The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was a state in central Italy which came into existence in 1569, replacing the Duchy of Florence , which had been created out of the old Republic of Florence in 1532, and which annexed the Republic of Siena in 1557. The Grand Duchy consisted of most of the territory of the current Italian region of Tuscany, with the exception of the northernmost portions, which formed the Duchy of Massa , the Principality of Carrara , and the Republic and then Duchy of Lucca (up to 1847). The Grand Duchy's capital was in Florence.

The Grand Duchy was initially ruled by the Medici family, until its extinction in 1737, when it was inherited by Duke Francis Stephen of Lorraine, son-in-law of Emperor Charles VI. Francis Stephen, who became Emperor in 1745, ruled Tuscany until his death in 1765, when he was succeeded by his younger son, Peter Leopold, who ruled well until 1790, when he returned to Vienna to succeed his brother as Emperor. In 1786, the duchy became the first sovereign state to end the death penalty, influenced by Cesare Beccaria's 1764 "On Crimes and Punishments ."

He was succeeded by his younger son, Ferdinand III, who was forced out by the French in 1801, becoming instead Elector of Salzburg.

The Grand Duchy was then dissolved, and replaced by the Kingdom of Etruria, under Bourbon-Parma dynasts. Etruria was, in its turn, annexed by the French in 1807, becoming the départements of Arno, Méditerranée, and Ombrone. With the fall of the Napoleonic system in 1814, Ferdinand was restored to the Grand Duchy, ruling until his death in 1824. His son, Leopold II of Tuscany, ruled until April 1859, when he was driven out by revolution following the defeat of the Austrians by the French and Piedmontese.

In July, Leopold, in exile in Vienna, abdicated in favor of his son, Ferdinand IV, who never reigned - Tuscany was under Sardinian administration, and Ferdinand was formally deposed on 16 August. In December of 1859, the Grand Duchy officially ceased to existing, being companied with the Duchies of Modena and Parma to form the United Provinces of Central Italy , which was annexed by the Kingdom of Sardinia a few months later, in March of 1860.

See also

• Rulers of Tuscany