This article is about the eponymous cultural-historical region. For other uses, seeSavoy (disambiguation). For the two French departments in the same region, seeSavoie andHaute-Savoie.
Savoy, formerly a part of theKingdom of Burgundy, emerged as thefeudalCounty of Savoy ruled by theHouse of Savoy during the 11th to 14th centuries.[3]The original territory, also known as "ducal Savoy" or "Savoy proper", is largely co-terminous with the modern FrenchSavoie andHaute-Savoiedépartements in the region ofRhône-Alpes, but the historical expansion of Savoyard territories, as theDuchy of Savoy (1416–1860), included parts of what is now westernItaly and southwesternSwitzerland. The current border between France and Italy is due to thePlombières Agreement of 1858, which in preparation for theunification of Italy ceded western Savoy to France, while the eastern territories inPiedmont andLiguria were retained by the House of Savoy, which was to become theruling dynasty of Italy.
In modern France, Savoy is part of theAuvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Following its annexation to France in 1860, the territory of Savoy was divided administratively into two separatedepartments,Savoie andHaute-Savoie.
The traditional capital remainsChambéry (inItalian,Ciamberì, fromLatinCamberia) on the riversLeysse andAlbane, hosting thecastle of the House of Savoy and the Savoyardsenate. The state included six districts:
Savoie Propre, sometimes known as Ducal Savoy (capital Chambéry)
The County and Duchy of Savoy incorporatedTurin and other territories inPiedmont, 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 ofChambéry until 1563, when it was moved to Turin.
Duchy of Savoy (red) and other Italian states in 1494.
By the 8th century, the territory that would later become known as Savoy was part ofFrancia, and at the division of Francia at theTreaty of Verdun in 843, it became part of the short-lived kingdom ofMiddle Francia. After only 12 years, at the death ofLothair I in 855, Middle Francia was divided intoLotharingia north of the Alps,Italy south of the Alps, and the parts of Burgundy in the Western Alps, inherited byCharles of Provence. This latter territory comprised what would become known as Savoy andProvence. For a short time, this province fell to the Arabs.
From the 10th to 14th century, parts of what would ultimately become Savoy remained within theKingdom of Burgundy-Arles. Beginning in the 11th century, the gradual rise to power of theHouse of Savoy is reflected in the increasing territory of theirCounty of Savoy between 1003 and 1416.
Map of Savoy in the 16th century. White lines are modern borders
On 19 February 1416Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, made the County of Savoy an independentduchy, withAmadeus 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.[7] Its towns were few and small.[7] Savoy derived its subsistence from agriculture.[7] The geographic location of Savoy was also of military importance.[7] During theinterminable wars between France and Spain over the control of northern Italy, Savoy was important to France because it provided access to Italy.[7] Savoy was important to Spain because it served as a buffer between France and the Spanish held lands in Italy.[7] In 1563Emmanuel Philibert moved the capital fromChambéry toTurin, which was less vulnerable to French interference.[8]
Vaud was annexed byBern in 1536, and Savoy officially ceded Vaud to Bern in the Treaty of Lausanne of 30 October 1564.
Map of Savoy in the 18th century and other Italian states in 1796.
Savoy was occupied byFrench revolutionary forces between 1792 and 1815. The entire region was first created to form the département ofMont-Blanc. In 1798, it was then divided between the departments of Mont-Blanc andLéman (French name of Lake Geneva).[9] In 1801, Savoy officially left theHoly Roman Empire.[10] On 13 September 1793 the combined forces of Savoy, Piedmont andAosta Valley fought against and lost to the occupying French forces at theBattle of Méribel (Sallanches).
Two-thirds of Savoy was restored to the Kingdom of Sardinia in the First Restoration of 1814 following Napoleon's abdication; approximately one-third of Savoy, including the two most important cities of Chambéry and Annecy, remained in France. Following Napoleon's brief return to power during the Hundred Days and subsequent defeat at Waterloo, the remaining one-third of Savoy was restored to theKingdom of Sardinia at theCongress of Vienna to strengthen Sardinia as a buffer state on France's southeastern border.
