Alessandro de’ Medici (1511-37) was the first Duke of Florence and the first black head of
Alessandro de’ Medici (1511-37) was the first Duke of Florence and the first black head of state in the modern Western World. He was believed to be the son of Lorenzo de’ Medici, Duke of Urbino or Cardinal Giulio de Medici (later Pope Clement VII) and a Moorish slave. Installed as Duke of Florence in 1532, his rule would be a contested one. While many of his subjects admired his intelligence, sense of justice and sympathy for all of his subjects, including the poor, those in favor of a more democratic Florence viewed him as a tyrant. Like others in his family he was a patron of the arts and commissioned pieces by many of the prominent artist at the time. Alessandro’s rule would come to an end at the hands of his own cousin, Lorenzino de’ Medici, who claimed to have done so out of love for the republic. The people did not rise in support of his actions which forced Lorenzino to flee; he would eventually be assassinated for his crime by order of Alessandro’s successor, Cosimo I de’ Medici, in 1548. -- source link
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