Editing House of Medici (section)

====Medici Dukes====
Another outstanding figure of the 16th-century Medici family was Cosimo I, who rose from relatively modest beginnings in the [[Mugello region|Mugello]] to attain supremacy over the whole of [[Tuscany]]. Against the opposition of [[Catherine de' Medici]], [[Pope Paul III]] and their allies, he prevailed in various battles to conquer Florence's hated rival [[Siena]] and found the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Cosimo purchased a portion of the island of [[Elba]] from the [[Republic of Genoa]] and based the Tuscan navy there. He died in 1574, succeeded by his eldest surviving son [[Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Francesco]], whose death without male heirs led to the succession of his younger brother, [[Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Ferdinando]], in 1587. Francesco married [[Joanna of Austria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany|Johanna of Austria]], and with his consort produced [[Eleonora de' Medici]], Duchess of Mantua, and [[Marie de' Medici]], Queen of France and Navarre. Through Marie, all succeeding French monarchs (bar the [[House of Bonaparte|Napoleons]]) were descended from Francesco.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

Ferdinando eagerly assumed the government of Tuscany. He commanded the draining of the Tuscan marshlands, built a road network in southern Tuscany and cultivated trade in [[Livorno]].<ref name=Hale151>Hale, p. 150.</ref> To augment the Tuscan silk industry, he oversaw the planting of [[Morus (plant)|mulberry trees]] along the major roads (silk worms feed on mulberry leaves).<ref>Hale, p. 151.</ref> In foreign affairs, he shifted Tuscany away from Habsburg<ref>Austria and Spain were ruled by the House of Habsburg; the two are interchangeable terms for the Habsburg domains in the time period in question.</ref> [[hegemony]] by marrying the first non-Habsburg marriage candidate since Alessandro, [[Christina of Lorraine]], a granddaughter of Catherine de' Medici. The Spanish reaction was to construct a [[citadel]] on their portion of the island of Elba.<ref name=Hale151/> To strengthen the new Franco-Tuscan alliance, he married his niece, Marie, to [[Henry IV of France]]. Henry explicitly stated that he would defend Tuscany from Spanish aggression, but later reneged, after which Ferdinando was forced to marry his heir, Cosimo, to [[Maria Maddalena of Austria]] to assuage Spain (where Maria Maddalena's sister [[Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain|Margaret]] was the incumbent Queen consort). Ferdinando also sponsored a Tuscan expedition to the [[New World]] with the intention of establishing a Tuscan colony, an enterprise that brought no result for permanent colonial acquisitions.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

Despite all of these incentives for economic growth and prosperity, the population of Florence at the dawn of the 17th century was a mere 75,000, far smaller than the other capitals of Italy (i.e., Rome, Milan, Venice, Palermo, and Naples).<ref>Hale, p. 158.</ref> Francesco and Ferdinando, due to lax distinction between Medici and Tuscan state property, are thought to have been wealthier than their ancestor, Cosimo de' Medici, the founder of the dynasty.<ref name=Hale160>Hale, p. 160.</ref> The Grand Duke alone had the prerogative to exploit the state's mineral and salt resources, and the fortunes of the Medici were directly tied to the Tuscan economy.<ref name=Hale160/>