TheFrench Second Republic first attempted to annex Savoy in 1848. A corps of 1,500 was dispatched from Lyon and invaded Savoy on 3 April, occupying Chambéry (capital city) and proclaiming the annexation to France. On learning about the invasion countrymen rushed to Chambéry. The corps were chased away by the local population. Five Frenchmen were killed and 800 captured.[11]
The treaty annexing Nice and Savoy to France was signed in Turin on 24 March 1860 (Treaty of Turin).[13] In the northern provinces of the Chablais and Faucigny, there was some support for annexation to neighboring Switzerland, with which the northern provinces had longstanding economic ties. To help reduce the attractiveness of Switzerland, the French government conceded a Free-Trade Zone that maintained the longstanding duty-free relationship of northern Savoyard communes to Geneva. After the treaty was already signed, aplebiscite was held on 22–23 April. Employing universal male suffrage, voters in the ceded provinces were offered the option of voting "Yes" to approve the treaty and joinFrance or voting "No" and rejecting the treaty. Voters were not permitted the options of either joiningSwitzerland, remaining withItaly, or regaining its independence, were the source of some opposition. With a 99.8% vote in favour of joining France, there were allegations ofvote-rigging, notably by the British government, which opposed continental expansion by its traditional French enemy. The correspondent ofThe Times in Savoy who was inBonneville on 22 April called the vote "the lowest and most immoral farce(s) which was ever played in the history of nations".[14] 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 Augustus Loftus, the then–Foreign Secretary,Lord John Russell, said, "Voting in Savoy and Nice a farce ... we are neither entertained or edified".[15]
The annexation was promulgated on 14 June 1860. On 23 August 1860 and 7 March 1861, two agreements were signed between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia to settle the remaining issues concerning the annexation.[16][17]
In 1919, contrary to the annexation treaty, France officially ended the militaryneutrality of the parts of the country of Savoy that had originally been agreed to at theCongress of Vienna, and also eliminated thefree trade zone – both treaty articles having been broken unofficially inWorld War I. France was condemned in 1932 by the international court for noncompliance with the measures of the Treaty of Turin regarding the provinces of Savoy and Nice.[18]
In 1960, the termannexation having acquired negative connotations in France, particularly after Germany's 1871 annexation of Alsace-Lorraine, the annexation was renamedRattachement de la Savoie à la France (Incorporation of Savoy to France).[n 6] It was the latter term which was used by the French authorities during the festivities celebrating the 100th anniversary of the annexation.[19] Daniel Rops of theFrench 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:[citation needed]
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 of 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 incorporation (rattachement). [...] Incorporation, not annexation [...] The incorporation was an act of free will, in the logical order of geography and history [...].
Since the mid-20th century, regionalist movements have appeared in Savoy much as in other historic provinces of France. TheMouvement Région Savoie (Savoy Regional Movement) was founded in December 1971 as a 'movement' (rather than a traditional political party) in favour of regional autonomy. Unlike other historic provinces, includingNormandy andBrittany, Savoy does not currently have its ownregion within France and is part of theAuvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. In the 1996 local elections, the Savoy Regional Movement received 19,434 votes; it received 4,849 in the 1998 regional elections. A new 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 departments with a regional government, separate from theAuvergne-Rhône-Alpesregion, with greaterdevolved powers.
A very marginalseparatist movement has also appeared in Savoy within the past twenty years, most prominently represented by theLigue Savoisienne, founded in 1994. In the March 1998 regional elections, 1 seat (out of 23) was won by Patrice Abeille, leader of the Ligue, which won a total of 17,865 votes across the two departments. In 2004,Waiting for Freedom in Savoy[20] was founded to promote the peaceful separatist cause to young people.
According to surveys conducted in 2000, between 41% and 55% of the population were in favour of the proposal for a separate Savoy region. 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".[21]
In recent years,[when?] sparked by the Savoyard separatist movement, much attention has been focused on questioning the validity of the 1860 annexation. The Ligue Savoisienne, for example, rejects the Treaty of Turin and subsequent plebiscite as null and void, arguing that the plebiscite did not meet the standards of a free and fair vote. Today, historians generally acknowledge that the plebiscite of 1860 did feature irregularities, but they also affirm that the annexation instrument was the Treaty of Turin and not the plebiscite, whose main purpose was to demonstrate favorable public opinion in Savoy for the annexation after the signature of the treaty.[22] In an interview for the newspaperLe Dauphiné Libéré, Sylvain Milbach, a historian at theUniversity of Savoy, qualifies the vote as Napoleonic, but also argues that a completely free and fair vote would not have dramatically changed the outcome, as the majority of Savoyards wished to join France.[23] This is today the official stance of theGeneral Council ofSavoie.
^The territory, which has no modern counterpart, was perhaps bounded by the rivers Ain and Rhône,Lake Geneva, the Jura and the Aar, though historians differ, and there seems to be insufficient evidence.[5]
^Jack D. Street. "The Independence of Savoy and the Autonomy of the Valle d'Aosta",The French Review, Vol 71, No 3, Feb. 1998, pp 396–404JSTOR398970 accessed 4 Oct 2008.
^Norman H. Baynes, reviewing A. Coville,Recherches sur l'Histoire de Lyon du Ve au IXe Siècle (450–800) inThe English Historical Review45 No. 179 (July 1930:470 474) p 471.
^PRO 30/22/98 Austria. Vol 1. Legation (from Nov. 1860) embassy in Vienna. Private correspondence (drafts). Lord John (earl from 1861) Russell, foreign secretary to Hon. Julian Fane, legation later embassy secretary; Lord Augustus Loftus, envoy; Lord Bloomfield, ambassador. Document conserved atThe National ArchivesArchived 2010-10-10 at theWayback Machine
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