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| 6. Tuscany |
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(See Other Italian States)| Tuscany fell into Habsburg hands only after the extinction of the Medici line in 1737. The Medicis continued to use the aristocratic Comune created in the 16th century. As a result of this and Medici policies generally, money was heavily invested in land because land brought prestige. However, such investments did not provide the large yields that trade and banking would have provided. | 1 |
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| 1733 |
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| Monsignor Cerati became director of University of Pisa. Cerati provided an intellectual basis for many of the reforms introduced in the 18th century. Most important, he called for new economic policies eliminating trade restrictions and tariffs. | 2 |
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| 1737–45 |
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| Francis of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany. | 3 |
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| 1738 |
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| Francis refused to publish the papal bull condemning freemasonry and introduced a law limiting the right to bear arms. The latter disarmed the Inquisitor's agents. | 4 |
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| 1739 |
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| Government dismissed all the consuls of the city's guilds and appointed officials to carry out its reforms. The tax system and fiscal system completely revamped. | 5 |
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| 1740, Dec |
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| Tuscan finances contracted to a private French company. This new tax farm replaced the numerous private collectors in an effort to rationalize tax collection. | 6 |
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| 1743, May 28 |
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| Censorship of books and presses transferred from the Church to the state. | 7 |
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| 1747–90 |
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| Leopold I. The administration was remade, serfdom abolished, trade and industry encouraged. | 8 |
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| 1747 |
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| Gabriele Verri redrafted the Milanese legal code to improve its clarity and structure. | 9 |
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| 1747 |
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| Edict restricted the fidecommesso (property settlement) to nobility and allowed land inheritances to be passed down in this manner for only four generations. | 10 |
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| 1750 |
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| Law required that all titles held before the 18th century be verified. While this was designed to limit the nobility to those considered worthy (i.e., without demeaning professions, etc.), it met with opposition from the nobility. | 11 |
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| 1751 |
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| A law of mortmain set limits on donations of land and moveable goods to the Church. Above those limits, the Regency Council had to approve the transfer. | 12 |
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