– July 8, 1676, Zboró, Royal Hungary) was a Hungarian aristocrat, elected prince of

and father of Hungarian national hero

Francis Rákóczi II Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places *Rural Mu ...

. Francis Rákóczi was the son of

George Rákóczi II George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

, prince of Transylvania, and

Sophia Báthory Sophia means "wisdom" in Greek. It may refer to: *Sophia (wisdom) *Sophia (Gnosticism) *Sophia (given name) Places * Niulakita or Sophia, an island of Tuvalu *Sophia, Georgetown, a ward of Georgetown, Guyana *Sophia, North Carolina, an unincorpo ...

. He was elected prince by the Transylvanian Diet in 1652, during his father's life. However, because of the disastrous Polish campaign of 1657 and its consequences, the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

removed his father from the throne in 1660, and prohibited any Rákóczi to ascend the Transylvanian throne. This left Francis unable to come by his father's legacy; he therefore withdrew to his estates in Royal Hungary. Notably, the Rákóczi family was

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

, and they were staunch supporters of the Reformed Church in Hungary. However, Francis' mother, Sophia Báthory, had converted to Calvinism merely for the sake of her marriage. After her husband's death, she returned to Catholicism and supported the

Counter Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...

. Francis Rákóczi also became a Catholic, thus acquiring favour with the Catholic Habsburg Court. His mother converted him to Catholicism. He was made a count in 1664. In 1666 Francis married

Jelena Zrinska Jelena, also written Yelena and Elena, is a Slavic given name. It is a Slavicized form of the Greek name Helen, which is of uncertain origin. Diminutives of the name include Jelica, Jelka, Jele, Jela, Lena, Lenotschka, Jeca, Lenka, and Alena. Not ...

(Hungarian: Zrínyi Ilona), a Croatian countess, and joined the

Wesselényi conspiracy The Magnate conspiracy, also known as the Zrinski- Frankopan Conspiracy ( hr, Zrinsko-frankopanska urota) in Croatia, and Wesselényi conspiracy ( hu, Wesselényi-összeesküvés) in Hungary, was a 17th-century attempt to throw off Habsburg a ...

(''

Zrinski-Frankopan conspiracy The Magnate conspiracy, also known as the Zrinski- Frankopan Conspiracy ( hr, Zrinsko-frankopanska urota) in Croatia, and Wesselényi conspiracy ( hu, Wesselényi-összeesküvés) in Hungary, was a 17th-century attempt to throw off Habsburg an ...

'' in

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

), one leader of which was Jelena's father,

Petar Zrinski Petar IV Zrinski ( hu, Zrínyi Péter) (6 June 1621 – 30 April 1671) was Ban of Croatia (Viceroy) from 1665 to 1670, general and a writer. A member of the Zrinski noble family, he was noted for his role in the attempted Croatian-Hungarian Magna ...

(Hungarian: Zrínyi Péter). Francis soon became the leader of the conspiracy, and, as a culmination of their anti-Habsburg stratagems, started an armed uprising of nobles in

Upper Hungary Upper Hungary is the usual English translation of ''Felvidék'' (literally: "Upland"), the Hungarian term for the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia. The region has also been ...

, while the other conspirators were supposed to start the fight in

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. Due to poor organization and discord between the conspirators, however, the Austrian authorities were well informed; they quickly suppressed the Croatian branch of the revolt. When Rákóczi learned that Petar Zrinski had been captured by the Austrians, he laid down his arms and applied for mercy. All other leaders of the conspiracy were executed for high treason; Rákóczi, due to his mother's intervention, and for a ransom of 300,000 forints and several castles, was pardoned.

Issue

Francis I had three children: * György (1667) * Julianna Borbála (1672–1717), married Count Ferdinand Gobert von Aspremont-Lynden und Reckheim (1643-1708) *

(1676–1735) Francis II was born only three months before his father's death. He led a rebellion against Austrian rule (

Rákóczi's War of Independence Rákóczi's War of Independence (1703–11) was the first significant attempt to topple the rule of the Habsburgs over Hungary. The war was conducted by a group of noblemen, wealthy and high-ranking progressives and was led by Francis II Rákó ...

) and died in exile.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rakoczi, Francis 01 Monarchs of Transylvania Francis 01 Hungarian Roman Catholics Converts to Roman Catholicism from Calvinism 1645 births 1676 deaths People from Alba Iulia 17th-century Hungarian people