The Armistice of Bologna was a treaty signed between the
Papal States
The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...
and the
French First Republic
In the history of France, the First Republic (french: Première République), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (french: République française), was founded on 21 September 1792 ...
on 23 June 1796. It resulted in a ceasefire between the two parties that was intended to last until a permanent peace treaty could be signed (the 1797
Treaty of Tolentino
{{unreferenced, date=June 2018
The Treaty of Tolentino was a peace treaty between Revolutionary France and the Papal States, signed on 19 February 1797 and imposing terms of surrender on the Papal side. The signatories for France were the French Di ...
). The terms of the armistice included the payment of 15 million
livres
The (; ; abbreviation: ₶.) was one of numerous currencies used in medieval France, and a unit of account (i.e., a monetary unit used in accounting) used in Early Modern France.
The 1262 monetary reform established the as 20 , or 80.88 gr ...
in cash in addition to goods and works of art to the French and significant territorial reductions. A temporary Austrian victory against the French at the
Siege of Mantua persuaded
Pope Pius VI
Pope Pius VI ( it, Pio VI; born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to his death in August 1799.
Pius VI condemned the French Revoluti ...
to renounce the armistice in September 1796. The French subsequently invaded the Papal States and enforced the terms of the armistice.
Background
The French Army under
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
had been victorious in its
campaigns against Austria in Northern Italy and had captured the papal territories of
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
and
Ferrara
Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...
.
Pope Pius VI
Pope Pius VI ( it, Pio VI; born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to his death in August 1799.
Pius VI condemned the French Revoluti ...
, seeing no alternative, dispatched
José Nicolás de Azara
Don José Nicolás de Azara y Perera (5 December 173026 January 1804) was a Spanish diplomat.
Life
He was born at Barbunales, Aragon, and was appointed in 1765 Spanish agent and procurator-general, and in 1785 ambassador at Rome. During his ...
– the Spanish resident minister in Rome – to Napoleon to negotiate a ceasefire. Azara, who received full
plenipotentiary
A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of his or her sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the word ...
powers from Pius VI, had previously dealt with Napoleon during negotiations held in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
. The French government was represented by
Antoine Christophe Saliceti
Antoine Christophe Saliceti (baptised in the name of ''Antonio Cristoforo Saliceti'': ''Antoniu Cristufaru Saliceti'' in Corsican; 26 August 175723 December 1809) was a French politician and diplomat of the Revolution and First Empire.
Early ca ...
and
Pierre-Anselm Garrau. These ministers had been ordered to take the lead in negotiations by the
French Directory
The Directory (also called Directorate, ) was the governing five-member committee in the French First Republic from 2 November 1795 until 9 November 1799, when it was overthrown by Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte in the Coup of 18 Brumaire and r ...
and were disliked by Napoleon who believed he would receive better terms without their involvement. Napoleon desired 25 million
livres
The (; ; abbreviation: ₶.) was one of numerous currencies used in medieval France, and a unit of account (i.e., a monetary unit used in accounting) used in Early Modern France.
The 1262 monetary reform established the as 20 , or 80.88 gr ...
in cash, 5 million livres of goods and 300 works of art from the Pope.
Terms of the treaty
The treaty was signed by Napoleon on 23 June, after his arrival at Bologna with his army, and though still harsh, fell short of his original demands. The papacy agreed to pay France 15 million livres in cash, 5.5 million livres in goods, as well as 100 works of art and 500 manuscripts of France's choosing. In addition Pius VI had to consent to entering negotiations for a full peace treaty (which became the 1797
Treaty of Tolentino
{{unreferenced, date=June 2018
The Treaty of Tolentino was a peace treaty between Revolutionary France and the Papal States, signed on 19 February 1797 and imposing terms of surrender on the Papal side. The signatories for France were the French Di ...
), provide a pension to the family of
Nicolas Jean Hugon de Bassville
Nicolas Jean Hugou de Bassville or Basseville (7 February 174313 January 1793), French journalist and diplomat, was born at Abbéville.
Biography
Early life and career
Bassville was trained for the priesthood, taught theology in a provincia ...
(a French representative who was murdered in Rome in 1793), cede Bologna, Ferrara, and the citadel of
Ancona
Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...
to France, and release all political prisoners. Additionally he was to end his calls for a crusade against France and his demands for the reinstatement of the clergy, who had been removed during the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
. The port of Rome was to open trade with French vessels and refuse entry to other foreign ships.
The terms were harsh upon the Papal States and threatened the states' financial wellbeing. It fell short of some of the directory's original demands which included the abolition of the papacy, establishment of a republic in Rome and the rescinding of
Papal bulls issued since 1789 that criticised the French Republic. Pius did, however, consent to issuing instructions that all French Catholics were to support the republican government. The French installed
François Cacault
François Cacault (1742, Nantes – 10 October 1805, Clisson) was a French diplomat of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic periods.
Life
François's father was a master artist in faience, road engineer and designer of a 1775 map of Nantes which se ...
as their minister in Rome with a remit to ensure that the terms of the armistice were complied with.
Renunciation
The unexpected success of Austrian General
Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser
Dagobert Sigismund, Count von Wurmser (7 May 1724 – 22 August 1797) was an Habsburg monarchy, Austrian field marshal during the French Revolutionary Wars. Although he fought in the Seven Years' War, the War of the Bavarian Succession, and mount ...
's forces during the first relief of the
Siege of Mantua in August led Pius to renounce the treaty in September. The Pope halted the shipment of the remaining 16 million livres of tribute that was bound for Bologna and resumed control of Ferrara. However the French soon regained the initiative, defeating the Austrians, invading the remaining Papal States and enforcing a resumption of the armistice terms. The subsequent February 1797 Treaty of Tolentino imposed still harsher terms on the Papal States, including further cash payments.
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bologna
1796 treaties
Treaties of the French First Republic
Treaties of the Holy See (754–1870)
Peace treaties of the French Revolutionary Wars