Cardenal-Infante Fernando de Espana (1610-9 November 1641), also known as Don Fernando de Austria or Ferdinand von Osterreich, was the Governor of the Spanish Netherlands from 1634-1641. Cardinal-Infante Fernando was a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Empire and Infante of Spain and Portugal who commanded Imperial troops during the Thirty Years' War.
Biography[]
Don Fernando was the son of Felipe III of Spain and Margaret of Austria, and in 1619 he became Archbishop of Toledo. Shortly afterwards he was made a Cardinal of the Papal States and became Cardinal-Infante of both Spain and Portugal (united 1580-1640). In 1634 Fernando was made the Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, but that year he led an army of Spanish and Imperial troops into Germany to fight in the Thirty Years' War. He crushed a Swedish army at the First Battle of Nordlingen, gaining fame as the victorious general and he occupied Brussels on his way home. in 1636, commanding Spanish as well as Imperial and Croatian troops, he secured Luxembourg and many French strongholds. Having fought the Dutch Revolt in many sieges, he died in 1641. Although the official reason was exhaustion and ill health, a common theory was that he was poisoned, due to dying at the young age of 31.
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