In 1854, the twenty-two-year-old Archduke Ferdinand (Maximilian I) became Commander-in-Chief of the Navy of the Austrian Empire, the youngest naval commander-in-chief since Archduke Friedrich.
In the minds of the Austrian Empire's upper ranks at the time, sea power had never been the core of policy. As a result, the nation's navy received no support from the imperial family, the military, or most of the public. Yet through Archduke Ferdinand's efforts, the navy began to draw the people's attention and received substantial funding.
He threw himself fervently into the work of the Austrian Navy, further advancing modernization. During his tenure, he established the Trieste Naval Base and a powerful battle fleet.
The Archduke began sweeping reforms of the Imperial Navy. He successively supported the Trieste Shipyard and Pola Shipyard, which later remained the Austro-Hungarian Empire's most important shipyards.
He also dispatched large numbers of talented people to Britain, France, Denmark, and other nations with advanced shipbuilding technology to study, while strongly supporting capable military talent.
Admiral Tegetthoff, who would later shake the world at the Battle of Lissa, was one of them.
Archduke Ferdinand also launched large-scale scientific expeditions. During his tenure, the Austrian Navy completed its first circumnavigation of the globe. It could be said that the Austrian Navy's later glory at the Battle of Lissa had been laid down single-handedly by the Archduke.