Part 603

"From the epoch of the treaty of Château Cambresis [1559] to the close of the 16th century, Italy remained, in one sense, in profound and uninterrupted peace. During this long period of 41 years, her provinces were neither troubled by a single invasion of foreign armies, nor by any hostilities of importance between her own feeble and nerveless powers. But this half century presented, nevertheless, anything rather than the aspect of public happiness and prosperity. Her wretched people enjoyed none of the real blessings of peace. Subject either to the oppressive yoke of their native despots, or to the more general influence of the arch-tyrant of Spain, they were abandoned to all the exactions of arbitrary government, and compelled to lavish their blood in foreign wars and in quarrels not their own. While France, torn by religious and civil dissensions, sank for a time from her political station among the powers of the continent, and was no longer capable of affording protection or exciting jealousy, Philip II. was left free to indulge in the peninsula all the obdurate tyranny of his nature. … The popes were interested in supporting his career of bigotry and religious persecution; the other powers of Italy crouched before him in abject submission. To feed the religious wars, in which he embarked as a principal or an accessory, in the endeavour to crush the protestant cause in France, in the Low Countries, and in Germany, he drained Italy of her resources in money and in men. … While the Italian soldiery fought with the courage of freemen, they continued the slaves of a despot, and while the Italian youth were consumed in transalpine warfare, their suffering country groaned under an iron yoke, and was abandoned a prey to the unresisted assaults of the infidels. Her coasts, left without troops, or defences in fortifications and shipping, were insulted and ravaged by the constant descents of the corsairs of Turkey and Barbary. Her maritime villages were burnt, her maritime population dragged off into slavery; and her tyrants, while they denied the people the power of defending themselves, were unable or careless also to afford them protection and safety."

_G. Procter, History of Italy, chapter 9._

ITALY: A. D. 1569. Creation of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

See FLORENCE: A. D. 1502-1569.

ITALY: A. D. 1597. Annexation of Ferrara to the States of the Church.

See PAPACY: A. D. 1597.

ITALY: A. D. 1605-1607. Venice under the guidance of Fra Paolo Sarpi. Successful contest of the Republic with the Papacy.

See VENICE: A. D. 1606-1607; and PAPACY: A. D. 1605-1700.

ITALY: A. D. 1620-1626. The Valtelline War.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1624-1626.

ITALY: A. D. 1627-1631. Disputed succession to the Duchy of Mantua. War of France with Spain, Savoy and the Emperor.

"About Christmas in the year 1627, Vincenzo II., Duke of Mantua, of the house of Gonzaga, died without issue. His next of kin, beyond all controversy, was Charles Gonzaga, Duke of Nevers, whose family had settled in France some fifty years before, and acquired by marriage the dukedoms of Nevers and Rethel. Although there was a jealousy on the part both of Austria and Spain that French influences should be introduced into Upper Italy, there seems to have been no intention, in the first instance, of depriving Charles of his Italian inheritance. … But … when the old Duke Vincenzo's days were evidently numbered, Charles's son, the young Duke of Rethel, by collusion with the citizens, arrived at Mantua to seize the throne which in a little while death would make vacant." {1845} At the same time, he took from a convent in the city a young girl who represented whatever claims might exist in the direct native line, and married her, the pope granting a dispensation. "Both the King of Spain and the Emperor … were incensed by conduct which both must needs have regarded as indicative of hostility, and the latter as an invasion of his feudal rights. Spain flew to arms at once. The emperor summoned the young duke before his tribunal, to answer the charges of having seized the succession without his investiture, and married his ward without his consent. … Charles, supported by the promises of Richelieu, refused to acknowledge the emperor's rights of superiority, or to submit to his jurisdiction."

_B. Chapman, History of Gustavus Adolphus, chapter 8._

"The emperor … sequestered the disputed territory, and a Spanish army invaded Montferrat [embraced in the dominions of the Duke of Mantua] and besieged Casale, the capital. Such was the paramount importance attached by Richelieu to his principle of opposition to the house of Austria, that he induced Louis to cross the Alps in person with 36,000 men, in order to establish the Duke of Nevers in his new possessions. The king and the cardinal forced the pass of Susa in March, 1629, in spite of the Duke of Savoy, who was another competitor for Montferrat, and so decisive was the superiority of the French arms that the duke immediately afterward signed a treaty of peace and alliance with Louis, by which he undertook to procure the abandonment of the siege of Casale and the retreat of the Spaniards into their own territory. This engagement was fulfilled, and the Duke of Nevers took possession of his dominions without farther contest. But the triumph was too rapid and easy to be durable."

