Victor Amadeus I Duke Of SAVOY

Notes:

Victor Amadeus I (Italian: Vittorio Amedeo I di Savoia, May 8, 1587 - October 7, 1637) was the Duke of Savoy from 1630 to 1637. He was also titular King of Cyprus and Jerusalem.

Biography
He was born in Turin to Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy and Catherine Micaela of Spain. He spent much of his childhood at the Spanish court in Madrid. When his brother prince Filippo Emanuele died, he became legitimate heir to the duchy and received the loyalty swore of the court at Racconigi on January 21, 1607.

After a crisis with relationships with Spain, he was married to Louis XIII of France's daughter Christine Marie.

Victor Amadeus became Duke of Savoy after his father's death in 1630. Charles Emmanuel's policies had brought a great instability in the relationships with France and Spain, and troops were needed to defend the Duchy. As money was lacking to recruit mercenaries or train indigenous soldiers, Victor Amadeus signed a peace treaty with Spain. With the Treaty of Cherasco, Savoy was given back Pinerolo, although, according to a secret point of the agreement, that important stronghold was to remain to France in exchange of Geneve.

Subsequently, under the direction of Cardinal Richelieu, Victor Amadeus attempted to create an anti-Spanish league in Italy. In 1637 he crushed a Spanish army at battle of Mombaldone.

On September 25 1637, Victor Amadeus fell ill after a dinner offered by the Duke of CrÈqui. Carried to Turin, he died here on October 7.

Victor married Christine Marie Duchess Of SAVOY in 1619. Christine (daughter of Henry IV King Of FRANCE and Maria DE'MEDICI) was born on 12 Feb 1606; died on 27 Dec 1663. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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Princess Luisa Cristina of Savoy (27 July 1629 - 12 May 1692) was a Princess of Savoy by birth and the eldest daughter of Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy. She married her uncle Prince Maurice of Savoy but had no children. She was the owner of the future Villa della Regina. She was a first cousin of Louis XIV of France and Charles II of England.

Biography
Luisa Cristina was born at the Castello del Valentino in Turin. She was the eldest daughter of the future Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy and his wife Christine Marie of France. Her birth was greeted with excitement as prior to her birth, her parents had lost a son and heir and were expecting another son.[1] However, being a female and due to the salic law, she was barred from succeeding to the Duchy of Savoy which at the time of her birth was ruled by her grandfather Charles Emmanuel I. Luisa Cristina was said to have been illegitimate and the fruit of her mother's supposed affair with a French courtier named "Pommeuse".[1]

As a child, two of her brothers succeeded their father who became ruler of Savoy in 1630. Her father died in 1637 and was succeeded quickly by her brother Francis Hyacinth who died in 1638 and was followed by another brother Charles Emmanuel II. Her mother took over a regency which was disputed by her uncles Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano and Cardinal Maurice. The two brothers conspired against Christine Marie claiming the regency between the two of them causing a war in Savoy.

The war resulted in Thomas Francis and Maurice fleeing to Spain for support which came to nothing. Her mother was soon victorious in the ensuing wars thanks to French support in the form of her brother, Louis XIII. Returning to Savoy, Luisa Cristina was soon engaged to Maurice as part of a reconciliation between Christine Marie.[2] Luisa Cristina married Maurice in Turin on 18 August 1642. Maurice had previously been a cardinal and had to receive permission from Pope Urban VIII who consented to the match. The thirteen-year-old bride and forty-nine-year-old Maurice moved to Nice where Maurice was the governor of the city ? another part of the reconciliation.

Her husband died in 1657 of a stroke leaving Luisa Cristina a widow aged twenty seven. Her husband willed her his large art collection as well as his huge debts.[3] In Turin she lived at her husband's villa outside Turin. She also did much to improve the structure under the direction of Amedeo di Castellamonte. She also commissioned Guarino Guarini to carry out works on churches in Savoy.[4] Luisa Cristina died at the villa and left the property to her nephew's consort, the French born Anne Marie d'Orléans.[5]

Family/Spouse: Maurice Of SAVOY. Maurice (son of Charles Emmanuel I Of SAVOY and Catherine Michelle Of SPAIN) was born on 10 Jan 1593; died on 04 Oct 1657. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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Charles Emmanuel II (Italian: Carlo Emanuele II di Savoia); 20 June 1634 ? 12 June 1675) was the Duke of Savoy from 1638 to 1675[1] and under regency of his mother Christine of France until 1648.[2] He was also Marquis of Saluzzo, Count of Aosta, Geneva, Moriana and Nice, as well as claimant king of Cyprus, Jerusalem and Armenia. At his death in 1675 his second wife Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Savoy-Nemours acted as Regent for their nine-year-old son.

Biography
He was born in Turin to Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy, and Christine of France.[1] His maternal grandparents were Henry IV of France and his second wife Marie de' Medici. In 1638 at the death of his older brother Francis Hyacinth, Duke of Savoy, Charles Emmanuel succeeded to the duchy of Savoy at the age of 4. His mother governed in his place, and even after reaching adulthood in 1648, he invited her to continue to rule.[2] Charles Emmanuel continued a life of pleasure, far away from the affairs of state.

He became notorious for his persecution of the Vaudois (Waldensians) culminating in the massacre of 1655, known as Piedmontese Easter. The massacre was so brutal that it prompted the English poet John Milton to write the sonnet On the Late Massacre in Piedmont. Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector, called for a general fast in England and proposed to send the British Navy if the massacre was not stopped while gathering funds for helping the Waldensians. Sir Samuel Morland was commissioned with that task. He later wrote The History of the Evangelical Churches of the Valleys of Piemont (1658). The 1655 massacre was only the beginning of a series of conflicts, the Savoyard?Waldensian wars (1655?1690), that saw Waldensian rebels use guerrilla warfare tactics against ducal military campaigns to enforce Roman Catholicism upon the entire population.

Only after the death of his mother in 1663, did he really assume power. He was not successful in gaining a passage to the sea at the expense of Genoa (Second Genoese?Savoyard War, 1672?1673),[3] and had difficulties in retaining the influence of his powerful neighbour France.

