FERDINAND III, Grand Duke of Tuscany.—Born in Florence on 6 May 1769, died there on 18 June 1824. Second son of Peter Leopold of Habsburg-Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and of Maria Luisa, daughter of Charles III of Spain, he was guided by the Marquis Federico Manfredini. After the death of Joseph II (February 1790) without heirs, his father succeeded to the imperial throne and his elder brother Francis became hereditary archduke; Ferdinand thus assumed the government of Tuscany and the title of Grand Duke. Of an open and frank character, but incapable of devoting himself with firm resolve to the governance and administration of the State, he ascended the throne at a particularly critical moment in European history.
The French Revolution was beginning to spread beyond its borders, and Ferdinand lacked both the experience and, perhaps, the ability to pursue a policy adequate to the difficulties of the moment. He sought to remain neutral, yet neither the French nor the English paid any heed to this intention, and each in turn occupied parts of his State. Finally, the Directory declared war upon him, and when the revolutionary army occupied Florence on 25 March 1799, Ferdinand was compelled to abandon Tuscany. Taking refuge with his family in Vienna at the court of his brother the Emperor, he was obliged by the Treaty of Lunéville (1801) to renounce all rights to the Grand Duchy, receiving in compensation first the Archbishopric of Salzburg, which had been secularized, and in 1806 the Bishopric of Würzburg, with the title of Grand Duke. The fall of Napoleon restored him to possession of Tuscany. From the beginning of his reign, Ferdinand had abandoned the political line followed by his father with regard to the Holy See, softening the anti-clerical tendencies of Peter Leopold and withdrawing all support from Scipione de’ Ricci; yet jealous of the independence of the Grand Duchy, he never missed an opportunity to assert the superiority of the State over the Church. Toward Austria, after the Restoration, he maintained an independent and firm stance.
FERDINAND CARL GONZAGA, last Duke of MANTOVA and of MONFERRATO: V. GONZAGA, FAMIGLIA.