Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany

Ferdinand I (* July 30, 1549 in Florence, † February 7, 1609 in Florence) from the Villa Medici was in 1562 and cardinal from 1587 Grand Duke of Tuscany. He was the fourth son of Cosimo I.

Life

Ferdinando Medici was thirty-eight when he succeeded his brother Francesco de ' Medici on the throne, who died of malaria, such as the autopsy of his body in 1587 revealed, which could be confirmed by DNA analysis in 2010. So could in his skeleton clearly the DNA of Plasmodium falciparum, the causative agent of the most deadly malaria can be detected.

Ferdinando had indeed become 1562 at the age of fourteen cardinal, but never had the sacrament of priestly ordination received. In Rome, he acquired through his administration of the church affairs a call. He founded the Villa Medici in Rome and acquired many works of art such as the group of Niobe, which he afterwards brought with to Florence. On behalf of Pope Gregory XIII. he founded in Rome the Typographia Medicean, the first specialized books in the languages ​​and scripts of the Orient printing, which should promote missionary work, but also the conditions of Orientalist studies in the West significantly improved.

After his accession he retained until his marriage, the dignity of Cardinal. In many ways he was the opposite of his brother. Affable in his demeanor and generous with his purse, he chose a coat of arms, which corresponded to the mildness of the rule, which he made himself: tantum a swarm of bees with the motto majestate. He placed the administration of justice restores and attended diligently to the affairs of state and the welfare of his subjects. Accordingly, the Tuscany lived under his rule again and again gained its independence, who had given up his brother.

He revived the trade and had also earned himself great wealth and thus by the Banca dei Medici in many European cities. By an edict of toleration for Jews and heretics, he made ​​for a flowering of Livorno, where many foreigners, including Spanish and Portuguese Jews settled. He improved the harbor and promoted founded by Cosimo the marketing of Pisa by the Naviglio, a canal, the part of the water of the Arno was supplied. He let the drainage project in the Val di Chiana run, cultivate the plains of Pisa, Fucecchio and Val di Nievole.

In foreign policy, he tried to free itself from Spanish rule. After the assassination of Henry III. of France in 1589 supported Ferdinando the claim of the king of Navarre, undeterred by the opposition by Spain and the Catholic League, who were dismayed by the prospect of a Huguenot on the French throne. He lent Henry IV money and urged him to convert to Catholicism. He also helped to persuade the Pope to accept Henry's renunciation.

Henry IV showed little grateful for the support they have placed him, whereupon Ferdinando was paralyzed relations with France and showed that he could protect his independence with other allies. He gave Philip III. generous assistance in the Algeria campaign and the emperor at its war with the Ottoman Empire. In this way, however, he was also forced to burden his people with significant taxes. Finally he reached the formal investiture of Siena, which was until then considered by Spain as its own fiefdom.

During the reign of the Grand Duke the Tuscan fleet has been strengthened. The galleys of the Knights of Santo Stefano in 1607 were sent to the Barbary coast to take Bona, the headquarters of the corsairs. The following year, the same ships won a brilliant victory against a stronger fleet of the Ottomans.

Progeny

Ferdinando married 1589 Christine of Lorraine. The children from this union were:

  • Cosimo II (1590-1621), Grand Duke of Tuscany, ∞ 1608 Maria Magdalena of Austria
  • Eleonora (1591-1617)
  • Caterina (1593-1629), ∞ 1617 Ferdinando Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua
  • Francesco (1594-1614)
  • Carlo (1596-1666), Cardinal
  • Filippo (1598-1602)
  • Lorenzo (1599-1648)
  • Maria Maddalena (1600-1633)
  • Claudia (1604-1648), ∞ 1, 1621 Federico Ubaldo della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, 2nd in 1626 Leopold V, Archduke of Austria
Cardinal (Catholicism) Giambologna Pietro Tacca Genealogical DNA test Medici Oriental Press Valdichiana Henry III of France Henry IV of France Annaba Christina of Lorraine Florida International University List of rulers of Tuscany Integrated Authority File
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