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Maria Francisca de Silva-Mendoza-Sandoval y Gutierrez de los Rios (b. 1707 Granada - d. 1770) was a Spanish noblewoman of the House of Mendoza and the last Mendoza to hold title over the Dukedom of the Infantado. She was the 11th Duchess of the Infantado and also held the associated titles of Duchess of Lerma and of Pastrana (IX Duquesa de Lerma y IX Marques de Tavara).
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Family origins
As a member of the Mendoza family, Maria was next in line to receive the Dukedom of the Indantado and its associated titles. The dukedom had been in the hands of the Mendoza family since the very first duke, Diego Hurtado de Mendoza y Figueroa. The Mendoza family rose to power when it merged with the House of Lasso de la Vega through the marriage of Leonor Lasso de la Vega, the last direct member of that line, and Admiral Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, the admiral of Castile. Maria was the last of the direct Mendoza family line to hold the title.
Her father was Juan de Dios de Silva y Mendoza y Haro, the X Duke of the Infantado. Her mother was Maria Teresa de los Rios.
Biography
Privately, Maria ran her house according to the old Habsburgian spirit but her tenure in office saw many changes in Spain with the rise of the Age of Enlightenment in the 18th century. She was forced to face many counter claims and lawsuits to the hereditary family property of her Dukedom.
Marriage and descendants
On 10 January 1724, Maria Francisca de Silva Mendoza Gutierrez de los Rios married Miguel de Toledo y Pimentel, the IX Marques de Tavara. Toledo y Pimentel would die in 1734, but the couple gave birth to one child: