Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia - War of The Spanish Succession

War of The Spanish Succession

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, Duke of Anjou grandson of Louis XIV. The will stated that shoulf the Duke of Anjou not accept it would go to his brother the Duke of Berry. Victor Amadeus was himself in line to succeed on the account of the dowry of his great grandmother Infanta Catherine Michelle of Spain not being paid on her marriage in 1582 to Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy. That marriage based his claim to the Spanish throne. 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. Victor Amadeus subsequently allied himself with Emperor Leopold I.

England and Austria ignored his claim, the latter of which had a candidate in the form of Archduke Charles who immediately claimed himself as Charles III of Spain. The Grand Duke of Tuscany also ignored his claims. In the mean time 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. In 1701, he fought bravely at the Battle of Chiari, fought in the name of Bourbon control of Milan. 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 the War of the Spanish Succession, Savoy fared particularly badly against the larger French forces resulting in a siege of Turin in 1706. 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. She and her sons were forced to flee Turin with the grandmother for the safety of Genoa. They were only saved by the intervention of an army of the Holy Roman Empire under Prince Eugene of Savoy.

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. Yet he retained his new title of King. The rule was that there were no kings within the Empire, but if a ruler subject to the Emperor also possessed a large territory outside the Empire he might claim this title as the Elector of Brandenburg had done, styling himself King in Prussia based on his sovereignty over the Duchy of Prussia.