But he greatly improved commerce and wealth in the Duchy[citation needed], developing the port of Nice and building a road through the Alps towards France. He also reformed the army, which until then was mostly composed of mercenaries: he formed instead five Piedmontese regiments and recreated cavalry, as well as introducing uniforms. He also restored fortifications. He constructed many beautiful buildings in Turin[citation needed], for instance the Palazzo Reale.

He died on 12 June 1675, leaving his second wife as regent for his son.[4] He is buried at Turin Cathedral.

Marriages and issue
Charles Emmanuel first met Marie Jeanne of Savoy in 1659 and fell in love with her. However, his mother disagreed with the pairing, and encouraged him to marry Françoise Madeleine d'Orléans, daughter of his maternal uncle Gaston, Duke of Orléans, the younger brother of his mother Christine Marie. They were married 3 April 1663.[5] The couple had no issue. His mother died at the end of 1663, and his first wife died at the start of 1664. This left him free to get married on 20 May 1665 to Marie Jeanne of Savoy.[6] They had one son:

Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia, future King of Sicily and later Sardinia;[3] married Anne Marie d'Orléans and had issue; had illegitimate issue also; married Anna Teresa Canalis di Cumania in a morganatic marriage
Charles Emmanuel II also recognized five of his illegitimate children by three different mistresses.[7]

Charles married Francoise Madeleine Of ORLEANS on 04 Mar 1663 in The Louvre. Francoise (daughter of Gaston Duke Of ORLEANS and Margaret Of LORRAINE) was born on 13 Oct 1648 in st. Germain-en-Laye; died on 14 Jan 1664 in Turin. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Charles married Marie Jeanne Baptiste of SAVOY-NEMOURS on 20 May 1665. Marie (daughter of Charles Amadeus Duke of NEMOURS and Elisabeth DE BOURBON) was born on 11 Apr 1644; died on 15 Mar 1724. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Ranuccio Farnese Duke Of PARMA, II. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Elector of Bavaria Ferdinand Maria Of BAVARIA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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Victor Amadeus II (Vittorio Amedeo Francesco; 14 May 1666[1] ? 31 October 1732) was Duke of Savoy from 1675 to 1730. He also held the titles of marquis of Saluzzo, duke of Montferrat, prince of Piedmont and count of Aosta, Moriana and Nice.

Louis XIV organised his marriage in order to maintain French influence in the Duchy, but Victor Amadeus soon broke away from the influence of France. At his father's death in 1675, his mother took over a regency in the name of her nine-year-old son and would remain in de facto power till 1684 when Victor Amadeus banished her further involvement in the state.[2]

Having fought in the War of the Spanish Succession, he became king of Sicily in 1713, but he was forced to exchange this title and instead became king of Sardinia.[3]

Victor Amadeus left a considerable cultural influence in Turin, remodeling the Royal Palace of Turin, Palace of Venaria, Palazzina di caccia of Stupinigi, as well as building the Basilica of Superga where he rests.[4]


Infancy and regency
Victor Amadeus was born in Turin to Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy and his second wife Marie Jeanne of Savoy. Named after his paternal grandfather Victor Amadeus I he was their only child.[2] As an infant he was styled as the Prince of Piedmont, traditional title of the heir apparent to the duchy of Savoy. A weak child, his health was greatly monitored. As an infant he had a passion for soldiers and was noted as being very intelligent.[2]

His father died in June 1675 in Turin at the age of forty after a series of convulsive fevers.[5] His mother was declared Regent of Savoy and, known as Madame Royale at court, took power. In 1677, during her regency, she tried to arrange a marriage between Victor Amadeus and his first cousin Infanta Isabel Luísa of Portugal, the presumptive heiress of her father, Peter II and Victor Amadeus' aunt. His mother urged him to agree to the marriage, as this would have left Marie Jeanne permanently in control of the Duchy of Savoy as Regent because her son would have had to live in Portugal with his new wife. The duchy would then revert to the Kingdom of Portugal at her death. Victor Amadeus refused, and a party was even formed which refused to recognise his leaving Savoy. Despite a marriage contract being signed between Portugal and Savoy on 15 May 1679,[6] the marriage between Victor Amadeus and the Infanta came to nothing and was thus cancelled.

Other candidates included Maria Antonia of Austria, a Countess Palatine of Neuburg and Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici. Victor Amadeus was keen on the match with Tuscany and negotiations were kept secret from France even though the match never happened. Under the influence of Louis XIV and Marie Jeanne, Victor Amadeus was forced to marry a French princess Anne Marie d'Orléans. His mother was keen on the match and had always promoted French interests having been born in Paris a member of a cadet branch of the House of Savoy.[7] He asked for Anne Marie's hand in March 1684, Victor Amadeus, who had been using political allies to gain support to end his mother's grip on power, succeeded in 1684 when she was banished from further influence in the state.[8]

Salt wars
A significant event of his mother's regency was the Salt Wars of 1680. These rebellions were caused by the unpopular taxes on salt in all cities in Savoy. The system had been put in place by Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy in order to raise money for the crown. The annual payment of a tax which had been in place for over 100 years caused great discontent and rebellion finally broke out in Mondovì, where the people refused to pay taxes to the emissary of Savoy, Andrea Cantatore di Breo. The unrest caused an army to be sent to stop the unrest in the town, which was pacified quickly. However, in the town of Montaldo, the unrest began again and was more serious than before. 200 soldiers were killed in warfare which lasted for several days.

The news of these rebellions soon reached a wider scope and it became clear that soon the whole of Piedmont was on the verge of revolt. Power at this point still being with Victor Amadeus' mother, she ordered representatives of the town of Mondovì to go to Turin to conclude treaties and were cordially welcomed by the young Victor Amadeus, who agreed to the treaties. The event had allowed Victor Amadeus a chance to exert some power.

Duke of Savoy
Having succeeded in ending his mother's power in Savoy, Victor Amadeus looked to his oncoming marriage with the youngest child of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans (brother of Louis XIV) and Henrietta of England. The contract of marriage between Anne Marie and the Duke of Savoy was signed at Versailles on 9 April; On 10 April 1684, Anne Marie was married at Versailles, by proxy, to Victor Amadeus. The couple were married in person on 6 May 1684.


