Charles I Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua

Charles I Gonzaga(Italian:Carlo I Gonzaga;6 May 1580 – 22 September 1637) wasDuke of MantuaandDuke of Montferratfrom 1627 until his death. He was alsoCharles IIIasDuke of NeversandRethel,as well asPrince of Arche and Charleville.

Charles I Gonzaga
Duke of Mantuaand Montferrat
Reign	25 December 1627 - 22 September 1637
Predecessor	Vincenzo II Gonzaga
Successor	Charles II Gonzaga
Born	6 May 1580 Paris,Kingdom of France
Died	22 September 1637(1637-09-22)(aged 57) Mantua,Duchy of Mantua
Spouse	Catherine de Lorraine-Guise-Mayenne ​ ​ (m.1599; died 1618)​
Issue Detail	Francis III Gonzaga, Duke of Rethel Charles, Duke of Nevers Ferdinand, Duke of Mayenne Marie Louise, Queen of Poland Anna, Countess Palatine of Simmern
Names Carlo Gonzaga
House	House of Gonzaga
Father	Louis de Gonzague, Duke of Nevers
Mother	Henriette de Clèves

Biography

Plans of Charleville in 1625

Born in Paris on 6 May 1580, Charles was the son ofLouis de Gonzague, Duke of Nevers,and PrincessHenriette de Clèves.In 1600, asduke of Rethel,he founded, inNevers,theOrder of the Yellow Ribbon,soon forbidden by the King, due to its peculiar character. In 1606, Charles decided the foundation ofCharlevilleand the Principality of Arches (fr). He became 1stPrince of Arche and Charleville.

In 1612, Charles, a descendant of the Byzantine EmperorAndronicus II Palaeologusthrough his grandmotherMargaret Paleologa,who was of the line ofTheodore I, Marquess of Montferrat,Andronicus's son, claimed the throne of Constantinople, at the time the capital of theOttoman Empire.He began plotting with Greek rebels, including theManiotsof Greece, who addressed him as "King Constantine Palaeologus".When the Ottoman authorities heard about this, they sent an army of 20,000 men and 70 ships to invade Mani. They succeeded in ravaging theMani Peninsulaand imposing taxes on the Maniots. This caused Charles to move more actively for his crusade. He sent envoys to the courts of Europe looking for support. In 1619, he recruited six ships and some five thousand men, but a fire started by a possible incendiary prevented their journey.

Following the death of the last legitimate male heir of the Gonzaga line in the Duchy of Mantua,Vincenzo II(1627), Charles inherited the title through an agreement.His succession, however, spurred the enmity ofCharles Emmanuel I of Savoy,who aimed at the Gonzaga lands ofMontferrat,and, above all, of Spain and theHoly Roman Empire,which did not like a pro-French ruler in Mantua. This led to theWar of the Mantuan Succession.In 1629 emperorFerdinand IIsent aLandsknechtarmy to besiegeMantua,Charles left without the promised support fromLouis XIII of France.The siege lasted until 18 July 1630,when the city, already struck by a plague, was brutally sacked for three days.Mantua never recovered from this disaster.

The subsequent diplomatic maneuvers allowed Charles, who had fled to the Papal States, to return to the duchy in 1631, although not without concessions to theHouse of Savoyand to the Gonzaga ofGuastalla.The fiscal situation of the Mantuan territory was poor, but he was able to facilitate some economic recovery in the following years.

Charles died in 1637.His successor was his grandsonCharles II,initially under the regency ofMaria Gonzaga,Charles I's daughter-in-law.

Children

Charles marriedCatherine of Lorraine-Mayenne,daughter ofCharles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenneand PrincessHenriette of Savoy.They had:

• Francis Gonzaga, Duke of Rethel(1606–1622)
• Charles Gonzaga, Duke of Nevers,nominal co-ruler Duke of Mantua (1609 – 14 August 1631) and his heir. Better known as Duke of Nevers and Rethel. Married heiressMaria Gonzaga.They were parents toEleanor of Mantuaconsort of the Holy Roman EmperorFerdinand III,andCharles II, Duke of Mantua and Monferrat.
• Ferdinand Gonzaga, Duke of Mayenne(1610 – 25 May 1632)
• Marie Louise Gonzaga(18 August 1611 – 10 May 1667). Married firstWładysław IV Vasaand secondlyJohn II Casimir of Poland
• Benedetta Gonzaga (1614 – 30 September 1637)
• Anne Marie Gonzaga(1616 – 6 July 1684).Married firstHenry II, Duke of Guise,and secondlyEdward, Count Palatine of Simmern.

Sources

• Boltanski, Ariane (2006).Les ducs de Nevers et l'État royal: genèse d'un compromis (ca 1550 - ca 1600)(in French). Librairie Droz.
• Coniglio, Giuseppe (1967).I Gonzaga.Varese: Dall'Oglio.
• Grendler, Paul F. (2009).The University of Mantua, the Gonzaga, and the Jesuits, 1584–1630.Johns Hopkins University Press.
• Miller, William (1904). "Greece under the Turks, 1571-1684".The English Historical Review.19, No. 76 (Oct.): 646–668.
• Parrott, David (1997). "A" prince souvereign "and the French crown: Charles de Nevers, 1580-1637". In Oresko, Robert; Gibbs, G. C.; Scott, H M (eds.).Royal and Republican Sovereignty in Early Modern Europe: Essays in Memory of Ragnhild Marie Hatton.Cambridge University Press. p. 149-187.
• Parrott, David (2001).Richelieu's Army: War, Government and Society in France, 1624-1642.Cambridge University Press.
• Polisensky, J. V. (2021).The Thirty Years War.University of California Press.
• Pollak, Martha (2010).Cities at War in Early Modern Europe.Cambridge University Press.
• Spangler, Jonathan (2015). "Points of Transferral: Mademoiselle de Guise's Will and the Transferability of Dynastic Identity". In Geevers, Liesbeth; Marini, Mirella (eds.).Dynastic Identity in Early Modern Europe: Rulers, Aristocrats and the Formation of Identities.Ashgate Publishing. p. 131-152.
• Williams, George L. (1998).Papal Genealogy: The Families and Descendants of the Popes.McFarland & Company, Inc.
• Wilson, Peter H. (2010).Europe's Tragedy: A History of the Thirty Years War.Penguin Books.

External links

• Marek, Miroslav."A listing of descendants of Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua".Genealogy.EU.