The Subalpine Republic () was a short-lived

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

that existed between 1800 and 1802 on the territory of

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

during its military rule by the French Consulate.

History

Piedmont was the main part of the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia, also referred to as the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica among other names, was a State (polity), country in Southern Europe from the late 13th until the mid-19th century, and from 1297 to 1768 for the Corsican part of ...

which, despite its name, had its core on the mainland. The kingdom suffered a first French invasion in 1796, which led to the Treaty of Paris and the loss of

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

and

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionCharles Emmanuel IV escaped to Rome, but he never agreed to sign a new peace treaty, approving a final arrangement of its continental territories according to international law. The Piedmontese Republic was declared on 10 September 1798 and it existed until 20 June 1799, when it was conquered by Austro-Russian troops. However, Russian Marshall

Alexander Suvorov Count Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov-Rymniksky, Prince of Italy () was a Russian general and military theorist in the service of the Russian Empire. Born in Moscow, he studied military history as a young boy and joined the Imperial Russian ...

was the sole political actor showing the will to restore the Kingdom of Sardinia's authority in Piedmont: as the old Republic’s fate was the annexation to France, the Austrian goal was the union of the region to the Holy Empire. More, this dispute was one of the main reasons of the political collapse of the Second Coalition. In 1800,

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

returned to Italy, taking back much of the new republics. The Piedmontese Republic was re-established on 20 June 1800. To mark a difference with the Austrian occupation, the First Consul temporary suspended his annexation desires, and the local government took the name of Piedmontese Nation (). The republic had its capital at

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

. On 9 July 1800, it adopted a new flag, which consisted of a red-blue-gold triband (based on the flag of the earlier Republic of Alba). Its motto was ''Liberté, Égalité'', which was taken from the French motto ''

Liberté, égalité, fraternité (; French for , ), is the national motto of France and the Republic of Haiti, and is an example of a tripartite motto. Although it finds its origins in the French Revolution, it was then only one motto among others and was not institutio ...

''. The Subalpine Republic was heavily dependent on France and was never really independent as it was under French

military occupation Military occupation, also called belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is temporary hostile control exerted by a ruling power's military apparatus over a sovereign territory that is outside of the legal boundaries of that ruling pow ...

. The state was not recognized by the international community. Its government changed a number of times during its brief existence, and was made up of the following people: 5 Lire rep Subalpina

Paris introduced French-style reforms within the Subalpine Republic. It used the

French franc The franc (; , ; currency sign, sign: F or Fr), also commonly distinguished as the (FF), was a currency of France. Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amoun ...

, and also minted its own coins. In March 1801, when the

Treaty of Lunéville The Treaty of Lunéville (or Peace of Lunéville) was signed in the Treaty House of Lunéville on 9 February 1801. The signatory parties were the French Republic and Emperor Francis II, who signed on his own behalf as ruler of the hereditary do ...

ended the war with Austria, Paris resumed its annexation goals, the Piedmontese Army was incorporated into the French Army, and a few months later the administrative management of the region ended up completely in French hands as the Subalpine Gaul. Scholars in Paris underlined the resemblance of the

Piedmontese language Piedmontese ( ; autonym: or ; ) is a language spoken by some 2,000,000 people mostly in Piedmont, a region of Northwest Italy. Although considered by most linguists a separate Romance languages, language, in Italy it is often mistakenly regar ...

, at time the popular speaking while the

Italian language Italian (, , or , ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family. It evolved from the colloquial Latin of the Roman Empire. Italian is the least divergent language from Latin, together with Sardinian language, Sardinian. It is ...

was limited to the universities, with the

French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...

. On 4 June 1802, Charles Emmanuel abdicated in favour of his brother Victor Emmanuel I, who was in

Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...

under

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

naval protection. Napoleon took this opportunity to declare the final forfeiture of the old sovereignty over Piedmont, and plans were made to annex it to France. The Subalpine Republic ceased to exist on 11 September 1802, when it was divided between the

French Republic France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and the

Italian Republic Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. The French Republic annexed the départements of Doire, Marengo, Pô (briefly named "Éridan", after Eridanos), Sesia, Stura, and Tanaro, while the Italian Republic annexed Novara (as the department of Agogna).

References

External links

(it) Nuova legislazione del Piemonte ossia collezione delle leggi, e decreti pubblicatisi dopo il regno di Carlo Emanuele 4. Volume primo (-secondo): (Subalpine Republic Legislation)
Military history of Piedmont Client states of the Napoleonic Wars Early modern history of Italy 1800 in Italy 1801 in Italy 1802 in Italy Former unrecognized countries French military occupations 1802 disestablishments in Italy 1800 establishments in Italy States and territories disestablished in 1802 {{NapoleonicWars-stub

History

See also

References

External links