October 1807, Napoleon signed the Treaty of Fontainebleau with the Spanish court. This transferred Tuscany to France, and, in November of that year, Marie-Louise left the kingdom. From 12 May 1808, Tuscany was entrusted to an intermediary governor, Abdallah Jacques Menou, a French soldier who had converted to Islam during Napoleon's invasion of Egypt, but his way of life and lack of interest in the territory's affairs forced Napoleon to recall him on 5 April 1809. Élisa wished to become Governess of Tuscany in 1808, but she contracted an illness late in the year that prevented her from taking part in state affairs. She recovered in February 1809. A decree was officially created between the second and third of March that year which established the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, made Florence its capital and Élisa its "grand duchess". However, the terms of the decree required Élisa to enforce the decisions of Napoleon and his ministers and denied her the power to modify any of these decisions. This was a significant difference compared to the relative autonomy Élisa enjoyed in Lucca and Piombino. The decree also promoted Félix to the rank of général de division. Elisa was the only woman Napoleon entrusted with a real political responsibility. He normally disliked politically active women, and while he did appoint his second wife regent during his absence, that post was nominal only. Elisa was thus an exceptional case for Napoleon in this issue. He was later to say about her “My sister, Elisa, has a masculine mind, a forceful character, noble qualities and outstanding intelligence; she will endure adversity with fortitude.” On 2 April 1809, Élisa arrived in Florence, where she was coldly received by the nobility. Her arrival coincided with a revolt against compulsory conscription that ended after a mayor and a judge were assassinated. The conscription and many new taxes imposed on Tuscany by Napoleon were sources of conflicts in the region. As at Lucca, Élisa tried to nationalise the goods of the clergy and closed many convents. She continued her patronage of arts and science. In 1809, she commissioned the sculptor Lorenzo Bartolini to create busts of her immediate family. The first two volumes of the "Annali del Museo Imperiale di Fisica e Storia Naturale" of Florence were dedicated to her, in 1808 and 1809. The observatory at that museum of physics and natural history was the ancestor of Florence's