Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat

Ferdinando Carlo
Duke of Mantua and Montferrat
The Duke of Mantua by Rigaud in 1706
Spouse	Anna Isabella Gonzaga Suzanne Henriette de Lorraine
Detail Issue
Giovanni Gonzaga
Full name
Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga
House	House of Gonzaga
Father	Charles Gonzaga
Mother	Isabella Clara of Austria
Born	31 August 1652
Died	5 July 1708(1708-07-05) (aged 55)

Ferdinando Carlo Gonzaga (31 August 1652 – 5 July 1708) was the only child of Duke Charles II of Mantua and Montferrat, and the last ruler of the Duchy of Mantua of the House of Gonzaga.

Biography

Born in Revere, Ferdinand Charles first married Anna Isabella Gonzaga (d. August 11, 1703), daughter of Ferrante III Gonzaga, sovereign Duke 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 and Luzzara Reggiolo, and her rights transferred these areas, which had been a long concern of conflicts between the two Gonzaga lines, to the Mantua line of the Gonzaga dynasty. On November 8, 1704 he married secondly Suzanne Henriette de Lorraine known in France prior to marriage as Mademoiselle d'Elbeuf (February 1, 1686-December 19, 1710), daughter of Charles de Lorraine, Duke of Elbeuf by his third spouse, Françoise de Montault de Navailles, daughter of Philippe de Montault de Bénac, Duke of Navailles. This marriage was childless.

Frustrated by the Austrians in the conquest of Guastalla, he concluded a pact with Louis XIV of France on December 8, 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, and a part in any future French conquests in Italy. The French occupied Casale on September 29, 1681, and the Duke of Mantua lost respect in Italy.

Ferdinando Carlo again chose the French side in the War of the Spanish Succession. In 1701, when the anti-French coallition-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 in 1706. Already declared a traitor in 1701 by Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor, all his possessions were confiscated in 1708.

The House of Savoy obtained the remaining half of Montferrat, having already conquered the first half in the War of the Mantuan Succession in 1631. The Duchy of Mantua became Austrian and ceased its independent existence. Ferdinando Carlo died the same year in Padua.

Issue

He had illegitimate issue with his mistress Isabella Parma.

Ancestry

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

• 31 August 1652 – 14 August 1665 His Highness the Hereditary Prince of Mantua
• 14 August 1665 – 5 July 1708 His Highness the Duke of Mantua

Sources

• This page is a translation of its Italian equivalent.

Preceded by Charles II	Duke of Mantua 1665–1708	Succeeded by Austrian rule
	Marquess of Montferrat 1665–1708	Succeeded by Annexation to Piedmont

Persondata
Name	Gonzaga, Ferdinand Charles
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	31 August 1652
Place of birth
Date of death	5 July 1708
Place of death