Savoy Information
Savoy (Arpitan: Savouè, IPA: [saˈvwɛ]; French: Savoie, IPA: [savwa]; Italian: Savoia) is a region of Western Europe. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south.
The historical land of Savoy emerged as the feudal territory of the house of Savoy during the 11th to 14th centuries. The historical territory is shared between the modern republics of France and Italy.
Installed by Rudolph III, King of Burgundy, officially in 1003, the House of Savoy became the longest surviving royal house in Europe. It ruled the County of Savoy to 1416 and then the Duchy of Savoy from 1416 to 1714. The territory of Savoy was absorbed into the Second French Empire in 1860, as part of the political agreement with Napoleon III that brought about the unification of Italy, but the House of Savoy retained its Italian lands and its heads became the Kings of Italy.
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Geography
The County and Duchy of Savoy incorporated Turin and other territories in Piedmont, a region in northwestern Italy that borders Savoy, which were also possessions of the House of Savoy. The capital of the Duchy remained at the traditional Savoyard capital of Chambéry until 1563, when it was moved to Turin.
In modern France, Savoy is part of the Rhône-Alpes region. Following its annexation to France in 1860, the territory of Savoy was divided administratively into two separate départements, Savoie and Haute-Savoie. The modern separatist / regionalist movements are discussed in the "Annexation and Opposition" section in this article.
Alpine landscape of Les Saisies, as seen from Mont Bisanne.The traditional capital remains Chambéry (Chiamberì), on the rivers Leysse and Albane, hosting the castle of the House of Savoy and the Savoyard senate. The state included six districts:
- Savoy proper, sometimes known as Ducal Savoy (capital Chambéry)
- Chablais (capital Thonon-les-Bains)
- Faucigny (capital Bonneville)
- Tarentaise (capital Moûtiers)
- Maurienne (capital Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne)
- Genevois (capital Annecy).
History
Early History
The region was once part of the Roman Empire, having previously been occupied by the Celtic Allobroges people[1] The name Savoy stems from the Late Latin Sapaudia, referring to a fir forest.[2] It is first recorded in Ammianus Marcellinus (354), to describe the southern part of Maxima Sequanorum[3] According to the Gallic Chronicle of 452, it was separated from the rest of Burgundian territories in 443, after the Burgundian defeat by Flavius Aetius.[4]
Early and High Middle Ages
Further information: County of SavoyBy the 8th century, the territory that would later become known as Savoy was part of the Kingdom of the Franks, and at the division of Francia at the Treaty of Verdun in 843, it became part of the short-lived kingdom of Middle Francia. After only 12 years, at the death of Lothair I in 855, Middle Francia was divided into Lotharingia north of the Alps, Italy south of the Alps, and the parts of Burgundy in the Western Alps, inherited by Charles son of Lothair. This latter territory comprised what would become known as Savoy and Provence.
From the 10th to 14th century, parts of what would ultimately become Savoy remained within Kingdom of Arles). Beginning in the 11th century, the gradual rise to power of the house of Savoy is reflected in the increasing territory of their County of Savoy between 1003 and 1416.
The County of Savoy was detached de jure from the Kingdom of Arles by Charles IV in 1361. It acquired the County of Nice was acquired in 1388, and in 1401 added the County of Genevois, the area of Geneva except for the city proper, which was ruled by its prince-bishop, nominally under the duke's rule: the bishops of Geneva, by unspoken agreement, came from the house of Savoy; this agreement came to an end in 1533.[5]
Duchy of Savoy
Main article: Duchy of Savoy Map of Savoy in the 16th century, white lines are modern bordersOn February 19, 1416, Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, made the County of Savoy an independent duchy, with Amédée VIII as the first duke. Straddling the Alps, Savoy lay within two competing spheres of influence, a French sphere and a North Italian one. At the time of the Renaissance, Savoy showed only modest development.[6] Its towns were few and small.[7] Savoy derived its subsistence from agriculture.[8] The geographic location of Savoy was also of military importance.[9] During the interminable wars between France and Spain over the control of northern Italy, Savoy was important to France because it provided access to Italy.[10] Savoy was important to Spain because it served as a buffer between France and the Spanish held lands in Italy.[11] In 1563 Emmanuel Philibert moved the capital from Chambéry to Turin, which was less vulnerable to French interference.[12]
Vaud was annexed by Bern in 1536, and Savoy officially ceded Vaud to Bern in the treaty of Lausanne of 30 October 1564.