At the urging of Louis, Victor Amadeus II began a large scale persecution of the Vaudois (Piedmontese and Savoyard Protestants) in 1685. The state had been bankrupted due to various conflicts and a famine in 1679 which had used all last resources.[9] Due to his alliances with England and the Dutch Republic during the Nine Years War, he was forced to cease this practice from 1688, and in 1694 granted an Edict of Toleration. However, in 1698 Louis XIV forced him to expel all Protestant immigrants from Savoy in accordance with a treaty of 1696.[10]

During this period he became anxious to free himself of domination by Louis, and his first sign of independence was his independent visit to Venice in 1687, where he conferred with Prince Eugene of Savoy and others. Louis discovered this and demanded that Victor Amadeus launch another expedition against the Vaudois; he grudgingly complied, but as described below soon chose the allies countering France.[11]



Victor Amadeus II undertook sweeping administrative reforms within Savoy. In 1696 he established a system of intendants, based on the French model, responsible for collecting taxes and law enforcement. In 1697 he began a land survey which was largely completed by 1711, the Perequazione, to examine the land holdings and privileges of the Church and nobility. In 1717 he reformed the secretariat system in Turin establishing individual secretaries for war, internal affairs and foreign affairs. From the 1670s he also had a new administrative zone built in Turin, around the ducal palace. This zone included a military academy, the ministry of war, a mint, and a customs house. This work was still ongoing upon his death.

Victor Amadeus also undertook a number of military reforms. Often when one of his key fortresses was under attack, he would replace its commanding officer with one of his most reliable and trusted leaders.[12] In 1690 he established a select militia within his territories, and he later overhauled the militia system in 1714 and strictly codified it. This included an obligation for each region under his rule to provide a number of men for the militia based on population.[13] From 1713 he also began to establish his own navy based on the limited Sicilian naval forces he had been granted.

Victor Amadeus was able to use the experienced armies he developed in foreign wars to establish more firm control within his own territories. Faced with rebellion by Mondovì at the end of the century, he brought a force of veterans from the Nine Years War there and re-established his authority. He employed a similar strategy against an anti-tax riot in Cigliano in 1724.[14]

Under his mother's regency Savoy, despite being a state of the Holy Roman Empire, was closely linked to and heavily dependent upon France, essentially becoming a French satellite. Victor Amadeus II broke this link by joining alliances against France in both the Nine Years War and the War of the Spanish Succession.[15] Savoy was considered a valuable ally in both wars due to its geographical position, enabling a second front to be opened against France in the south.[16] Savoy relied heavily on foreign subsidies, particularly from England and the Dutch Republic, in both wars to maintain its armies.

Nine Years War
At the start of the Nine Years War, Savoy had three regiments in the service of France in Flanders. Victor Amadeus struggled throughout the early part of the war to bring those troops back into his own use.[17] Part of the agreement he reached with the Grand Alliance against France was that they would enable him to recover Pinerolo,[15] which his predecessor and namesake had lost decades before. In 1692, he was the only member of the Grand Alliance to bring the war to French lands, invading the Dauphiné. In 1695 and 1696, he secretly negotiated a separate treaty with Louis XIV of France which included the return of Pinerolo to Savoy.[18] Throughout the war, he greatly increased the size of the army of Savoy from about 8500 to more than 24000.[19]

During the War of the Spanish Succession, foreign subsidies amounted for almost half of the revenue raised by Savoy to fight the war. The end of the Nine Years' War had helped to design a new balance on the continent: at the death the childless Charles II of Spain he left his throne to Philip, grandson of Louis XIV. The will stated that should Philip not accept it would go to his brother Charles. Victor Amadeus was himself in line to succeed, as a great-grandson of Infanta Catherine Michelle of Spain.[20] As a result, Victor Amadeus expected compensation in the form of a territory which had been owned by the vast Spanish empire. Victor Amadeus had his eye on the Duchy of Milan which, having signed a treaty with Louis XIV, had support in conquering the duchy. With the Treaty of Vigevano in October 1696, however Louis XIV's support waned.[20] Victor Amadeus subsequently allied himself with Emperor Leopold I.

England and Austria ignored his claim, the latter of which had a candidate in the person of Archduke Charles, who immediately proclaimed himself King of Spain. The Grand Duke of Tuscany also ignored his claims. In the meantime he pursued the expansion of Savoy and bought various fiefdoms of the Holy Roman Empire.

Victor Amadeus was in a position where on most sides of Savoy was a Bourbon ruler, the enemy of Philip V, and he was forced to let French troops enter his lands in order to get Milan which Victor Amadeus had wanted so greatly. Forced to ally himself again this time to Louis XIV and his grandson in Spain, his daughter Maria Luisa was used as a pawn to seal this alliance. His daughter subsequently married Philip V in 1701.[21] In 1701, he fought bravely at the Battle of Chiari, fought in the name of Bourbon control of Milan.[21] By 1702, Victor Amadeus was considering changing allegiance to the emperor again having entered secret correspondence with the emperor who promised him the Duchy of Montferrat. In order to appease him, the emperor increased his bribe, adding various territories in Lombardy, Victor Amadeus having ignored him.

In 1703, Victor Amadeus switched sides, joining the Grand Alliance as he had in the Nine Years War.[22] Savoy fared particularly badly against the larger French forces resulting in a siege of Turin in 1706.[23] Anne Marie's uncle, Louis XIV (along with Spanish forces from Anne Marie's second cousin Philip V of Spain), besieged Turin during the Battle of Turin. French troops were under the control of Anne Marie's half brother, the Duke of Orléans.[citation needed] She and her sons were forced to flee Turin with the grandmother for the safety of Genoa.[24] Turin was saved by the combined forces of Victor Amadeus and Prince Eugene of Savoy in September 1706.[23]

King of Sardinia
As a result of his aid in the War of the Spanish Succession, Victor Amadeus II was made King of Sicily in 1713 under the Treaty of Utrecht which ended the war. Victor Amadeus was forced to exchange Sicily for the less important kingdom of Sardinia in 1720 after objections from an alliance of four nations, including several of his former allies.[25] The duke was a marquis and Prince and Perpetual Vicar in the Holy Roman Empire.

