SARDINIAN STATES. 



SARDINIAN STATES. 



446 



1489-96. Charles John Amadeus, styled Charles II., son of the 

 preceding, was a mere child when his father died. His mother, 

 Bianca of Montferrsto, was proclaimed regent, with the assistance of 

 a council. Turin was definitively chosen for the residence of the court. 

 From that time the house of Savoy became really Italian. In April 

 1496, the duke died of a fall at the villa of Moncalieri, near Turin. 



1496-97. Philip II., count of Bresse, and a son of Duke Ludovic, 

 succeeded as duke of Savoy and prince of Piedmont. He died in 

 November 1497. He left hy Margaret of Bourbon, his first wife, a 

 son, Philibert, who reigned after him, and a daughter, Louisa, who 

 married the Duke of Angouleme, and was the mother of Francis I. of 

 France ; and by a second wife, Charles, who waa duke of Savoy after 

 Phili^ert. 



1497-1504. Philibert IL married Margaret of Austria, daughter of 

 the emperor Maximilian I. The Duke of Savoy had the title of 

 Imperial Vicar in Italy, and was by interest as well as duty attached 

 to the imperial cause. Philibert however allowed Louis XIL of 

 France to pass through his dominions on his way to invade the duchy 

 of Milan in 1499. In 1504 Philibert II. died without issue, and was 

 buried in the convent of Brou at Bourg-en-Bresse, where his monu- 

 ment is still sera. 



1504-53. Charts III., brother of Philibert II., althoueh fond of 

 peace, found himself for the greater part of hi* reign in the midst of 

 the moeV destructive wars; first between Louis XII. of France and 

 the Holy League, headed by Pope Julius II. against the French ; after- 

 wards between Francis I. on one side and the Swiss and Duke Sfona 

 of Milan on the other ; and lastly, between Francis L and his powerful 

 rival the emperor Charles V : in all of which the territories of Savoy 

 and Piedmont, though the duke professed neutrality, were devastated 

 without mercy by French, Swiss, and Imperialists. In 1530 Duke 

 Charles attended the coronation of Charles V., who treated him with 

 marked attention, giving to his wife Beatrix of Portugal, and her 

 heirs, the county of Anti. Francis I. pretended to be offended at this, 

 and having in 1535 declared war against the duke, his troops occupied 

 the whole of Savoy and Piedmont, except a few fortresses which held 

 out for th- duke, who took refuge in Nice. The troops of Charles V. 

 entered Piedmont, and that unfortunate county was for many years 

 the theatre of war between the two great rivals. In 1543 Nice was 

 attacked by a combined French and Turkish fleet; the town was 

 sacked, but the castle was saved by the timely arriv-.l of Andrea 

 Doria. In 1547 Henry IL, having succeeded Francis I., c*me to 

 Turin to take formal possession of Piedmont. In 1551 war broke out 

 between France and the emperor, and Piedmont was again the field of 

 battle between th two armies. In the midst of this confusion. Duke 

 Charles died in 1553, at Vercelli, whi-re be had taken refuge under the 

 protection of the Imperial troops. Vercelli, Nice, Aosta, and Cuneo 

 were the only places that still held out for the bouse of Savoy. 



155S-80. Emmanuel Philibert, son of Duke Charle*, had acquired 

 gnat military reputation In the armies of Charles V., and he continued 

 in th* service of Philip IL, for whom he won the great battle of St.- 

 Quentin from the French in 1557, and In the following y-ar he gained 

 the battle of Gravelines. By the peace of CambresU, it was stipu 

 lated that the hereditary dominions of the house of Savoy should be 

 restored to Emmanuel Philibert, who married Margaret of France, 

 sister of Henri II. The duke, having thus recovered Savoy and 

 Piedmont, which had been estranged from his bouse for nearly half a 

 century, fixed his resilience at Turin, and applied himself to restore 

 order In every branch of the administration. He purchased the 

 county of Tenda and the principality of Oneglia, and created a small 

 naval force for the protection of the coast*. But Geneva had 

 established its independence, and the Pars-de-Vaud had been occu- 

 pied by the Bernese, so that the Lake of Geneva became the northern 

 boundary of the dominions of Savoy. Emmanuel Philibert died at 

 Turin in 15SO. 



1590-1830. Charles Emmanuel I., son of Emmanuel Philibert, 

 married Catherine of Austria, daughter of Philip II. He wrested the 

 marqnisat* of S ,lux/o from the French, and made the Alps the bound- 

 ary between France and Piedmont When Henri IV. was acknowledged 

 king of France, he claimed the marquisate of Saluxxo, and the claim 

 being refused, he invaded Savoy in 1600. By the peace of Lyon in 

 the following year, Saluxxo was definitively given to the house of Savoy, 

 in exchanije for Bresse, Bugey, and the county of Oex, which were 

 ceded to France. In December 1602 Charles Emmanuel unsuccessfully 

 attempted to seize Geneva. In the following year he formally acknow- 

 ledged the independence of that city and iU territory. He was after- 

 wards engaged in wars for the possession of the marquisate of 

 MonUerrmto. He joined Spain and the emperor against France. The 

 French invaded Savoy and overran Piedmont, and in the midst of this 

 the duke died at Savjgliaoo in July 1630. 