In 1714, as a consequence of the War of the Spanish Succession, Savoy was technically subsumed into the Kingdom of Sicily, then (after that island was traded to Austria for Sardinia) the Kingdom of Sardinia from 1720. While the heads of the House of Savoy were known as the Kings of Sardinia, Turin remained their capital.
French Revolutionary Wars
Savoy was occupied by French revolutionary forces between 1792 and 1815. The region was first added to the département of Mont-Blanc, then in 1798 was divided between the départements of Mont-Blanc and Léman (French name of Lake Geneva.)
On September 13, 1793 the combined forces of Savoy, Piedmont and Aosta Valley fought against and lost to the occupying French forces at the Battle of Méribel (Sallanches).
Savoy, along with Piedmont and Nice were restored to the Kingdom of Sardinia at the Congress of Vienna in 1814-1815.
In 1801, Savoy officially left the Holy Roman Empire.[13]
Modern history
The Château de Chambéry, seat of government, was given a grand new façade following annexationFrom 1815 until 1860 Savoy was part of the Italian Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia.
Annexation to France
The French Second Republic first attempted to annex Savoy in 1848. Corps were dispatched from Lyon and invaded the capital of Savoy [Chambéry] and proclaimed the annexation to France. On learning about the invasion countrymen rushed to Chambéry. The corps were chased away by the local population and many were massacred.[14]
In order to secure an alliance against Austria in the wars of unification of Italy, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sardinia Camillo Cavour met in secret with the French emperor Napoleon III on July 21, 1858 in Plombières (Vosges). During the discussion, the Arrondissement of Nice and Duchy of Savoy were promised to France in exchange for its military support. This agreement was kept secret for several decades in an attempt to hide from the Great Powers of Europe the fact that the annexation of Savoy and Nice was not the result of a popular movement but of a machiavellian trade. The deception did not totally succeed as the United Kingdom learned early about the stratagem.[15]
The treaty annexing Nice and Savoy to France was signed in Turin on March 24, 1860 (Treaty of Turin).[16] The treaty was followed on April 22/23 by a plebiscite in which voters were offered the option of approving the treaty and joining France or rejecting the treaty under certain conditions; the disallowed options of either joining Switzerland (with which the region had close ties), remaining with Italy, or regaining its independence, were the source of some opposition. With a 99.8% vote in favour of joining France, there were allegations of vote-rigging. The correspondent of The Times in Savoy who was in Bonneville on the 22nd of April called the vote "the lowest and most immoral farces which was ever played in the history of nations". [17] He finished his letter with those words:
I leave you to draw your own conclusions from this trip, which will show clearly what the vote was in this part of Savoy. The vote was the bitterest irony ever made on popular suffrage. The ballot-box in the hands of those very authorities who issued the proclamations; no control possible; even travellers suspected and dogged lest they should pry into the matter; all opposition put down by intimidation, and all liberty of action completely taken away. One can really scarcely reproach the Opposition with having given up the game; there was too great force used against them. As for the result of the vote, therefore, no one need trouble himself about it; it will be just as brilliant as that in Nice. The only danger is lest the Savoy authorities in their zeal should fare as some of the French did in the vote of 1852, finding to their surprise rather more votes than voters inscribed on the list.