As ruler of an independent kingdom and a key player in the recent war, Victor Amadeus significantly expanded his foreign relations. As a duke, he had envoys and embassies in France, the Empire, and Rome. In 1717, he established his own foreign office.[26]


Having done much to improve the state of his inheritance in 1684, Victor Amadeus took the decision to abdicate in September 1730. The previous month the lonely king had lost most of his family, including his favourite and eldest son the Prince of Piedmont, and sought the security of a previous mistress Anna Canalis di Cumiana. The couple were married in a private ceremony on 12 August 1730 in the Royal Chapel in Turin having obtained permission from Pope Clement XII. Still attractive in her forties, Victor Amadeus had long been in love with her and as a wedding gift, created her the Marchioness of Spigno.[27] The couple made their marriage public on 3 September 1730 much to the dismay of the court. A month later, Victor Amadeus announced his wish to abdicate the throne and did so in a ceremony at the Castle of Rivoli on the day of his marriage. His son succeeded him as Charles Emmanuel III.

Taking the style of King Victor Amadeus, he and Anna moved into the château de Chambéry outside the capital. The couple took a small retinue of servants and Victor Amadeus was kept informed of matters of state. He insisted on having a Louis XIV-style wig with him at all times as his only luxury.

Under the influence of Anna, in 1731 having suffered a stroke, Victor Amadeus decided he wanted to resume his tenure on the throne and informed his son of his decision.[28] Arrested by his son, he was transported to the Castle of Moncalieri and Anna was taken to a house for reformed prostitutes at the Castle of Ceva but was later allowed to return to the Castle of Rivoli where her husband was moved. She was returned to him on 12 April. The stroke seemed to have affected Victor Amadeus in a way which caused him to later turn violent towards his wife, blaming her for his misfortunes.[25]

King Victor Amadeus died in September 1732 and was buried in the Convent of San Giuseppe di Carignano. His son decided not to bury him in the Basilica of Superga which Victor Amadeus had built and where he asked to be buried, as his son did not want to remind the public of the scandal which his abdication had caused. Anna was moved to the Convent of the Visitation in Pinerolo where she died aged 88.[25]

Cultural legacy
Despite his political reforms and his passion for trying to increase the importance of Savoy in Europe, Victor Amadeus left a considerable cultural legacy in the city of his birth. In 1697 Victor Amadeus commissioned Le Notre to lay out large gardens at the Palace of Turin where he had previously commissioned the Viennese Daniel Seiter to paint a famous gallery which exists to this day. Victor Amadeus subsequently had Seiter knighted. He also encouraged musical patronage in Savoy and the court became a centre for various musicians of the period.

Being crowned King of Sicily in Palermo in December 1713, he returned to Turin in September 1714. From Palermo he brought back Filippo Juvarra, an Italian architect who had spent many years in Rome.[29] Juvarra was patronised by Victor Amadeus and was the mind behind the remodelling of the Royal Palace of Turin, Palace of Venaria, Palazzina di caccia of Stupinigi as well as building the Basilica of Superga. The architect was also responsible for various roads and piazza's in Turin. Victor Amadeus' mother also used Juvarra for the famous staircase within the Palazzo Madama where she lived after being banished.[29]

In 1997 the UNESCO added a group of buildings which were connected to Victor Amadeus and his family to be added to have World Heritage status. These buildings including the Royal Palace, the Palazzo Madama, the Palazzina di caccia of Stupinigi and his wife's Villa della Regina were grouped as the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy.[30]

Family and issue
His distant relationship with his mother was always strained and has been blamed on her ambition to keep power to herself.[31] Marie Jeanne spent most of her time relegated to state business which she enjoyed and had little time for her only child whom she kept under close supervision in order to make sure he would try to assume power.[31] Anne Marie gave her husband six children but also had two stillbirths of each gender one in 1691 and again in 1697. Three of these children would go on to have further progeny including the eldest Maria Adelaide who was the mother of Louis XV of France. His second daughter Maria Luisa known in the family as Louison would marry Philip V of Spain in 1701 and was also regent of Spain for various periods. These two marriages were tactics used by Louis XIV to keep Victor Amadeus close to France prior to the War of the Spanish Succession.[32]


Anne Marie would remain a devoted wife. She quietly accepted his extramarital affairs; the longest one being with the famed beauty Jeanne Baptiste d'Albert de Luynes by whom he had two children. Jeanne Baptiste was his mistress for eleven years and eventually fled Savoy due to Victor Amadeus' obsession with her. Victor Amadeus subsequently had his daughter with Jeanne Baptiste, Maria Vittoria, marry the Prince of Carignano from which the present Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples is a direct descendant.[33] His favourite child was Victor Amadeus born in 1699 and given the title Prince of Piedmont as heir apparent. The Prince of Piedmont later died in 1715 from smallpox[34] Anne Marie died in 1728 after a series of heart attacks.[35]

His relationship with his younger son and eventual successor Charles Emmanuel was a cold one and the two were never close.[36] Victor Amadeus organised the first two marriages of Charles Emmanuel the first one being to Anne Christine of Sulzbach, daughter of the Count Palatine of Sulzbach which produced a son which died in infancy.[37] The second marriage was to Polyxena of Hesse-Rotenburg a first cousin of Anne Christine and mother of six children including the future Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia.[27]

Legitimate issue
Maria Adelaide of Savoy (1685?1712); married Louis, Duke of Burgundy and had issue;
Maria Anna of Savoy (1687?1690);
Maria Luisa of Savoy (1688?1714) married Philip V of Spain and had issue;
Victor Amadeus of Savoy (1699?1715) died unmarried;
Charles Emmanuel of Savoy (1701?1773); the next Duke of Savoy and King of Sardinia.
Emanuele Philibert of Savoy (1705-1705) died in infancy.
Illegitimate issue
Maria Vittoria of Savoy (1690?1766) married Victor Amadeus I, Prince of Carignano and had issue;
Vittorio Francesco of Savoy (1694?1762) married Maria Lucrezia Franchi di Pont, had no issue;

Family/Spouse: Anne Marie of ORLEANS. Anne (daughter of Philip I Duke Of ORLEANS and Henrietta Anne Of ENGLAND) was born on 27 Aug 1669 in Chateau de Saint-Cloud, France; died on 26 Aug 1728 in Villa Della regina, Piedmont. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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Name:
Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria (28 November 1660 ? 20 April 1690) was Dauphine of France by marriage to Louis, Grand Dauphin, son and heir of Louis XIV. She was known as the Dauphine Marie Anne Victoire or la Grande Dauphine. The dauphine was regarded a "pathetic" figure at the court of France, isolated and unappreciated due to the perception that she was dull, unattractive and sickly.