_N. W. Jervis, Students' History of France, chapter 19._

"The Spaniards remained, however, in Milaness, ready to burst again upon the Duke of Mantua. The king was in a hurry to return to France, in order to finish the subjugation of the Reformers in the south, commanded by the Duke of Rohan. The cardinal placed little or no reliance upon the Duke of Savoy. … A league … was formed between France, the republic of Venice, the Duke of Mantua, and the Duke of Savoy, for the defence of Italy in case of fresh aggression on the part of the Spaniards; and the king, who had just concluded peace with England, took the road back to France. Scarcely had the cardinal joined him before Privas when an Imperialist army advanced into the Grisons and, supported by the celebrated Spanish general Spinola, laid siege to Mantua. Richelieu did not hesitate: he entered Piedmont in the month of March, 1630, to march before long on Pignerol, an important place commanding the passage of the Alps; it, as well as the citadel, was carried in a few days. … The Duke of Savoy was furious, and had the soldiers who surrendered Pignerol cut in pieces. The king [Louis XIII.] had put himself in motion to join his army. … The inhabitants of Chambéry opened their gates to him; Annecy and Montmélian succumbed after a few days' siege; Maurienne in its entirety made its submission, and the king fixed his quarters there, whilst the cardinal pushed forward to Casale [the siege of which had been resumed by Spinola] with the main body of the army. Rejoicings were still going on for a success gained before Veillane over the troops of the Duke of Savoy, when news arrived of the capture of Mantua by the Imperialists. This was the finishing blow to the ambitious and restless spirit of the Duke of Savoy. He saw Mantua in the hands of the Spaniards, 'who never give back aught of what falls into their power' … ; it was all hope lost of an exchange which might have given him back Savoy; he took to his bed and died on the 26th of July, 1630, telling his son that peace must be made on any terms whatever." A truce was arranged, followed by negotiations at Ratisbon, and Casale was evacuated by both parties—the Spaniards having had possession of the city, while the citadel was held by the French. "It was only in the month of September, 1631, that the states of Savoy and Mantua were finally evacuated by the hostile troops. Pignerol had been given up to the new Duke of Savoy, but a secret agreement had been entered into between that prince and France: French soldiers remained concealed in Pignerol; and they retook possession of the place in the name of the king, who had purchased the town and its territory, to secure himself a passage into Italy. … The affairs of the emperor in Germany were in too bad a state for him to rekindle war, and France kept Pignerol."

_F. P. Guizot, Popular History of France, chapter 41._

"The peace left all parties very nearly in the condition in which they were when the war began; the chief loser was the emperor, who was now compelled to acknowledge De Nevers as Duke of Mantua and Montserrat; and the chief gainer was the Duke of Savoy, whose territories were enlarged by the addition of Alba, Trino, and some portions of the territory of Montserrat which lay nearest to his Piedmontese dominions. France; too, made some permanent acquisitions to compensate her for the cost of the war. She eluded the stipulation which bound her to evacuate Casal, and Victor Amedée subsequently suffered her to retain both that fortress and Pignerol, such permission, as was generally believed, … having furnished the secret reason which influenced Richelieu to consent to the duke's obtaining the portion of Montserrat already mentioned, the cardinal thus making the Duke of Mantua furnish the equivalent for the acquisitions made by Louis."

_C. D. Yonge, History of France under the Bourbons, chapter 7 (volume 1)._

ITALY: A. D. 1631. Annexation of Urbino to the States of the Church.

See PAPACY: A. D. 1605-1700.

ITALY: A. D. 1635. Italian alliances of Richelieu against the Spaniards in Milan.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1634-1639.

ITALY: A. D. 1635-1659. Invasion of Milanese by French and Italian armies. Civil war and foreign war in Savoy and Piedmont. The extraordinary siege of Turin. Treaty of the Pyrenees. Restoration of territory to Savoy.

"Richelieu … having obtained the alliance of the Dukes of Savoy, Parma, and Mantua, and having secured the neutrality of the Republics of Venice and Genoa, now bent all his efforts to expel the Spaniards from Milan, which was at that time but weakly defended. … In 1635, a French army of 15,000 men was accordingly assembled in Dauphiny, and placed under the command of Mareschal Crequi. Having crossed the Alps, it formed a junction with 8,000 troops under the Duke of Parma, and 12,000 under the Duke of Savoy, to whom the supreme command of this formidable army of 35,000 men was entrusted. {1846} Such a force, if properly employed, ought to have proved sufficient to overwhelm the Dutchy of Milan, in its present unprotected condition. … But the confederates were long detained by idle disputes among themselves, their licentiousness and love of plunder." When they did advance into Milanese, their campaign was ineffective, and they finally "separated with mutual disgust," but "kept the field, ravaging the open and fertile plains of Milan. They likewise took possession of several towns, particularly Bremi, on the Po. … On hearing of the distress of Milan, the King of Spain took immediate steps for the relief of that bulwark of his Italian power. In 1636 he appointed to its government Diego Guzman, Marques of Leganez, who was a near relative of Olivarez. … He had not long entered on the government intrusted to him when he succeeded in expelling the enemy from every spot in Milan, with exception of Bremi, which they still retained. Milan having been thus delivered, Leganez transferred the theatre of war to the States of the Duke of Parma, and completely desolated those fertile regions," compelling the Duke to renounce his French alliance (1637). "The Duke of Savoy, Victor Amadeus, did not long survive these events; and it was strongly suspected, both in Spain and Italy, though probably on no just grounds, that he had been poisoned. … The demise of the Duke of Mantua occurred nearly about the same period; and on the decease of these two princes, the Court of Spain used every exertion to detach their successors from the French confederacy. Its efforts succeeded, at least to a certain extent, with the Dutchess-dowager of Mantua. … But the Dutchess of Savoy, … being the sister of Louis XIII., could not easily be drawn off from the French interests. Olivarez [the Spanish minister], despairing to gain this princess, excited by his intrigues the brothers of the late Duke [Cardinal Maurice and Prince Thomas] to dispute with her the title to the regency." Leganez, now (1638) laid siege to Bremi, and Marshal Crequi, in attempting to relieve the place, was killed by a cannon shot. "By the loss of Bremi, the French were deprived of the last receptacle for their supplies or forces in the Dutchy of Milan; and in consequence of the death of Crequi, they had now no longer any chief of their own nation in Italy. The few French nobility who were still in the army returned to their own country, and the soldiery dispersed into Montferrat and Piedmont. Leganez, availing himself of this favourable posture of affairs, marched straightway into Piedmont, at the head of an army of 20,000 men. … He first laid siege to Vercelli, which, from its vicinity to Milan, had always afforded easy access for the invasion of that dutchy, by the French and Savoyards." A new French army, of 13,000 men, under Cardinal La Valette, was sent to the relief of the place, but did not save it from surrender. "After the capture of Vercelli, the light troops of Leganez ravaged the principality of Piedmont as far as the gates of Turin."