In his letter to the ambassador of Vienna Lord A. Loftus, the then Foreign Secretary Lord John Russell said "Voting in Savoy and Nice a farce ... we are neither entertained or edified". [18]
The annexation was consummated on June 14, 1860. On August 23, 1860 and March 7, 1861, two agreements were signed between the French Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia to settle the remaining issues concerning the annexation.[19] [20]
20th century
Some opposition to French rule was manifest when, in 1919, France officially (but contrary to the annexation treaty) ended the military neutrality of the parts of the country of Savoy that had originally been agreed to at the Congress of Vienna, and also eliminated the free trade zone - both treaty articles having been broken unofficially in World War I. France was condemned in 1932 by the international court for noncompliance with the measures of the treaty of Turin regarding the countries of Savoy and Nice.[21]
In 1960, the term annexion having negative connotations in France as it suggests the non-consent of the population, the annexation was renamed Rattachement de la Savoie à la France (Incorporation of Savoy to France).[22] It was the latter term which was used by the French authorities during the festivities celebrating the 100th anniversary of the annexation.[23] Daniel Rops of the French Academy justified the new title with these words:
Savoy has begun to solemnize the feasts in 1960, commemorating the centenary of its incorporation (rattachement) to France. It is on purpose that the word incorporation (rattachement) is highlighted here: the Savoyards attach great value to it, and it is the only one they have resolved to use in the official terminology of the Centenary. In that, they are infinitely right. Yesterday another term that was used: annexation. Looking at it more closely it was wrong! Can we say annexation when we talk about a decision which was approved by 130,889 voters over 135,449? [...]. Savoy was not annexed [...] but actually incorporated freely and by the will of its inhabitants.
A former French deputy, P. Taponnier, spoke of the annexation:
In late March 1860, the betrothal ceremony of Savoy to France took place in Tuileries Palace (...), a ceremony which was a pact of love and fidelity [...] it is with free consent that she [Savoy] gave itself to France by a solemn plebiscite which our leaders can ignore neither the terms nor the commitments. [...] May the bells of our cities [...] in Savoy vibrate in unison to glorify, in this magnificent Centenary, the indefectible commitment of Savoy to France. The Savoyards did not feel Italian. Besides, they spoke French. This explains why in 1858-1859 when rumours ran of the Plombières secret agreement, where Napoleon III and Cavour decided of the fate of Savoy, the Savoyards themselves took the initiative to ask for the incorporatoin (rattachement). [...] Incorporation, not annexation [...] The incorporation was an act of free will, in the logical order of geography and history [...].
Secessionist and Regionalist Politics
Further information: Savoyan LeagueThere is currently a peaceful separatist movement in the départements, as well as a faction in favour of greater regional powers. The Mouvement Région Savoie (Savoy Regional Movement) was founded in December 1971 as a 'movement' (rather than a traditional political party) in favour of regional autonomy. In the 1996 local elections, the Savoie Regional Movement received 19,434 votes. In the March 1998 regional elections, 1 seat (out of 23) was won by Patrice Abeille, leader of the Ligue Savoisienne (Savoie League, founded 1994), which had set up a 'provisional Savoie government' two years earlier. This group base its actions on the decline of the annexation treaty. The League gathered a total of 17,865 votes across the two départements. In the same elections, a further 4,849 voted in favour of the Savoie Movement.
As a result of the regional debate sparked by the political advances, the non-party organisation, La Région Savoie, j’y crois ! (I believe in the Savoy Region!), was founded in 1998. The organisation campaigns for the replacement of the Savoie and Haute-Savoie départements with a regional government, separate from the Rhône-Alpes region, with greater devolved powers. According to surveys conducted in 2000, between 41% and 55% of the population were in favour of the proposal, while 19% to 23% were in favour of separation from France.
In 2004, Waiting for Freedom in Savoy[24] was founded to promote the peaceful separatist cause to young people.
Towards the end of 2005, Hervé Gaymard called for Savoie to be given special status, similar to a French region, under his proposed 'Conseil des Pays de Savoie'.[25]
In 2010, 150 years after the annexation and after a long campaign lead by the Savoyan League and other secessionists, the local authorities and elite in Savoy partially acknowledge the irregularities and undemocratic nature of the plebiscite of the 22nd and 23 March 1860. [26] In an interview for the newspaper Le Dauphiné Libéré, Sylvain Milbach historian at the University of Savoy qualifies euphemistically the vote as Napoleonic.[27][28] However, according to him, a fairer and more democratic vote would not have changed the outcome of the plebiscite, the people of Savoy being eager to become French. This is today the official stance of the General Council of Savoie.
Notes
- ^ "Savoy". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913.
- ^ Modern French sapin; sapinière signifies "fir forest".