1630-37. Victor Amadou. L. son of Charles Emmanuel, obtained 



possession of the greater part of Montferrato by the peace of Cherasco 



in 1631. He died in October 1637, In the midst of the war between 



the Spaniards and the French In Italy, leaving two infant sons, the first 



whom, Francesco Giacinto, reigned nominally only for one year, as 



' 'barles Emmanuel II., second son of Victor Amadeus 

 was proclaimed duke under the regency of his mother Christina o 

 France. French troops, in their quality of allies, were in possession 



f the greater part of the country. In the meantime Thomas ol 

 Savoy, prince of Cariguano, and Cardinal Maurice of Savoy, uncles of 

 he infant duke, being supported by Spain, demanded for themselves 

 he regency aud guardianship of their nephew, in order to free the 

 errftories of their house from the baneful influence of France. A 

 Spanish army from the Milanese entered Piedmont, led by the two 

 irinees, and most of the towns opened their gates to them. In 1640 

 I'uriu, being in possession of Prince Thomas and the Spaniards, was 

 >esieged by a French army, which had possession of the citadel, and 

 the French were in their turn surrounded in their entrenchments by 

 a Spanish army commanded by Count Leganes. At last Turin capi- 

 tulated and Leganes withdrew. Piedmont was freed of foreign troops 

 and Charles Emmanuel, being of age, assumed the government. The 

 >eace of the Pyrenees in 1659 terminated the Italian wars between 

 France and Spain, which had laste I with little interruption for nearly 

 eighty years. Duke Charles Emmanuel enjoyed peace during the 

 remainder of his reign. He applied himself to the improvement of 

 His dominions. He died in 1675. 



1675-1730. Victor Amadeus II. succeeded his father Charles 

 Emmanuel. He found himself harassed between Louis XIV. of 

 Prance on one side and the house of Austria on the other. Louis 

 ordered him, among other imperious commands, to give up to 

 litu the citadel of Turin. Victor Amadeus summoned round him 

 :he nobles of Piedmont and declared war against France. Being 

 oined by an Austrian force, he disputed every inch of ground against 

 :he French. The war lasted till 1695. The peace of Ryswyck restored 

 [>eace to Italy, and the French evacuated all the territories of the duke, 

 including Pignerolo, which they had possessed for about a century. In 

 the war of the Spanish succession Victor Amadeus sided first with the 

 French, but afterwards with the emperor. French armies again overran 

 and devastated Piedmont, and in 1706 besieged Turin, which made a 

 noble defence. Victor Amadeus, being joined by the Austrian army 

 under his relative Prince Eugene of Savoy, defeated the French 

 besieging army on the 7th September 1706, and delivered Turin. By 

 the peace of Utrecht (1713) he obtained the Valsesia, the territory of 

 Lomelfma, the remainder of Montferrato, and other districts, and above 

 all the island of Sicily with the title of king, and he was crowned at 

 Palermo in December 1713. By the subsequent treaty of London, 

 Victor Amadeus gave up Sicily to the emperor, and received in exchange 

 the island of Sardinia with the title of a kingdom. Thus through 

 bis gallantry and perseverance the house of Savoy became numbered 

 among the royal house* of Europe. Victor Amadeus employed the 

 peaceful period which followed to improve the administration and to 

 encourage agriculture and industry. Through his care the cultivation 

 of the mulberry-tree and the rearing of silkworm* att dned in Pied- 

 mont that perfection which they .-till umiutaiu. He abdicated in 1730 

 in favour of his son Charles Emiuauu.fl, and retired to the villa of 

 Moncalieri, where be died in 1732. He was the first king of his 

 !;. I .-;.-. 



1730 73. Charles Emmanuel III., King of Sardinia, Duke of Savoy, 

 Prince of Piedmont, 4c., assumed the crown in times of peace. But 

 the ambition of the court of Spain, excited by Elizabeth Fames-, wife 

 of Philip V., aimed at recovering it* lost preponderance in Italy, and 

 Spain was supported by France in consequence of the family alliance. 

 The contested election for the crown of I'olaud became the pretext for 

 a new war in 1733. The French cabinet, in order to obtain the alliance 

 of the king of Sardinia, promised him the duchy of Milan, which was 

 to be taken from Austria. Charles Emmanuel united bis forces to the 

 French army under Villars, and the Milanese was conquered iu a few 

 weeks. Don Carlos, infante of Spain, on his part conquered Naples. 

 In September 1734 the battle of Guastalla took placo between the 

 Austrian< on one side, aud the French and Sardinian troops, commanded 

 by King Charle* Emmanuel, on the other. The Austrian* lost 8000 

 men, and were obliged to retreat. In 1735 the preliminaries of peace 

 were signed, and Charles Emmanuel, instead of the duchy of Milan, 

 obtained only the Novarese and Tortoua, 



In the war of the Austrian succession King Charles Emmanuel took 

 the part of Maria Theresa. In 1743 he signed a treaty with Maria 

 Theresa and England, engaging himself to defend LomUirdy with 

 45,000 men. The French and Spanish combined forces invaded 1'iud- 

 inont and laid siege to Cuueo, which they could not take. In 1745 

 another French and Spanish army, passing the Riviera of Genoa, 

 entered Lombanly and took Milan. In the following j-ear tho king 

 of Sardinia, united with the Austrian*, drove them away. In 1747 

 a French force of 50 batallions attacked the entrenched camp of the 

 Piedmontese near the pww of the Col de 1'Assiette on the 19th of 

 July; but after the most strenuous efforts they were completely 

 repulsed, having lost their general (the Chevalier de Belleisle), between 

 400 and 500 officers, and 6000 men. This defeat put au end to all 

 attempt* at invading Piedmont for half a century. By the peace of 

 Aix-la-Chapelle the king of Sardinia obtained the Upper Novarege, 

 or Valli di Novara, and the districts of Voghera and Vigerauo near 

 the Po. 



The remaining 25 years of the reign of Charles Emmanuel III. 

 were spent in peace, and iu the cares of administration. He published 

 a code of laws ; effected a general survey of the laud ; he opened 

 new roads, excavated canals, encouraged commerce ; and in 1771 ho 

 published an edict, empowering all individuals and communes to 



