The hereditary Spanish title duke of Gandía (Valencian: Ducat de Gandia, IPA: [duˈkad de ganˈdi.a]) was created in 1485 by Ferdinand II of Aragon from the original Italian title "duke of Candia" (Italian Duca di Candia) belonging to the Italian Stato di Mare or Italian Kingdoms of the Mediterranean Sea; originally granted around 1206 to a Genoan marquis member of the House of Candia in addition to his fiefdom in the island of Crete when it fell into the hands of the Venetians at the time of the Fourth Crusade. This was the second creation (Ferdinand himself was the last of the dukes of the first creation). According to the Catholic Encyclopedia,[1] this was a purchase of a title by Pope Alexander VI for his son Pier Luigi (Pedro Luis).[2]
The dukedom went to Pier Luigi's brother (or half-brother, mothers unknown) Giovanni. He was assassinated, and his young son became Duke. The fourth duke was the religious figure Francesco Borgia. He became a Jesuit, but after the death of his wife with whom he had a large family; the eldest son Carlos, later viceroy of Portugal,[3] became the fifth duke. The sixth duke's younger son Gaspar de Borja y Velasco became a bishop and diplomat and cardinal.
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The first dukes of Gandía were of the House of Candia, from Switzerland, France and Italy. In 1204 the duchy was first created by the Venetians as the Duchy of Candia,[4] (Italian: Ducato di Candia, granted to the House of Candia[5] in reference to the island of Crete. This fief eventually became the Kingdom of Candia (Italian: Regno di Candia) until the Ottoman occupation of the island.
In 1485 was re-created by Ferdinand II of Aragon and granted to the House of Borgia, of Spain and Italy.[6]
In 1898 a joint Ottoman–Greek (Muslim–Christian) assembly was part-elected, part-appointed. However, this was not enough to satisfy Cretan nationalists, as such it was appointed a noble representative from the Græco-Danish House of Glücksburg.