Duchy of Savoy

For the early history of Savoy, before it was raised to a duchy, see County of Savoy.

Flag of Savoy

The independent Duchy of Savoy (French Savoie, Italian Savoia) continued under the House of Savoy 1416 to 1714.

First occupied by France under the reign of Francis I of France in 1536, the Duchy of Savoy was given a parliament based in Chambery. In 1559, the occupation ceased and parliament was replaced by a senate. In 1601, following a 13 years conflict with France, Charles Emmanuel I of Savoy gave the territories of Bresse, Bugey, Valromey and Gex to Henry IV of France in exchange for the marquisate of Saluzzo. A second French occupation in 1630 forced the Duke of Savoy to cede the fortress of Pinerolo to France (Treaty of Cherasco in 1631). Refusing an alliance with France, the Duchy of Savoy was again occupied from 1690 to 1696 and from 1703 to 1713. At the end of the War of the Spanish Succession with the treaty of Utrecht in 1713, the Duke of Savoy regained his original possessions and received the Kingdom and the title of King of Sardinia in 1718, (and would later become King of Italy in 1861). In 1792, following the French Revolution, the original Duchy of Savoy was occupied and became the French department of Mont-Blanc, but in 1814, with the Congress of Vienna, the King of Sardinia regained his possessions.

[edit] External link

Kelley L. Ross, "Francia Media" website: genealogical and territorial disambiguation of Lorraine and Burgundy, with a section on Counts and Dukes of Savoy