_J. Dunlop, Memoirs of Spain, from 1621 to 1700, volume 1, chapter 4._

Fabert and Turenne were now sent from France to the assistance of La Valette, "and soon changed the aspect of affairs. Turenne aided powerfully in driving back Leganez and Prince Thomas from Turin, in seizing Chivasso and in organizing a decisive success." In November, 1639, the French, through want of provisions, were forced to retreat to Carignano, repelling an attack made upon them in the course of the retreat. The command was now handed over to Turenne, "with instructions to revictual the citadel of Turin, which was defended by French troops against Prince Thomas, who had gained most of the town. Turenne succeeded … in conveying food and munitions into the citadel. In the following spring d'Harcourt [resuming command] undertook to relieve Casale, which belonged to the Duke of Mantua. … The place was besieged by Leganez." The attempt succeeded, the besieging army was beaten, and the siege raised. "After the relief of Casale d'Harcourt resolved, on the advice of Turenne, to besiege Turin. The investment was made on the 10th May, 1640. This siege offered a curious spectacle; the citadel which the French held was besieged by Prince Thomas, who held the town. He himself was besieged by the French army, which in its turn was besieged in its lines of circumvallation by the Spanish army of Leganez. The place capitulated on the 17th September. … Prince Thomas surrendered; Leganez recrossed the Po; Marie Christine [the Dowager-Duchess] re-entered Turin; and d'Harcourt, being recalled to France by the cardinal, left the command of the army to Turenne."

_H. M. Hozier, Turenne, chapter 2._

"The fall of Turin did not put an end to the civil war, but its main exploits were limited to the taking of Cuneo by Harcourt (September 15th, 1641), … and of Revel, which was reduced by the Piedmontese troops who fought on the French side. … In the meantime the Regent, no less than her opponents, began to grow weary of the burdensome protection of their respective allies. … Under such circumstances, a reconciliation between the hostile parties became practicable, and was indeed effected on the 24th of July, 1642. The Princes were admitted to a share of the Regent's power, and from that time they joined the French standard, and took from the Spaniards most of the places they had themselves placed in their hands. … In the meanwhile the great agitator of Europe, Richelieu, had died (1642), and had been followed by the King, Louis XIII., five months later. … The struggle between the two great rival powers, France and Spain, scarcely interrupted by the celebrated peace of Westphalia, which put an end to the Thirty Years' War in the North, in 1648, continued throughout the greatest part of this period; but the rapid decline of Spain, the factions of Alessio in Sicily and of Massaniello in Naples, as much paralysed the efforts of the Court of Madrid as the disorders of the Fronde weakened that of Paris. The warlike operations in North Italy were languid and dull. The taking of Valenza by the French (September 3rd, 1656) is the greatest event on record, and even that [was] void of results. By the treaty of the Pyrenees (November 17th, 1059) Savoy was restored to her possessions, and Vercelli was evacuated by the Spaniards. The citadel of Turin had been given up by the French two years before, owing to the influence of Mazarin, who married on that occasion his niece Olimpia Mancini to Eugene Maurice, son of Thomas, Prince of Carignano, and first cousin to Charles Emanuel II. From that union, it is well known, was born in Paris, in 1663, Prince Eugene of Savoy. {1847} The French nation were highly displeased at the loss of the Turin citadel, and never forgave the Cardinal this mere act of just and tardy restitution. Pinerola and Perosa, however, still remained in their hands, and placed the Court of Turin entirely at their discretion. During all this lapse of years, and until the latter end of the century, the history of Piedmont presents but a melancholy blank."

_A. Gallenga, History of Piedmont, volume 3, chapter 2._

ITALY: A. D. 1646-1654. French hostility to the Pope. Siege of Orbitello. Masaniello's revolt at Naples. French intrigue and failures.