Part III
Part III
Emmanuel Philibert I “Iron Head”
The enthronisation of Emmanuel Philibert as Duke of Greater Savoy was accompanied by a wave of obstruction unknown in Savoien history: at first, the peasants of Lyon rebelled without being provoked (one of the first laws of the new Duke even strengthened the rights of the serfs), then the heretics of the Cevennes rose against our attempt to regain their souls for the Catholic Faith and, in November 1554, some treacherous nobles tried to overthrow the Dukes rule with the help of Burgundy. But it was in these early days of his reign, that Emmanuel Philibert earned himself the name “Iron Head”: he made no concessions and brought all rebels – nobles, priests and peasants alike – to justice, and soon peace was restored throughout the realm When rebels took control of Genoa in March 1555, the Duke himself led the troops we sent to help our allies. After liberating the city and restoring law and order, the senate of Genoa decided to place itself under our protection – and Genoa was a vassal of Greater Savoy from this day on.
The following years saw several revolts (Sardinia 1557 and 1563, Cevennes 1558, Mantua 1561), but none of them lasted for long. It was a time of peace, the land prospered and the positive effects of a good government could be seen everywhere (especially in 1561). Although we managed to regain the Cevennes for the True Faith in April 1562 – thus being an all Catholic nation again – the Pope refused to renew our military alliance in December of the same year and even the greatest gifts couldn’t change his mind.
Nevertheless, Duke Emmanuel Philibert decided to focus on our Italian affairs and moved our capitol to Turino in February 1563. The new palace with its fine arts galleries was completed two years later and the Duke took residence there immediately.
With the help of the former Duke of Modena (who was one of the greatest ministers Savoy ever had), the government was totally reformed in June 1565. One of the central points of these reforms was the incorporation of Genoa in our realm: as the city state was suffering under continuing political crisis for several years, the senate accepted our proposal in August (some senators received very generous compensations). To counter a nationalistic revolt, the strong Genoese army was moved from Corsica to Lyon.
For two generation Burgundy had been a constant threat for our French possessions. But now the rulers in Brussels had more problems than they could handle: the Dutch provinces were in open rebellion and had founded the nation of the free Netherlands, the Huguenots of southern France tired to do the same, and the war against Lorraine and its allies was long and bloody. It was the perfect time for all who wanted to settle old grudges with Burgundy. Diplomats crossed Europe from east to west, and in March 1568 a new alliance between Spain, Austria and Savoy was announced.
Only one week later our troops moved into Bourgogne, Auvergne and Franche Comte. We met almost no resistance and besieged the strong fortresses without further disturbance. We soon controlled Auvergne, but as the fortifications of Dijon were strong and the winter was hard, the siege of Bourgogne took the whole year of 1569 and further into 1570. Then, Austria declared war on the Palatinate. As Burgundy was considerably weakened (the Netherlands had become an established nation, the Huguenots of Guyenne were independent, and Lorraine controlled Nivernais) we were satisfied (for the moment): Burgundy ceded Navarra to Spain, we gained Auvergne and 250 pounds of gold.
The money gained this way was immediately used to convince some German lords to grant our troops free access through their domains - our troops reached Heidelberg 3 months later, defeated the weak garrison and besieged the city. In the meantime, the Duke returned to Piemont, gathered new troops and led them to Milano. One year later, the Palatinate had lost control over all their territories. In the peace of February 1572 they returned Tyrol to Austria, and Lombardia became part of Savoy.
Just one month after Emmanuel Philibert had returned to Turino a secret message from the Emperor arrived: the Pope and the Hungarian king (together with some minor German lords) obviously planned to oppose Habsburg dominance in the Reich – the one and only thing the Emperor couldn’t tolerate. With a heavy heart the Duke assured our loyalty. When Austria declared war on the Pope in November 1573 our troops were prepared - Romagna and Roma were taken by a coup de main. Although the Pope was furious (and threatened to excommunicate Duke Emmanuel Philibert) he had to admit, that he preferred disciplined Savoien troops to German and Spanish mercenaries (like the ones sacking Naples). Now we had to wait for Austria to settle their affairs in Germany. The Pope conspired against us from his private chambers in the Vatican, inspiring some fanatics in Liguria and Lombardia to short lived revolts in 1575 (and again one of our most important officials, the governor of Milano, was assassinated). But Duke “Iron Head” made no concessions and our troops stayed.
When Austria signed peace with Hungary in May 1576 (after defeating several minor German states) it was by common consent, that we received control of Romagna from the Pope (his involvement in earthly affairs had to be stopped).
One year later, we had another call to the arms from Austria – this time against the remnant of the French kingdom and Portugal. Again we followed the Emperor (but didn’t send troops); Spain had ties of blood to both nations and broke the alliance with their Austrian cousins. When Austria annexed France in 1579 (and after some fighting in northern Africa) we signed a separate peace with Portugal and returned to status quo.
