Kingdom of Etruria
The Kingdom of Etruria was the name of a state comprising the larger part of Tuscany which existed between 1801 and 1807. It took its name from Etruria, the old Roman name for the land of the Etruscans. It was created by Napoleon for the son of the Bourbon Duke of Parma, in preparation for the ouster of the Bourbons from Parma, which came under French rule with the death of the Duke in 1802. To make way for the Bourbons, the Habsburg Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinand III, was ousted and given compensation from ecclesiastical territories in Germany. The first King, Louis died young in 1803, leaving a regency for his young son. However, in 1807, Napoleon annexed the Kingdom of Etruria, turning it into three French départements. The King and his mother were to receive compensation out of the Franco-Spanish conquest of Portugal, but this was nixed by the break between Napoleon and their Spanish Bourbon cousins in 1808. In the post-Napoleonic settlement, Tuscany itself was restored to its Habsburg Grand Dukes, while the Bourbons of Parma were compensated with the Duchy of Lucca.
Kings of Etruria
- Louis 1801–1803
- Charles Louis 1803–1807
See also
Categories: Contemporary Italian history