- ^ The territory, which has no modern counterpart, was perhaps bounded by the rivers Ain and Rhône, Lac Léman, the Jura and the Aar, though historians differ, and there seems to be insufficient evidence: see Norman H. Baynes, reviewing A. Coville, Recherches sur l'Histoire de Lyon du Ve au IXe Siècle (450-800) in The English Historical Review 45 No. 179 (July 1930:470-474) p 471.
- ^ Sapaudia Burgundionum reliquiis datur cum indigenis dividenda. (in T. Mommsen, Chronica Minora II:660, 128.
- ^ See the career of the last prince-bishop Pierre de La Baume.
- ^ Henry S. Lucas, The Renaissance and the Reformation (Harper & Bros. Publishers: New York, 1960) p. 42.
- ^ Ibid.
- ^ Ibid.
- ^ Henry S. Lucas, The Renaissance and the Reformation (Harper & Bros. Publishers: New York, 1960) p. 42.
- ^ Henry S. Lucas, The Renaissance and the Reformation, p. 42.
- ^ Ibid.
- ^ Robert Katz, The Fall of the House of Savoy (The MacMillan Company: New York, 1971) p. 18.
- ^ Heiliges Römisches Reich
- ^ [Journal de Genève], 22 avril 1860. Le Temps, Archives historiques Articles
- ^ Lord John Russell address to the House of Common, July 5, 1861,HC Deb 05 July 1861 vol 164 cc436-61
- ^ "Traité de Turin, Signé à Turin le 24 mars 1860 entre la France et la Sardaigne.". mjp.univ-perp.fr. http://mjp.univ-perp.fr/traites/1860turin.htm. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
- ^ The Times, April 28, 1860, Universal Suffrage In Savoy.
- ^ PRO 30/22/98 Austria. Vol 1. Legation (from Nov. 1860) embassy in Vienna. Private correspondence (drafts). Lord John (from 1861 earl) Russell, foreign secretary to Hon. Julian Fane, legation later embassy secretary; Lord Augustus Loftus, envoy; Lord Bloomfield, ambassador. Document conserved at The National Archives
- ^ Convention entre la France et la Sardaigne destinée à régler diverses questions auxquelles a donné lieu la réunion de la Savoie et de l'arrondissement de Nice à la France; signée a Paris le 23 août 1860. G.Fr.de Martens, Nouveau Recueil Général de Traités et autre actes relatifs aux rapports de droit international, t. XVII, p.460 (pdf). Oxford University. http://books.google.it/books?id=cngDAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
- ^ Convention de délimitation entre la France et la Sardaigne, conclue a Turin le 7 mars 1861. G.Fr.de Martens, Nouveau Recueil Général de Traités et autre actes relatifs aux rapports de droit international, t. XVII, p.406 (pdf). Oxford University. http://books.google.it/books?id=cngDAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
- ^ La vérité sur la zone franche de la Haute-Savoie, F.Murullaz. Bulletin de l'académie chablaisienne 1915-1916 Séance du 8 Novembre 1915.. Oxford University. http://books.google.it/books?id=8XYtAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA2-PA1&dq#v=onepage&q=&f=false. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
- ^ The word rattachement (incorporation) was preferred to réunion which may remind of the Anschluss.
- ^ La Savoie au miroir du Centenaire de son Rattachement à la France, Lacharme Amandine
- ^ Waiting for Freedom in Savoy
- ^ Région Savoie.
- ^ 1860, La Savoie de l'Annexion, Archives Départementales de la Savoie
- ^ In France, Napoleon does not have the bad reputation that it has abroad and he is still considered by many as a hero
- ^ Savoie Française: Sylvain Milbach: «Le "oui" était acquis»
See also
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Savoy |
External links
- The History of the Annexation of Savoy and Nice to France according to the United Kingdom, Switzerland and the others...
- Universal Suffrage under Napoleon III by Adams, Charles Kendall
- Savoy Region Movement (in French)
- Ligue Savoisienne (in English)
- La Région Savoie, j’y crois ! (in French)
- Francia Media}: a territorial and genealogical disambiguation of Lorraine and Burgundy, with a section on Savoy
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Categories: Former provinces of France | Savoy | History of Italy by location | Arpitany | Regions of Europe | Former Italian-speaking countries | Allobroges
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