Life
Maria Anna was the eldest daughter of Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria and his wife Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy. Her maternal grandparents were Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy and Christine Marie of France, the second daughter of Henry IV of France and Marie de' Medici, thus her husband the dauphin was her second cousin.

Born in Munich, capital of the Electorate of Bavaria, Maria Anna was betrothed to the dauphin of France in 1668, at the age of eight, and was carefully educated to fulfill that role. Besides her native language of German, she was taught to speak French, Italian and Latin. She was said to have looked forward to the fate of becoming dauphine of France. Maria Anna was very close to her mother, who died in 1676. Her siblings included Violante of Bavaria, future wife of Ferdinando de' Medici as well as the future Elector of Bavaria, Maximilian II Emanuel.

Dauphine
Prior to her marriage to the dauphin, there was a proxy ceremony in Munich on 28 January 1680; the couple would meet for the first time on 7 March 1680 in Châlons-sur-Marne. She was the first dauphine of France since Mary, Queen of Scots married Francis II of France in 1558.

Upon her marriage, Maria Anna took on the rank of her husband as a Fille de France (Daughter of France); this meant that she was entitled to the style "Royal Highness" and the form of address Madame la Dauphine.

When she first arrived in France, Maria Anna made a good impression with her good French. When she entered Strasbourg, she was addressed in German, but interrupted the greeting by saying, "Gentlemen, I speak French!" The impression of her appearance, however, was not as good, and she was called "terribly ugly". Others said, that although she may not have been beautiful, she did have personal charm.


Dauphine Victoire, 1680
As soon as she married the dauphin, Maria Anna was the second most important woman at court after her mother-in-law, Queen Maria Theresa of Spain. When the queen died in July 1683, Maria Anna ranked as the most prominent female at court and was given the apartments of the late queen. The king expected her to perform the functions of the first lady at court, but her ill health made it very difficult for her to carry out her duties. The king was completely unsympathetic to her situation and accused her falsely of hypochondria.

Her husband took mistresses, and she lived an isolated life in her apartments, where she spoke with her friends in German, a language her husband could not understand. She was very close to a fellow German at court, Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate, the wife of the king's younger brother Philippe. She was said to be depressed having to live at a court where beauty was so much prized, not being beautiful herself. She died in 1690. An autopsy revealed a multitude of internal disorders that completely vindicated her complaints of chronic and severe illness.

Maria Anna was buried at the Royal Basilica of Saint Denis.

Issue
Louis de France (16 August 1682 ? 18 February 1712), Duke of Burgundy and later Dauphin of France; married his second cousin Princess Maria Adelaide of Savoy; they were the parents of Louis XV of France;
Philippe de France (19 December 1683 ? 9 July 1746), Duke of Anjou, later King of Spain; married his second cousin Princess Maria Luisa Gabriella of Savoy and had issue; married again Elisabeth Farnese and had issue. He was the first Bourbon king of Spain and the ancestor of every subsequent monarch of that country;
Charles de France (31 July 1686 ? 5 May 1714), Duke of Berry, Alençon, and Angoulême, Count of Ponthieu; married his first cousin Marie Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans and had issue, but none survived over a year.
Titles and styles
28 November 1660 ? 7 March 1680: Her Serene Highness Duchess Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria
7 March 1680 ? 20 April 1690: Her Royal Highness The Dauphine of France

Maria married Grand Dauphin Louis Of FRANCE in 1680. Louis (son of Louis XIV King Of FRANCE and Maria Theresa Of SPAIN) was born on 1 Nov 1661 in Chateau de Fontainebleau, France; died on 14 Apr 1711 in Chateau de Meudon, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Name:
Maria Luisa of Savoy (Maria Luisa Gabriella; 17 September 1688 ? 14 February 1714) was a queen consort of Spain by marriage to Philip V of Spain.[1] She acted as Regent of Spain during the absence of her spouse from 1702 until 1703, and had great influence over him as his adviser, while she was herself in turn influenced by the Princesse des Ursins.


Early life
She was the third daughter and second surviving child of Victor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy and his French-born wife Anne Marie d'Orléans, the youngest daughter of Philippe of France and Henrietta of England. Throughout her life, Maria Luisa remained close to her older sister Maria Adelaide who later married Louis, Duke of Burgundy, the eldest grandson of Louis XIV. In her youth, Maria Luisa was described as playful and fun loving and had received a good education.[2]

Marriage
Philip V of Spain, a French prince, was recently crowned King of Spain upon the death of childless Charles II. In order to enforce his shaky authority over Spain due to his French birth, Philip V decided to maintain ties with Victor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy. Philip and Maria Luisa were Second cousins through Louis XIII. Philip V's brother, Louis, Duke of Burgundy, had married the elder sister of Maria Luisa several years earlier, and in mid-1701, Philip V asked for Maria Luisa's hand with the permission of his grandfather Louis XIV.[3]

Maria Luisa was wed by proxy to Philip V on 12 September 1701 at the age of thirteen and was escorted to Nice, arriving there on 18 September. While in Nice, she was greeted by Pope Clement XI who gave her the Golden Rose on 20 September as a ritualistic gift for the young princess.[2] Within a week, she sailed from Nice for Antibes and was taken to Barcelona. The official wedding took place on 2 November 1701.[2]

Queen
Philip V was deeply in love with her from the start: as would be the case of his next consort, he was sexually dependent on her, as his religious scruples prevented him from exercising any sexual life outside of marriage. She was also said to be very beautiful and intelligent.[4][page needed] Unlike what was normal for a Spanish monarch, he usually slept in her bed the entire night, and insisted upon his conjugal rights.[4][page needed] Already shortly after their marriage, the French ambassador, the Duke of Gramont reported to Philip?s grandfather, Louis XIV, that Philip would be completely governed by his spouse as long as he had one, a report that led Louis XIV to warn him not to allow his queen to dominate him.[4][page needed] Marie Luisa is described as remarkably mature for her age, politically savvy, articulate and hardworking, and she has been credited with giving the normally passive Philip V the energy he needed to participate in warfare.[4]


