Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga (31 August 1652 – 5 July 1708) was the only child of Duke Charles II of

Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...

and

Montferrat Montferrat ( , ; ; , ; ) is a historical region of Piedmont, in northern Italy. It comprises roughly (and its extent has varied over time) the modern provinces of Province of Alessandria, Alessandria and Province of Asti, Asti. Montferrat ...

, and the last ruler of the Duchy of Mantua of the

House of Gonzaga The House of Gonzaga (, ) is an Italian princely family that ruled Mantua in Lombardy, northern Italy from 1328 to 1708 (first as a captaincy-general, then Margraviate of Mantua, margraviate, and finally Duchy of Mantua, duchy). They also ruled M ...

Biography

Born in Revere, In 1665 Ferdinand Charles received the imperial investiture on the Duchy of Mantua 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 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 (d. 11 August 1703), daughter of Ferrante III Gonzaga, sovereign

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

of Guastalla. 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 Historical states of Italy, 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. Its place ...

and Luzzara, 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, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

. This aroused the suspicions of the

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

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 involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or Coercion (international relations), coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or ...

of Guastalla, he concluded a pact with

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

of France on 8 December 1678, selling Casale. In this context his minister, Count Ercole Antonio Mattioli, might have become the Man in the Iron Mask, being imprisoned in Pinerolo 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 high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

, 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. Although the Lorraine-Elbeufs were reckoned among the '' princes étrangers'' at the

court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

of France, as a

cadet branch 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, titles, fiefs, property and incom ...

(

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 ...

) of a non-reigning cadet branch ( Guise) of the House of Lorraine, it was not their custom to marry crowned heads. Nevertheless, following the death of his first wife, Ferdinando sought a new wife and he became enamored with the Louise Bernardine de Durfort daughter of Jacques Henri de Durfort, 1st Duke of Duras after seeing her portrait. He made his interest known to the king who approved of his courtship of the young woman. She was still in mourning for her husband the Duke de Lesdigueres and resisted Ferdinandos attempts to woo her,having heard his health was bad and not wanting to live in Italy. Ferdinandos pursuit of the widow persisted until she went to the king and begged to not have to marry him. His support and hope for marriage lost he instead married Suzanne Henriette de Lorraine 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., King of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia, List of Belgian monarchs, Belgium, Co-princes of Andorra, Andorra), of a people (e.g., List of Frankish kin ...

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 ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

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 fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

. 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 () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

in 1706. after the death of Duchess of Mantua, Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga appointed as Prime Minister Ascanio Andreasi thus constituting the state act of the duke, with the task of stabilising the Mantuan state during the war.i Tre consigli di Governo
/ref> Placed under the Imperial ban in 1701 by

Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; ; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia, and List of Bohemian monarchs, Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Rom ...

, this was confirmed by the Diet of Regensburg, 30 June 1708, and all his possessions were confiscated. The

House of Savoy The House of Savoy (, ) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) of Franco-Italian origin that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern F ...

obtained the remaining half of

, having already conquered the first half in the War of the Mantuan Succession in 1631. The Duchy of Mantua was from then administered by Austria and ceased its independent existence. Ferdinando Carlo died the same year in

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

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)