Duke Emmanuel Philibert used the following year to settle the nations’ economy. He cracked down on corrupt officials and regained some privileges of the old cities for the crown. The Genoese bankers proved to be good advisors (one of them even was promoted royal economist). The exceptional harvests of 1579, the continuing economical growth and the work of our economists led to an increased trust in our currency, almost removing inflation till the end of the year.
When Emmanuel Philibert died on the 4th of March 1580, national mourning lasted 2 weeks. He won Genoa, Corsica, Auvergne, Lombardia and Romagna for the Savoien crown. Burgundy no longer was an overwhelming threat, and our relations with the other Catholic nations had considerably improved under his reign. He reformed the state, making the power of the Duke almost absolute. His son, Charle Emmanuel I, had to prove he was a worthy successor.
The first test of his abilities came, when Austria declared war on Brandenburg (leading an alliance of almost all Protestant German minors) in November 1582 – and on Würzburg (leading the Catholic nations of the Reich) just 3 months later. Although we honoured our contractual responsibilities, the young Duke was wise enough not to send troops this far from home (we still remember the campaign in Oldenburg almost 150 years ago). The enemy, Duke Charle Emmanuel was fighting during his first years on the throne, was a much closer one: lacking law-abidingness, waste and Protestantism.
Within the next few years, he withdrew the right to administer justice from the local nobles, promoting ducal judges instead in every province of his realm (and Tax collectors were sent even to our West Indian colonies). At the same time, merchants of the North African states together with those from Protestant Germany were banished from the Ligurian markets, thus realizing the mercantilist doctrine of our economists (again a ducal economist was promoted in 1592).
As the German wars had ended in 1587, the Savoien people lived in peace under the severe, but always paternal dominion of its Duke. Then, on the 24th of August 1598, Austria declared war on Burgundy. As we had reinforced our troops on the northern border farsighted way, we immediately took action, invading Limousin, Bourgogne and Franche Comte at the same time – Burgundy was totally surprised (most of their troops were fighting the Netherlands and Huguenots) and their resistance was weak. Just one year later, the peace of Geneva was signed: Austria regained the Swiss territories, Limousin and Franche Comte came under our hard, however fair dominion.
Although this war was victorious without question, our commanders complained about the inferior armament compared to Burgundian and Austrian troops. As Charle Emmanuel was no hesitant man, he laid the foundations of two weapon manufactories (one in Dauphine, one in Auvergne) in March 1600 and, after similar complaints came from our naval leaders, commissioned a naval equipment manufactory on Corsica 2 years later.
The first decade of the 17th century saw numerous revolts throughout France (except the Savoien provinces). In 1605 the people of Brittany declared their independence from Spain, and three years later a grandchild of the last King of France led a successful rebellion against the Austrian governors in Maine and Orleans. As we were related with this new king (who called himself Henri IV), the Duke decided not to help Austria regain these territories (as we ruled over no German provinces, we couldn’t see why Austria should rule over French ones). Without any possibility to move troops to the revolting territories, Austria had to accept the new French kingdom one year later. After the situation had calmed down for another year, Charle Emmanuel entered a military alliance with his French cousin and Spain.
As the Savoien-French cooperation in all areas deepened in the next years, it was only natural for France to become vassals of Greater Savoy in July 1612. Five years later Henri even shared the Spanish maps he had got as a wedding present with us.
Europe 1619
The first decades of this century saw many great adventures too. One of them, a man who called himself after his place of birth Mantua, offered his services to the Duke in June 1621, who gave him command over a small expedition immediately. One year later we took possession of Cuyuni and Surinam on the northern coast of South America, and after another 4 months, we discovered the rich gold deposits of Guyana. At the very moment we set sail for the Bahamas, France declared war on England. With the English navy against us, the exploration of the Bahamas and the Bermudas in 1622 was nothing less than a heroic deed. Far from home and without any hope of reinforcements, Captain Mantua decided to take the offensive: he arrived at Chesapeake Bay in November 1622 and took control of the undefended English settlements there. After exchanging gifts with the local natives (and gaining knowledge of the local areas), he decided to move south, avoided English militia in Roanoke, and reached Spanish Florida during the first days of 1624. In the meantime, peace had been signed in Europe: France regained Caux, Spain kept the English colonies in the Caribbean.
But this good news didn’t reach our adventuring hero in time. After exploring the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, his traces lose in the far west of North America – three years later, the last survivors of his expedition, return to Barbados, bringing with them detailed maps of a region the Spanish call California. Especially a region called Monterrey seemed worth to become a Savoien colony soon.
Since 1580, for almost 50 years, Charle Emmanuel the Great has been Duke of Savoy. But when France declared war on Lorraine in July 1629 and Lorraine sent forces to Franche Comte soon thereafter, he wanted to lead the troops to liberate the province himself.
Charle Emmanuel, Duke of Greater Savoy, died one year later, in June 1630, fighting the third battle against our enemies in Franche Comte (those who stood beside him say, that no enemies sword reached him – the murderous summer heat of this years was his fate).
Now his second son, Victor Amedee I, has to prove himself a worthy monarch of our glorious nation.
And they took Roussilon too?