In 1702, Philip V was obliged to leave Spain to fight in Naples as part of the ongoing War of Spanish Succession.[1] During her husband's absence, Maria Luisa acted as Regent from Madrid. She was praised as an effective ruler, having successfully implemented various changes in government and insisted upon all complaints being investigated and reports made direct to her. Her leadership encouraged the reorganization in the junta and, in doing this, inspiring people and their cities to make donations towards the war effort.[1] Despite being only fourteen at that time, Maria Luisa's effective regency made her admired in Madrid and throughout Spain. During her tenure as regent, she presided daily at the committee of government, gave audiences to ambassadors, worked for hours with ministers, corresponded with Philip and worked to prevent Savoy from joining the enemy.[4][page needed]

The Princesse des Ursins was a member of the household of the Queen. She would maintain great influence over Maria Luisa as her Camarera mayor de Palacio, chief of the household to the queen. The Princesse des Ursins maintained as strong dominance of Maria Luisa by using all the rights of proximity to the queen that her position entitled her to: she was almost constantly in the presence of the queen, accompanied her wherever she went as soon as she left her private rooms, followed her to the council meetings, where she listened sitting by the side sewing; followed her back to her rooms, where she was present at the most intimate personal tasks; dressing and undressing her, and controlling whoever wished to come into her presence. As Philip V, contrary to the custom of the time, actually shared a bedroom with Maria Luisa, the Princesse also had enormous influence over the king as well.[4][page needed]

After her husband's return in 1703, she resumed her role as queen consort. In 1704, the Princesse des Ursins was exiled at the order of Louis XIV, devastating Maria Luisa. However, in 1705, the Princesse returned to Madrid, much to the joy of the queen.[1]

Maria Luisa gave birth to the couple's first child, Infante Luis Felipe in 1707. Maria Luisa gave birth to three more children, two of whom would survive infancy. Towards the end of her life, the Queen became ill. She would die from the effects of tuberculosis on 14 February 1714. She was buried at San Lorenzo de El Escorial. Maria Luisa died in her 25th year.

16 September 1714, just months after Maria Luisa's death, her widower Philip V remarried by proxy, to Elisabeth Farnese, the only child and heir of the Duke of Parma.[1] All of Maria Luisa's children were to die without issue, thus there are no descendants of Maria Luisa of Savoy.

Legacy
She was nicknamed La Savoyana by her adoring subjects and was well-loved in Spain. After her death, both of her sons that lived past childhood, her youngest and oldest, were to become Kings of Spain. Her niece, Princess Maria Luisa was named after her.

Issue
Louis I of Spain (25 August 1707 ? 31 August 1724) married Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans, no issue.
Infante Philip of Spain (2 July 1709 ? 18 July 1709).
Infante Philip of Spain (7 June 1712 ? 29 December 1719) died in childhood.
Ferdinand VI of Spain (23 September 1713 ? 10 August 1759) married Infanta Maria Barbara of Portugal, no issue.

Family/Spouse: Philip V of SPAIN. Philip (son of Grand Dauphin Louis Of FRANCE and Maria Anna Victoria of BAVARIA) was born on 19 Dec 1683 in Palace of Versailles, France; died on 9 Jul 1746 in Madrid, Spain. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Name:
Philip V (Spanish: Felipe V, French: Philippe, Italian: Filippo; 19 December 1683 ? 9 July 1746) was King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to his abdication in favour of his son Louis on 14 January 1724, and from his reaccession of the throne upon his son's death, 6 September 1724 to his own death on 9 July 1746.

Before his reign, Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a grandson of King Louis XIV. His father, Louis, Grand Dauphin, had the strongest genealogical claim to the throne of Spain when it became vacant in 1700. However, since neither the Grand Dauphin nor Philip's older brother, Louis, Duke of Burgundy, could be displaced from their place in the succession to the French throne, the Grand Dauphin's maternal uncle (Philip's granduncle) King Charles II of Spain named Philip as his heir in his will. It was well known that the union of France and Spain under one monarch would upset the balance of power in Europe, such that other European powers would take steps to prevent it. Indeed, Philip's accession in Spain provoked the 13-year War of the Spanish Succession, which continued until the Treaty of Utrecht forbade any future possibility of unifying the French and Spanish crowns while confirming his accession to the throne of Spain.

Philip was the first member of the French House of Bourbon to rule as King of Spain. The sum of his two reigns, 45 years and 21 days, is the longest in modern Spanish history.


Early years
Philip was born at the Palace of Versailles[1] in France as the second son of Louis, Grand Dauphin, the heir apparent to the throne of France, and his wife Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria,[2] known as the Dauphine Victoire. He was a younger brother of Louis, Duke of Burgundy, the father of Louis XV of France. At birth, Philip was created Duke of Anjou, a traditional title for younger sons in the French royal family. He would be known by this name until he became the King of Spain. Since Philip's older brother, the Duke of Burgundy, was second in line to the French throne after his father, there was little expectation that either he or his younger brother Charles, Duke of Berry, would ever rule over France.

Philip lived his first years under the supervision of the royal governess Louise de Prie and after that was tutored with his brothers by François Fénelon, Archbishop of Cambrai. The three were also educated by Paul de Beauvilliers.

