- This article is about the historical region of Savoy. For other uses, see Savoy
(disambiguation)
- For the two French départements of the region of Savoy, see Savoie and
Haute-Savoie
Savoy (French: Savoie, pronounced /savwa/;
Franco-Provençal: Savouè; Italian: Savoia, German: Savoyen) is a region of
western Europe in France that emerged, along with the free
communes of Switzerland, following the collapse of the Frankish
Kingdom of Burgundy. Installed by Rudolph III,
King of Burgundy, officially in 1003, the House of Savoy maintained independence
as counts (see County of Savoy, ca 1000 to 1416) and then dukes (see
Duchy of Savoy, 1416 to 1714), until Savoy was linked with the Kingdom of Sardinia, which included Piedmont in north-western
Italy. Savoy was largely absorbed into France in 1860, as part of
the political agreement with Napoleon III that brought about the unification of Italy.
In modern France, Savoy is part of the Rhône-Alpes region. Following its annexation to
France in 1860, the territory of Savoy was divided administratively into two separate départements, Savoie and Haute-Savoie. The modern separatist / regionalist movements are
discussed in the "Annexation and Opposition" section in this article.
The traditional capital remains Chambéry (Chiamberì), on
the rivers Leysse and Albane, hosting the castle of the House of Savoy and the Savoyard senate. The state included six districts:
History
Map of Savoy in the 16th century, white lines are modern borders
The name Savoy stems from the Celtic word Sapaudia, referring to a forest or
woodland. It is first recorded in 354.[citation needed]
The County of Savoy was detached from the Kingdom of Arles by emperor
Charles IV in 1361. In 1388, the County
of Nice was acquired, and in 1401 the County of Genevois (the area of
Geneva except for the city proper). On February 19, 1416,
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, made the County of Savoy an independent
duchy, with Amédée VIII as the first duke.
In 1714, as a consequence of the War of the Spanish Succession, Savoy
was technically subsumed into the Kingdom of Sicily, then (after that island was
traded to Austria for Sardinia) the Kingdom of Sardinia from 1720.
French occupation
Savoy was occupied by French revolutionary forces between 1792 and 1815.
The region was first added to the département of Mont-Blanc, then in 1798 was
divided between the départements of Mont-Blanc and Léman (French name of Lake Geneva.)
On September 13, 1793 the combined forces of Savoy,
Piedmont and Valdot fought against and lost to the occupying French forces at the
Battle of Méribel (Sallanches).
Savoy, along with Piedmont and Nice were restored to the
Kingdom of Sardinia at the Congress of
Vienna in 1814-1815.
The Château de Chambéry, seat of government, was given a grand new façade following annexation
Annexation and opposition
Savoy was annexed by France on March 24, 1860 according to the
provisions of the Treaty of Turin. The treaty was followed on April 22/23 by a plebiscite in
which voters were offered the option of approving the treaty and joining France or rejecting the
treaty under certain conditions; the disallowed options of either joining Switzerland (with
which the region had close ties), remaining with Italy, or regaining its independence, were the
source of some opposition. With a 99.8% vote in favor of joining France, there were allegations of vote-rigging.
Some opposition to French rule was manifest when, in 1919, France officially (but contrary to the annexation treaty) ended the
military neutrality of the parts of the country of Savoy that had originally been agreed at the Congress of Vienna, and also eliminated the free trade zone
- both treaty articles having been broken unofficially in World War I. France was condemned
in 1932 by the international court for the non compliance with the measures of the treaty of Turin, on the countries of Savoy and
Nice.
For reasons such as these, there is currently a peaceful separatist movement in the
départements, as well as a faction in favor of greater regional powers.
The Mouvement Région Savoie (Savoy Regional Movement) was founded in
December 1971 as a 'movement' (rather than a traditional political party) in favour of regional autonomy. In the 1996 local
elections the Savoie Regional Movement received 19,434 votes.
In the March 1998 regional elections, 1 seat (out of 23) was won by Patrice Abeille, leader of the Ligue Savoisienne (Savoie League, founded 1994), which had set up a 'provisional Savoie
government' two years earlier. This group base its actions on the decline of the treaty of annexation. The League gathered a
total of 17,865 votes across the two départements. In the same elections a further 4,849 voted in favour of the Savoie
Movement.
As a result of the regional debate sparked by the political advances, the 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 départements with a regional government, separate from the Rhône-Alpes region, with greater devolved powers. According to surveys conducted in 2000, between 41% and 55% of the population are in favour
of the proposal. 19% to 23% were in favour of separation from France.
In 2004, Waiting for freedom in Savoy [1] was founded to promote the peaceful separatist cause to young people.
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' [2].
See also
External links
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