of Transylvania, though George transferred his power to his son in 1652 through the Transylvanian Diet. However, Francis was never able to occupy this role because the Ottoman government prohibited Rákóczi inheritance of the Transylvanian throne in 1660. Francis therefore lived as an aristocrat in Royal Hungary. In terms of religion, Francis I broke with the Calvinist Rákóczi tradition by converting to Catholicism in imitation of his mother, Zsófia Báthori, which gained him favor with the Catholic Habsburg Court. Francis I married Croatian-Hungarian countess Ilona Zrínyi in 1666 and had three children, György (1667); Julianna Borbála (1672–1717); and Francis II (1676–1735). He soon joined the Wesselenyi Conspiracy as a result of his marriage to Zrínyi. He became the leader of this group and attempted to stage an uprising among Hungarian nobles, but this was poorly organized and was soon crushed by the Austrian government. Francis II Rákóczi Francis Rákóczi II (March 27, 1676, Borsi, Hungary - April 8, 1735, Tekirdağ, Turkey), also known as Ferenc II Rákóczi, was the prince of Transylvania and leader of the last major Hungarian uprising against Austria until 1848. He is celebrated as a national hero in Hungary. Francis was raised by Austrian standards and attended a Jesuit college in Bohemia, though he was majorly influenced by the nationalist fervor of his family growing up. Francis returned to his estates in Hungary in 1694 and was elected prince of Transylvania in 1704. Around the turn of the 18th century, King Louis XIV sought Rákóczi's help in his attempt to reduce Austrian power and promised to aid Rákóczi in return for an attempt at Hungarian independence. However, Rakoczi was arrested in 1700 after an Austrian spy alerted the emperor. He escaped to Poland and at the start of the War of the Spanish Succession, he led a Kuruc uprising in an attempt to gain Hungarian independence, leading to the War for Independence. However, the war failed, and Francis left Hungary forever in 1711, living in Turkey. He is commemorated by statues and monuments throughout Hungary, as well as in the Rákóczi March. Major events War for Independence In 1678, anti-Habsburg revolutionaries led by Imre Thököly and aided by Louis XIV of France and the Ottomans rose in uprising against the Habsburgs. After the failed Battle of Vienna in 1683, Thököly lost support and was defeated in 1685. Around 1700, Louis XIV reached out again, this time