Claims to the Spanish throne

Proclamation of Philip V as King of Spain in the Palace of Versailles on November 16, 1700
In 1700, King Charles II of Spain died childless. His will named as successor Philip, grandson of Charles' half-sister Maria Theresa, the first wife of Louis XIV.[2] Upon any possible refusal, the crown of Spain would be offered next to Philip's younger brother, the Duke of Berry, then to the Archduke Charles of Austria, later Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI.[2] Philip had the better genealogical claim to the Spanish throne, because his Spanish grandmother and great-grandmother were older than the ancestors of the Archduke Charles of Austria. However, the Austrians maintained that Philip's grandmother had renounced the Spanish throne for herself and her descendants as part of her marriage contract. The French claimed that it was on the basis of a dowry that had never been paid.[3]

After a long Royal Council meeting in France at which the Dauphin spoke up in favour of his son's rights, it was agreed that Philip would ascend the throne, but he would forever renounce his claim to the throne of France for himself and his descendants.[2] The Royal Council decided to accept the provisions of the will of Charles II naming Philip, King of Spain, and the Spanish ambassador was called in and introduced to his new king. The ambassador, along with his son, knelt before Philip and made a long speech in Spanish, which Philip did not understand. (Louis XIV, the son and husband of Spanish princesses, did speak Spanish, but Philip learned only later.)[citation needed]

First marriage
On 2 November 1701, the almost 18-year-old Philip married the 13-year-old Maria Luisa of Savoy, as chosen by his grandfather King Louis XIV. She was the daughter of Victor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy, and his wife Anne Marie d'Orléans, Philip's first cousin once removed. The Duke and Duchess of Savoy were also the parents of Princess Marie Adélaïde of Savoy, Duchess of Burgundy, Philip's sister-in-law. There was a proxy ceremony at Turin, the capital of the Duchy of Savoy, and another one at Versailles on 11 September.[citation needed]

Maria Luisa proved very popular as Queen of Spain. She served as regent for her husband on several occasions. Her most successful term was when Philip was away touring his Italian domains for nine months in 1702, when she was just 14 years old. On entering Naples that year he was presented with Bernini's Boy with a Dragon by Carlo Barberini. In 1714, Maria Luisa died at the age of 26 from tuberculosis, a devastating emotional blow to her husband.[citation needed]

War of the Spanish Succession
Main article: War of the Spanish Succession

Philip V of Spain in hunting attire

Philip (right) at the Battle of Villaviciosa

Portrait of Philip V of Spain exhibited upside down in the Museum of Almodí [es], Xàtiva, for having burned the city in 1707.
The actions of Louis XIV heightened the fears of the English, the Dutch and the Austrians, among others. In February 1701, Louis XIV caused the Parlement of Paris (a court) to register a decree that if Philip's elder brother, the Petit Dauphin Louis, died without an heir, then Philip would surrender the throne of Spain for the succession to the throne of France, ensuring dynastic continuity in Europe's greatest land power.

However, a second act of the French king "justified a hostile interpretation": pursuant to a treaty with Spain, Louis occupied several towns in the Spanish Netherlands (modern Belgium and Nord-Pas-de-Calais). This was the spark that ignited the powder keg created by the unresolved issues of the War of the League of Augsburg (1689?97) and the acceptance of the Spanish inheritance by Louis XIV for his grandson.

Almost immediately the War of the Spanish Succession began. Concern among other European powers that Spain and France united under a single Bourbon monarch would upset the balance of power pitted powerful France and weak Spain against the Grand Alliance of England, the Netherlands and Austria.[4]

Inside Spain, the Crown of Castile supported Philip of France. On the other hand, the majority of the nobility of the Crown of Aragon supported Charles of Austria, son of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I and claimant to the Spanish throne by right of his grandmother Maria Anna of Spain. Charles was even hailed as King of Aragon under the name Charles III.

The war was centred in Spain and west-central Europe (especially the Low Countries), with other important fighting in Germany and Italy. Prince Eugene of Savoy and the Duke of Marlborough distinguished themselves as military commanders in the Low Countries. In colonial North America, the conflict became known to the English colonists who fought against French and Spanish forces as Queen Anne's War. Over the course of the fighting, some 400,000 people were killed.[5]

It was with this war as a backdrop that, beginning in 1707, Philip issued the Nueva Planta decrees, which centralized Spanish rule under the Castilian political and administrative model and in the process abolished the charters of all independently administered kingdoms within Spain?most notably the Crown of Aragon, which was supporting Charles VI in the conflict?except for the Kingdom of Navarre and the rest of the Basque region, who had supported Philip in the war for the Spanish throne, and retained their semi-autonomous self-government. The policy of centralization had as model the French State under Louis XIV and was strongly supported by politicians such as Joseph de Solís and the Sardinian-born political philosopher Vicente Bacallar.[6]

At one point in 1712 Philip was offered the choice of renouncing the throne of Spain so that he could be made heir of France, but he refused.

Philip decided to relinquish his right of succession to France under one condition: the introduction of semi-Salic law in Spain. Under this law, the succession to the Spanish crown was limited to his entire male line before it could pass to any female, a condition of his renunciation made clear to the allies during the preliminaries of the Treaties of Utrecht. It was not until this was successfully accomplished (10 May 1713) that Spain and Great Britain made their own peace terms at the second Treaty of Utrecht (annexing the new law to the Treaty). By the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht that concluded the war, Philip was recognized as king of Spain but Spain was forced to cede Menorca and Gibraltar to Great Britain; the Spanish Netherlands, Naples, Milan, and Sardinia to the Austrian Habsburgs; and Sicily and parts of Milan to Savoy.[7]

These losses greatly diminished the Spanish Empire in Europe, which had already been in decline. Throughout his reign, Philip sought to reverse the decline of Spanish power. Trying to overturn the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht, he attempted to re-establish Spanish claims in Italy, triggering the War of the Quadruple Alliance (1718?1720) in which Spain fought a coalition of four major powers. Phillip V was forced to sue for peace.

Second marriage
Shortly after the death of Queen Maria Luisa in 1714, the King decided to marry again. His second wife was Elisabeth of Parma, daughter of Odoardo Farnese, Hereditary Prince of Parma, and Dorothea Sophie of the Palatinate. At the age of 22, on 24 December 1714, she was married to the 31-year-old Philip by proxy in Parma. The marriage was arranged by Cardinal Alberoni, with the concurrence of the Princesse des Ursins, the Camarera mayor de Palacio ("chief of the household") of the king of Spain.

