Part 2 of the condensed biography of Ferdinand & Maria Amalia's son Louis (from birth until the Treaty of Aranjuez):
However, the education received, set up with a strictly hierarchical system of control (at the top was his father Duke Ferdinand) ended by oppressing Louis. In 1793 he complained about "
my usual stuff, the way I live and I hope it will end soon, but meanwhile I would like to at least write freely to those whom I wanted to, as he is a big hassle when I want anything from a few people to write to. And I'm finally in the 21 years of age and no longer being in college, and I do not believe that my conduct may give rise to my father not to trust me. I belive I will get my freedom or as you believe, it will be changed when I am married."
The idea of marriage as an opportunity for greater freedom was not justified: it was fervent in those months, negotiations with the European courts to find a bride that would guarantee the small state, in addition to dynastic continuity, the necessary political benefits. The process of rapprochement with Austria, which saw two significant events in 1760 and 1769 respectively with the marriage of Isabella with the Archduke Joseph (later Emperor) Ferdinand and Archduchess Maria Amalia, was in a phase of stagnation . It was decided to follow strengthening the already close ties with the Bourbons of Spain. On April 24 1794, Louis left for Madrid to choose a bride, accompanied by some ministers and courtiers and, not surprisingly (given his poor health), also doctors and and pharmacists. He chose his cousin Maria Luisa over her older sister and they lived in Spain for some years.
During this period, which largely coincided with the difficulties encountered in Parma by Ferdinand in the face the French invasion, Louis tried to adapt to the new situation, in many ways lifeless as the last and at least as complicated. The custom of not committed to writing thoughts and feelings makes her correspondence - obviously subject to controls - a list of praise and expressions of their affection for the Spanish monarchs, the fatuous Charles IV and Maria Luisa, his resourceful paternal aunt, and the favorite of the latter, the powerful Minister Manuel Godoy. Only when, sometimes, Louis makes use of coded language, expressed critical opinions, as in a letter to the minister Ventura on June 15, 1798, which mentions that Godoy was (rumoured) to retire in Andalusia, "
but I do not think so, maybe because I want it very much, as well as across the nation who hates him to death."Court life, receptions, dances, hunts, games, some travel occupied much of the time of ouis, but not enough to make him neglect his studies and research of natural history. In Madrid, he attended the well-known botanistl C. Gómez Ortega, A. José Cavanilles, who furnished him with materials for the botanical garden of Parma, he procured several crates of minerals, stuffed birds and fishes for the Museum of Natural History and was interested in producing a kind of iconographic inventory of the animals, vegetables and minerals the Duchy, given before his departure to his friend Sanvitale. He also translated from Spanish a lecture on elastic resin by V. Cervantes de Mexico 2 July 1794, which was sent to Linati if he deemed it interesting, but did not wish for his name to be disclosed.
His extensive network of relationships and scientific initiatives continued to have a reference point in Parma, where he had formed his cultural interests, but also his tastes, material and social customs. Incessant requests sent to the minister Ventura (who had been recalled to Parma after a few months) to send him cheese, stewed fruit, clothes, cards, books and lots of music, including works by the young F. Paer and A. Rolla.
Meanwhile, Spanish monarchs agreed with France to guarantee them an "accommodation" prestigious. To this end, they did not hesitate to trade a vast territory in America with a region in Italy and Tuscany. The Treaty of Saint Ildefonso (1 (Oct. 1800), in fact, Spain promised to cede to France the Duchy of Parma, Louisiana and six warships in exchange for the Legations or Tuscany, raised in the Kingdom. The Treaty of Luneville (9 feb. 1801) formalized the expulsion of Ferdinand III of Habsburg-Lorraine by the Grand Duchy, in favor of Ferdinand of Bourbon-Parma. In view of the latter's refusal to leave his "little nest", the Treaty of Aranjuez (March 21, 1801), signed by Godoy and Luciano Bonaparte, the French plenipotentiary in Madrid, declared the perpetual renunciation of Ferdinand of Parma in favor of the French Republic, giving compensation in Tuscany, now the Kingdom of Etruria, and the title the royal crown prince.
Louis was systematically kept ignorant of political issues; he learned with great surprise that he was appointed king of Etruria. He was not aware of the determination with which his father had refused to leave his legitimate states, the "only certain assets" of the family.
Source:
http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/ludovico-i-di-borbone-re-d-etruria_(Dizionario-Biografico)/==============
I wonder why Ferdinand was so strict with his son? I read earlier that he wanted very much to go riding but his doctors absolutely forbidden him, so his parents disallowed him that pasttime.
Also, it's very interesting how his father's resistance to exchange his duchy for Tuscany was kept away from him....
