The foundations for the family's wealth and power were laid down by Sigismund Rákóczi; some decades into the 17th century, the Rákóczis became the wealthiest aristocrats of Hungary.

[2] Most famous was Francis II Rákóczi, who led an unsuccessful Hungarian nationalist revolt against Habsburg rule in 1711.

In 1657, he led an army of 40,000 men against King John II Casimir of Poland in the third part of the Second Northern War (1655-1660).

He took Kraków and entered Warsaw with the Swedes, but the moment his allies withdrew, he was defeated by the Poles at Czarny Ostrów.

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.

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 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.

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.

Around 1700, Louis XIV reached out again, this time to Francis II Rákóczi, in his attempt to mitigate Austrian power.

The War of the Spanish Succession forced much of the Austrian army to leave Hungary, creating an opportunity to revolt.