Abdication

A breech loading miquelet musket with a reusable cartridge, used by Philip V, made by A. Tienza, Madrid, circa 1715
On 14 January 1724, Philip abdicated the throne to his eldest son, the seventeen-year-old Louis, for reasons still subject to debate. One theory suggests that Philip V, who exhibited many elements of mental instability during his reign, did not wish to reign due to his increasing mental decline.[8] A second theory puts the abdication in context of the Bourbon dynasty. The French royal family recently had lost many legitimate agnates to diseases. Indeed, Philip V's abdication occurred just over a month after the death of the Duke of Orléans, who had been regent for Louis XV of France. The lack of an heir made another continental war of succession a possibility. Philip V was a legitimate descendant of Louis XIV, but matters were complicated by the Treaty of Utrecht, which forbade a union of the French and Spanish crowns. The theory supposes that Philip V hoped that by abdicating the Spanish crown he could circumvent the Treaty and succeed to the French throne.[citation needed]

In any case, Louis died on 31 August 1724 in Madrid of smallpox, having reigned only seven months and leaving no issue. Philip was forced to return to the Spanish throne as his younger son, the later Ferdinand VI, was not yet of age.[citation needed]

Later reign

Tomb of Philip V and Elizabeth Farnese in the Collegiate Church of the Holy Trinity, in the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso (Segovia).
Philip helped his Bourbon relatives to make territorial gains in the War of the Polish Succession and the War of the Austrian Succession by reconquering Naples and Sicily from Austria and Oran from the Ottomans. Finally, at the end of his reign Spanish forces also successfully defended their American territories from a large British invasion during the War of Jenkins' Ear (1739?1748).[citation needed]

During Philip's reign, Spain began to recover from the stagnation it had suffered during the twilight of the Spanish Habsburg dynasty. Although the population of Spain grew, the financial and taxation systems were archaic and the treasury ran deficits. The king employed thousands of highly paid retainers at his palaces?not to rule the country but to look after the royal family. The army and bureaucracy went months without pay and only the shipments of silver from the New World kept the system going. Spain suspended payments on its debt in 1739?effectively declaring bankruptcy.[9]

Death
Philip was afflicted by fits of manic depression and increasingly fell victim to a deep melancholia.[10] His second wife, Elizabeth Farnese, completely dominated her passive husband. She bore him further sons, including another successor, Charles III of Spain.[10] Beginning in August 1737 his affliction was eased by the castrato singer Farinelli, who, became the "Musico de Camara of Their Majesties." Farinelli would sing eight or nine arias for the king and queen every night, usually with a trio of musicians.[2]

Philip died on 9 July 1746 in El Escorial, in Madrid, but was buried in his favorite Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso, near Segovia.[2] Ferdinand VI of Spain, his son by his first queen Maria Luisa of Savoy, succeeded him.[citation needed]

Legacy
Historians have not been kind to the king. Lynch says Philip V advanced the government only marginally over that of his predecessors and was more of a liability than the incapacitated Charles II. When a conflict came up between the interests of Spain and France, he usually favored France. However Philip did make some reforms in government, and strengthened the central authorities relative to the provinces. Merit became more important, although most senior positions still went to the landed aristocracy. Below the elite level, the inefficiency and corruption that had existed under Charles II was as widespread as ever. The reforms started by Philip V culminated in much more important reforms of Charles III.[11] The economy, on the whole, improved over the previous half-century, with greater productivity, and fewer famines and epidemics.[12]

To commemorate the indignities the city of Xàtiva suffered after Philip's victory in the Battle of Almansa in the War of the Spanish Succession, in which he ordered the city to be burned and renamed San Felipe, the portrait of the monarch hangs upside down in the local museum of L'Almodí.[13]

In addition, after the death of the last legitimate male descendant of Philip V's elder brother Louis, Henri, Count of Chambord, in 1883, all remaining legitimate agnatic descendants of Louis XIV were henceforth descended from Philip V.[citation needed]

Philip V favored and promoted the Atlantic trade of Spain with its American possessions. During this Atlantic trade emerged important figures of the naval history of Spain, among which stands out the corsair Amaro Pargo. Philip V frequently benefited the corsair in his commercial incursions and corsairs: he granted a Royal order given at the Royal Palace of El Pardo in Madrid in September 1714, in which he appointed him captain of a commercial ship bound for Caracas.[14] The Monarch also interceded in the liberation of Amaro during his detention by the Casa de Contratación of Cádiz[15][16] and authorized him to build a ship bound for Campeche, which was armed in Corsica.[15]

Issue
Philip married his double-second cousin Maria Luisa of Savoy (17 September 1688 ? 14 February 1714) on 3 November 1701[2] and they had 4 sons:

Louis I of Spain (25 August 1707 ? 31 August 1724) married Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans but had no children.
Philip (2 July 1709 ? 18 July 1709) died young.
Infante Philip of Spain (7 June 1712 ? 29 December 1719) died young.
Ferdinand VI of Spain (23 September 1713 ? 10 August 1759) married Barbara of Portugal but had no children.
Philip married Elisabeth Farnese (25 October 1692 ? 11 July 1766) on 24 December 1714,[17] they had 6 children:

Charles III of Spain (20 January 1716 ? 14 December 1788). married Maria Amalia of Saxony and had children.
Infanta Mariana Victoria of Spain (31 March 1718 ? 15 January 1781) married King Joseph I of Portugal and had children.
Infante Philip of Spain (15 March 1720 ? 18 July 1765), Duke of Parma and founder of the line of Bourbons of Parma, married Louise Élisabeth of France and had children.
Infanta Maria Teresa of Spain (11 June 1726 ? 22 July 1746), married Louis of France, Dauphin of France and had children.
Infante Louis of Spain (25 July 1727 ? 7 August 1785), known as the Cardinal Infante. Was Archbishop of Toledo, Primate of Spain and Cardinal since 1735. In 1754, renounced his ecclesiastical titles and became Count of Chinchón. In 1776, he married morganatically María Teresa de Vallabriga and had children, but without royal titles.
Infanta Maria Antonia of Spain (17 November 1729 ? 19 September 1785), married Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia and had children.

Family/Spouse: Maria Luisa Of SAVOY. Maria (daughter of King of Sicily and Sardinia Victor Amadeus II Of SAVOY and Anne Marie of ORLEANS) was born on 17 Sep 1688 in Royal Palace, Turin, Savoy; died on 14 Feb 1714 in Royal Alcazar of Madrid, Spain. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]