Grand Duchy of Tuscany

Grand Duchy of Tuscany
Magnus Ducatus Etruriae (Latin)
Granducato di Toscana (Italian)
1569–1801
1814–1860
Coat of arms under the Medici period Greater coat of arms used under Habsburg-Lorraine period of Tuscany
Coat of arms under the Medici period
Greater coat of arms used under Habsburg-Lorraine period
Motto: Sotto una Fede et Legge un Signor solo
(Italian for 'Under one Faith and Law one Lord alone')
Anthem: La Leopolda
Borders of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany (1815–1847)
Borders of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany (1815–1847)
Administrative divisions of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany at the end of 1847
Administrative divisions of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany at the end of 1847
CapitalFlorence
43°N 11°E / 43°N 11°E / 43; 11
Official languagesItalian
Religion
Roman Catholicism (official)
Government
Grand Duke 
• 1569–1574
Cosimo I de' Medici (first)
• 1859–1860
Ferdinand IV of Habsburg-Lorraine (last)
History 
• Cosimo I is elevated by a papal bull to Grand Duke of Tuscany
27 August 1569
• End of Medici rule
9 July 1737
• Abolished during
the Napoleonic Wars
21 March 1801
30 May 1814
• Deposition of the Habsburgs
16 August 1859
• Merged to form the United
Provinces of Central Italy
8 December 1859
• Formally annexed to
Kingdom of Sardinia after a plebiscite
22 March 1860
Population
• 1801
1,096,641[1]
Currency
Preceded by
Succeeded by
1569:
Duchy of Florence
1814:
Arno
Méditerranée
Ombrone
1801:
Kingdom of Etruria
1860:
Kingdom of Sardinia
Today part ofItaly

The Grand Duchy of Tuscany (Italian: Granducato di Toscana; Latin: Magnus Ducatus Etruriae) was an Italian monarchy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1860, replacing the Republic of Florence.[2] The grand duchy's capital was Florence. In the 19th century the population of the Grand Duchy was about 1,815,000 inhabitants.[3]

Having brought nearly all Tuscany under his control after conquering the Republic of Siena, Cosimo I de' Medici, was elevated by a papal bull of Pope Pius V to Grand Duke of Tuscany on 27 August 1569.[4][5] The Grand Duchy was ruled by the House of Medici until the extinction of its senior branch in 1737. While not as internationally renowned as the old republic, the grand duchy thrived under the Medici and it bore witness to unprecedented economic and military success under Cosimo I and his sons, until the reign of Ferdinando II, which saw the beginning of the state's long economic decline. That economic decline continued under Cosimo III.[6]

Francis Stephen of Lorraine, a cognatic descendant of the Medici, succeeded the family and ascended the throne of his Medicean ancestors. Tuscany was governed by a viceroy, Marc de Beauvau-Craon, for his entire rule. His descendants ruled, and resided in, the grand duchy until its end in 1859, barring one interruption, when Napoleon Bonaparte gave Tuscany to the House of Bourbon-Parma (Kingdom of Etruria, 1801–1807), then annexed it directly to the First French Empire. Following the collapse of the Napoleonic system in 1814, the grand duchy was restored. The United Provinces of Central Italy, a client state of the Kingdom of Sardinia, annexed Tuscany in 1859. Tuscany was formally annexed in 1860, as a part of the unification of Italy, following a landslide referendum, in which 95% of voters approved.[7]

  1. ^ United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; House of Commons, John Bowring, 1839, p. 6.
  2. ^ Strathern, Paul (2003). The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance. London: Vintage. ISBN 978-0-09-952297-3. pp. 315–321.
  3. ^ Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce (1862). Popolazione censimento degli antichi Stati sardi (1. gennaio 1858) e censimenti di Lombardia, di Parma e di Modena (1857–1858) pubblicati per cura del Ministero d'agricoltura, industria e commercio: Relazione generale con una introduzione storica sopra i censimenti delle popolazioni italiane dai tempi antichi sino all'anno 1860. 1.1 (in Italian). Stamperia Reale.
  4. ^ "bolla papale di Pio V". archeologiavocidalpassato (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-02-10.
  5. ^ "Cosimo I | duke of Florence and Tuscany [1519–1574]". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
  6. ^ "COSIMO III de' Medici, granduca di Toscana". Dizionario Biografico (in Italian). Retrieved 2020-04-25.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Heraldica was invoked but never defined (see the help page).