Mont-Blanc (département)
Encyclopedia
Mont-Blanc was the name of a département of the First French Empire
. It was named after Mont Blanc
, the highest mountain
in Western Europe. It was formed in 1792, when the Savoy
region, (part of the Kingdom of Sardinia
) was occupied by the French. The department ceased to exist following Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo
when the territory was restored to its former rulers.
. The king, who was in residence at Chambéry
, accompanied by his army, numerous administrators and clergy, fled across the Alps
to his Piedmont
ese lands.
At the end of October, the so-called Assembly of the Allobroges
(who named themselves after an ancient people thought to have occupied the region two thousand years earlier) convened in the cathedral
at Chambéry. Their agenda followed the revolutionary script that by now was becoming familiar across France, as they declared an end to despotism, forced labour
and the hated salt tax
. The meeting was dissolved on 29 October 1792, but not before passing a resolution expressing the wish for The Duchy of Savoy to be incorporated into revolutionary France
. Two deputies, named Doppet and Simond, were mandated to convey this wish to the revolutionary National Convention
in Paris
.
The next month, on 27 November 1792, the Savoyards became, for the next 23 years, French citizens, by means of the Decree covering the joining of Savoy to France. This was the document that also created the Department of Mont-Blanc, named after the highest mountain peak in the Alps
which then, as now, marked the frontier between France
and Piedmont
.
In 1798, after the French took Geneva
the northern part of the Mont-Blanc département was transferred to the new Léman département. After the first defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte
in 1814, France lost Geneva The formerly French department of Léman
disappeared and the department of Mont-Blanc seems to have been restored approximately to the frontiers established for it in 1792.
Although the department remained French territory under the terms of the 1814 Treaty of Paris
, harsher terms were imposed on France after Napoleon's
escape
from his Elba
n exile, and under the 1815 Treaty of Paris
the territory covered by the department of Mont-Blanc was returned to its former rulers, and integrated back into the Kingdom of Sardinia.
A little less than half a century later, under the terms of the Treaty of Turin
, Savoy was reintegrated into France as part of a deal between the leaders of the French government and the Piedmontese government, being the price of French support for the unification of Italy under Piedmontese leadership. However, the department of Mont-Blanc was not reinstated. Instead, the territory that it had formerly covered was divided between the newly created departments of Savoie
and Haute-Savoie
(partly).
. The département (after 1798) was subdivided into the arrondissements of Chambéry, Annecy
, Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne
and Moûtiers
.
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
. It was named after Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc or Monte Bianco , meaning "White Mountain", is the highest mountain in the Alps, Western Europe and the European Union. It rises above sea level and is ranked 11th in the world in topographic prominence...
, the highest mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
in Western Europe. It was formed in 1792, when the Savoy
Savoy
Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....
region, (part of the Kingdom of Sardinia
Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia consisted of the island of Sardinia first as a part of the Crown of Aragon and subsequently the Spanish Empire , and second as a part of the composite state of the House of Savoy . Its capital was originally Cagliari, in the south of the island, and later Turin, on the...
) was occupied by the French. The department ceased to exist following Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
when the territory was restored to its former rulers.
Chronology
During the night of 21 September 1792, French troops under General Moutesquiou launched a surprise attack on the Duchy of Savoy, which at the time was a dependent territory of the Kingdom of SardiniaKingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia consisted of the island of Sardinia first as a part of the Crown of Aragon and subsequently the Spanish Empire , and second as a part of the composite state of the House of Savoy . Its capital was originally Cagliari, in the south of the island, and later Turin, on the...
. The king, who was in residence at Chambéry
Chambéry
Chambéry is a city in the department of Savoie, located in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.It is the capital of the department and has been the historical capital of the Savoy region since the 13th century, when Amadeus V of Savoy made the city his seat of power.-Geography:Chambéry...
, accompanied by his army, numerous administrators and clergy, fled across the Alps
The Alps
The Alps is a 2007 American documentary film about the climbing of the north face of the Eiger in the Bernese Alps by John Harlin III, son of John Harlin who died on the same ascent 40 years earlier...
to his Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
ese lands.
At the end of October, the so-called Assembly of the Allobroges
Allobroges
The Allobroges were a Celtic tribe of ancient Gaul, located between the Rhône River and the Lake of Geneva in what later became Savoy, Dauphiné, and Vivarais. Their cities were in the areas of modern-day Annecy, Chambéry and Grenoble, the modern of Isère, and modern Switzerland...
(who named themselves after an ancient people thought to have occupied the region two thousand years earlier) convened in the cathedral
Chambéry Cathedral
Chambéry Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Chambéry, France, dedicated to Saint François de Sales....
at Chambéry. Their agenda followed the revolutionary script that by now was becoming familiar across France, as they declared an end to despotism, forced labour
Corvée
Corvée is unfree labour, often unpaid, that is required of people of lower social standing and imposed on them by the state or a superior . The corvée was the earliest and most widespread form of taxation, which can be traced back to the beginning of civilization...
and the hated salt tax
Gabelle
The gabelle was a very unpopular tax on salt in France before 1790. The term gabelle derives from the Italian gabella , itself from the Arabic qabala....
