The Kingdom of Etruria (; it, Regno di Etruria) was an Italian kingdom between 1801 and 1807 that made up a large part of modern Tuscany. It took its name from

Etruria Etruria () was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and northern and western Umbria. Etruscan Etruria The ancient people of Etruria are identified as Etruscan civiliza ...

, the old Roman name for the land of the Etruscans.

History

The kingdom was created by the Treaty of Aranjuez, signed at

Aranjuez, Spain Aranjuez () is a city and municipality of Spain, part of the Community of Madrid. Located in the southern end of the region, the main urban nucleus lies on the left bank of Tagus, a bit upstream the discharge of the Jarama. , the municipality h ...

on 21 March 1801. In the context of a larger agreement between Napoleonic France and Spain, the

Bourbons The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spanish ...

of Parma were compensated for the loss of their territory in northern Italy (which had been occupied by French troops since 1796). Ferdinand, Duke of Parma ceded his duchy to France, and in return his son Louis I was granted the Kingdom of Etruria (which was created from the

Grand Duchy of Tuscany The Grand Duchy of Tuscany ( it, Granducato di Toscana; la, Magnus Ducatus Etruriae) was an Italian monarchy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1859, replacing the Republic of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence. In th ...

). To make way for the Bourbons, the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

Grand Duke of Tuscany Ferdinand III was ousted and compensated with the Electorate of Salzburg. Originally the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, Etruria had been ceded to the Bourbons in 1801 in the person of Charles IV's eldest daughter and her Italian consort. Outside the Treaty of Aranjuez, Spain also secretly agreed to retrocede the Louisiana territory (over 2 million square kilometers) back to France in order to secure the Kingdom of Etruria as a client state for Spain; Louisiana was first ceded by France to Spain in 1763 at the end of the Seven Years' War. Louisiana was duly transferred to France on 15 October 1802, after the signing of the Treaty of Aranjuez. Napoleon subsequently sold Louisiana to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase on April 30, 1803, in order to pay for his French armies during the War of the Third Coalition. The first king ( Louis I) died young in 1803, and his underage son Charles Louis succeeded him. His mother, Maria Luisa of Spain, was appointed regent. However, since Etruria was troubled with smuggling and espionage, Napoleon annexed the territory, thus becoming the last non-Bonaparte Italian kingdom on the

Peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

. Since Spain's only hope of compensation lay in Portugal, co-operation with the emperor became more important. In 1807, Napoleon dissolved the kingdom and integrated it into France, turning it into three French départements: Arno,

Méditerranée Méditerranée was a Departments of France, department of the First French Empire in present-day Italy. It was named after the Mediterranean Sea. It was formed in 1808, when the Kingdom of Etruria (formerly the Grand Duchy of Tuscany) was annexed ...

and Ombrone. The king and his mother were promised the throne of a new

Kingdom of Northern Lusitania The Kingdom of Northern Lusitania (Portuguese: ''Reino da Lusitânia Setentrional'') was a kingdom proposed by Napoleon in 1807 for the king of Etruria, Charles Louis, located in the North of Portugal. In 1807 Portugal refused Napoleon's demand ...

(in

northern Portugal The North Region ( pt, Região do Norte ) or Northern Portugal is the most populous region in Portugal, ahead of Lisbon, and the third most extensive by area. The region has 3,576,205 inhabitants according to the 2017 census, and its area is with ...

), but this plan was never realized due to the break between Napoleon and the Spanish Bourbons in 1808. After his downfall in 1814, Tuscany was restored to its Habsburg grand dukes. In 1815, the

Duchy of Lucca The Duchy of Lucca was a small Italian state existing from 1815 to 1847. It was centered on the city of Lucca. By the Congress of Vienna of 1815 the Duchy was to revert to Tuscany on the end of its Bourbon-Parma line of rulers or when the line wou ...

was carved out of Tuscany, on the lands of the former Republic of Lucca, as compensation for the Bourbons of Parma until they resumed their rule in 1847. As stipulated in the Treaty of Paris of 1817, in execution of the art. 99 of the

Final Act of the Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

, the Duchy of Lucca was then annexed by the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

Flags and coats of arms

File:Etrurian Kingdom and War Flag with Great Royal Coat of Arms.svg, State flag with the greater coat of arms File:Flag of the Kingdom of Etruria.svg, State flag with the lesser coat of arms File:Flag of the Kingdom of Etruria (merchant).svg, Merchant flag with the lesser coat of arms File:Flag of the Kingdom of Etruria (merchant simplified).svg, Merchant flag (used by little tonnage ships) File:Great Royal Coat of Arms of Etruria.svg, Greater coat of arms File:Middle Royal Coat of Arms of Etruria.svg, Middle coat of arms File:Lesser Royal Coat of Arms of Etruria.svg, Lesser coat of arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Etruria, Kingdom Former kingdoms History of Florence History of Tuscany 1800s in Italy 1800s in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany States and territories established in 1801 States and territories disestablished in 1807 1801 establishments in Italy 1807 disestablishments in Italy 1801 establishments in Europe 1807 disestablishments in Europe 19th century in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany Former monarchies of Europe