Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand of Austria

Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand (also known as Don Fernando de Austria, Cardenal-Infante Fernando de España and as Ferdinand von Österreich; 16 May 1609 – 9 November 1641) was a Spanish and Portuguese prince (Infante of Spain, Infante of Portugal (until 1640)), Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, Cardinal of the Holy Catholic Church, Archduke of Austria, Archbishop of Toledo (1619–1641), and a general during the Thirty Years' War, the Eighty Years' War, and the Franco-Spanish War.

Upon his first decisive victory at the Battle of Nördlingen, which led to the Peace of Prague, he proceeded to rescue the desperate situation in the Spanish Netherlands despite facing a great numerical disadvantage against the combined forces of France and the Dutch Republic. As such, the Cardinal-Infante gained a reputation as one of the best European generals of the 17th century. He is commonly considered the last great commander and strategist of Habsburg Spain, whose premature death in a critical moment helped bring about the end of Spanish hegemony in Europe.

Biography

Youth

Born at the El Escorial near Madrid, Spain in 1609, he was the son of the King of Spain and Portugal, Philip III and II and Margaret of Austria, sister of Emperor Ferdinand II. His older siblings were King Philip IV and III and the French queen Anne of Austria.

From a young age, the Cardinal-Infante had always leaned towards a soldier's life. He had never shown vocation in religion, rather, as a child, he was interested in guns, horses, and war. He lacked friends growing up, and felt his interests were thrown aside in favor of political movements conducted by his father, Philip III, and the Duke of Lerma. Ferdinand was given the religious role out of his two brothers as he was the youngest, and according to royal tradition, pertained to ecclesiastical responsibilities. He was elevated to the Primacy of Spain in 1619, becoming Archbishop of Toledo.