. The meeting was dissolved on 29 October 1792, but not before passing a resolution expressing the wish for The Duchy of Savoy to be incorporated into revolutionary France
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. Two deputies, named Doppet and Simond, were mandated to convey this wish to the revolutionary National Convention
National Convention
During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the constitutional and legislative assembly which sat from 20 September 1792 to 26 October 1795 . It held executive power in France during the first years of the French First Republic...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
The next month, on 27 November 1792, the Savoyards became, for the next 23 years, French citizens, by means of the Decree covering the joining of Savoy to France. This was the document that also created the Department of Mont-Blanc, named after the highest mountain peak in the Alps
Mont Blanc
Mont Blanc or Monte Bianco , meaning "White Mountain", is the highest mountain in the Alps, Western Europe and the European Union. It rises above sea level and is ranked 11th in the world in topographic prominence...
which then, as now, marked the frontier between France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
.
In 1798, after the French took Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
the northern part of the Mont-Blanc département was transferred to the new Léman département. After the first defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
in 1814, France lost Geneva The formerly French department of Léman
Léman
Léman was the name of a département of the First French Empire. Its name is the French name of Lake Geneva . It was formed in 1798, when the republic of Geneva was occupied by the French. Léman also included districts that were previously part of the départements Mont-Blanc and Ain .The capital of...
disappeared and the department of Mont-Blanc seems to have been restored approximately to the frontiers established for it in 1792.
Although the department remained French territory under the terms of the 1814 Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris (1814)
The Treaty of Paris, signed on 30 May 1814, ended the war between France and the Sixth Coalition, part of the Napoleonic Wars, following an armistice signed on 23 May between Charles, Count of Artois, and the allies...
, harsher terms were imposed on France after Napoleon's
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
escape
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days, sometimes known as the Hundred Days of Napoleon or Napoleon's Hundred Days for specificity, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815...
from his Elba
Elba
Elba is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino. The largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago, Elba is also part of the National Park of the Tuscan Archipelago and the third largest island in Italy after Sicily and Sardinia...
n exile, and under the 1815 Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris (1815)
Treaty of Paris of 1815, was signed on 20 November 1815 following the defeat and second abdication of Napoleon Bonaparte. In February, Napoleon had escaped from his exile on Elba; he entered Paris on 20 March, beginning the Hundred Days of his restored rule. Four days after France's defeat in the...
the territory covered by the department of Mont-Blanc was returned to its former rulers, and integrated back into the Kingdom of Sardinia.
A little less than half a century later, under the terms of the Treaty of Turin
Treaty of Turin
The Treaty of Turin concluded on March 24, 1860 is the instrument by which the Duchy of Savoy and the County of Nice were annexed to France.-Background:...
, Savoy was reintegrated into France as part of a deal between the leaders of the French government and the Piedmontese government, being the price of French support for the unification of Italy under Piedmontese leadership. However, the department of Mont-Blanc was not reinstated. Instead, the territory that it had formerly covered was divided between the newly created departments of Savoie
Savoie
Savoie is a French department located in the Rhône-Alpes region in the French Alps.Together with the Haute-Savoie, Savoie is one of the two departments of the historic region of Savoy that was annexed by France on June 14, 1860, following the signature of the Treaty of Turin on March 24, 1860...
and Haute-Savoie
Haute-Savoie
Haute-Savoie is a French department in the Rhône-Alpes region of eastern France. It borders both Switzerland and Italy. The capital is Annecy. To the north is Lake Geneva and Switzerland; to the south and southeast are the Mont Blanc and Aravis mountain ranges and the French entrance to the Mont...
(partly).
Administration
The capital of Mont-Blanc département was ChambéryChambéry
Chambéry is a city in the department of Savoie, located in the Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.It is the capital of the department and has been the historical capital of the Savoy region since the 13th century, when Amadeus V of Savoy made the city his seat of power.-Geography:Chambéry...
. The département (after 1798) was subdivided into the arrondissements of Chambéry, Annecy
Annecy
Annecy is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.It lies on the northern tip of Lake Annecy , 35 kilometres south of Geneva.-Administration:...
, Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne
Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne
Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne is a commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department....
and Moûtiers
Moutiers
Moutiers and Les Moutiers is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:*Moutiers, in the Eure-et-Loir département*Moutiers, in the Ille-et-Vilaine département*Moutiers, in the Meurthe-et-Moselle département...
.
See also
- The 130 départementsThe 130 départementsThis is a list of the 130 departments , the conventional name for the administrative subdivisions of the First French Empire at the height of its territorial extent, circa 1811....
of the Napoleonic Empire