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70-26,296 HANDEN, Jr., Ralph Donnelly, 1932- ^ THE SAVOY NEGOTIATIONS OF THE COMTE DE TESSE, 1693-1696. [Portions of Text In French]. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1970 History, modern i t | University Microfilms, A XERPK Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan Copyright by Ralph Donnelly Handen, Jr. 1971' THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED THE SAVOY NEGOTIATIONS OF THE COMTE DE TESsf 1693-1696 DISSERTATION Presented In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By Ralph Donnelly Handen, Jr., B.S. , B.D. The Ohio State University 1970 Approved by / A dviser Deportment of History AC KNOWLEDGMENTS Among those who have aided me during my graduate studies In history and in the writing of this dissertation, I wish to express my special thanks to Professor John C. Rule of the Ohio State Uni versity, who has encouraged me from the beginning. Professor Ragnhild Hatton of the London School of Economics has also rendered counsel and support on more than one occasion. Finally, my thanks to the staffs of the Blbliotheaue Nationale, the Archives des Affaires Etrangeres. and the Archives de Guerre, for their gracious assistance during the summer of 1968. li VITA April 25, 1932 Born - San Diego, California 1954 B.S. , California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 1957 B.D ., Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California 1965-1967 Teaching Assistant, Department of History, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1967-1970 Acting Instructor, Department of History, University of California, Riverside, California PUBLICATIONS "Bibliography of Works on Carl Lotus Becker and Charles Austin Beard, 1945-1963." History and Theory V. No. 3 (1966), 302-314 (with John C. Rule). FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: European History Early Modem Europe. Professor John C. Rule Renaissance and Reformation. Professor Harold J. Grimm Tudor-Stuart England. Professor R. Clayton Roberts ill TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.............................................................................. ii VITA ..................................................................................................................... iii PREFATORY N O T E S ......................................................................................... vi INTRODUCTION................................................................................................... 1 C h ap ter I. BACKGROUND TO THE NEGOTIATIONS................. 6 France and Savoy to 1690 Early Attempts at Negotiation II. TESSE'S NEGOTIATIONS: FIRST PHASE (1693) . 31 Initial Contacts of 1693 The Campaign of 1693 From Marsaglia to Turin III. TESSA'S NEGOTIATIONS: SECOND PHASE (1694- 1695) 59 Explorations Evaluations C a sa le IV. TESSE'S NEGOTIATIONS: THIRD PHASE (1696). 99 New Instructions The Preliminary Treaties New Alarms and Excursions iv V. ACHIEVEMENT AND AFTERMATH 138 The Treaties of June 29 The Truce The Mission of Count Mansfeld The Marriage Contract V igevano Pont-de-Beauvoisin Consequences CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................... 180 APPENDIX A. Map of Piedmont-Savoy ........................................................ 185 B. The H ouse of S a v o y .................................................................. 186 C. Mlmoires of the comte de Saint-M aiole ...................... 18 7 D. The Treaties of June 29, 1696 188 E. The Marriage Contract ............................................................. 201 F. The Treaty of Vigevano ........................................................ 208 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................... 211 v PREFATORY NOTES Orthography When quoting from manuscripts I have retained the spelling, capitalization, and punctuation of the original, except on those occasions in which "i" is used for "J" and vice versa. I have thereby avoided such exotic forms as Ttalie (Italie) and ie Qe). Abbreviations The following abbreviations are used in footnote citations: A. A. E .: Archives des Affaires Etrangeres (Paris) C o r. P o l.: Correspondence Politique Archives du Minlstere de Guerre (Vincennes) v i INTRODUCTION In the wars of Louis XIV, France found herself opposed by coalitions of various members of the states of Europe, A consistent aim of French diplomacy during such times was to detach one or more members from a particular coalition by means of secret negotiations and separate treaties of peace or neutrality.1 One of the more important of the secret negotiations carried on by Louis XIV—important both because of its immediate effects and its larger consequences for the future of Europe—was the attempt to detach Victor Amadeus II of Savoy from the Grand Alliance during the so-called War of the League of Augsburg (1689-1697). The story of the secret negotiations between France and Savoy, which led to the Treaty of Turin in 1696, has never been told in detail. The fullest existing description of the negotiations is contained in an unpublished manuscript by LeDran, in the archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris.2 LeDran's memolre was drawn up in the early ^For a discussion of this aspect of French policy under Louis XIV, see Camille-Georges Picavet, La dlplomatle francaise au temps de Louis XIV. 1661-1715 (Paris: F&ix Alcan, 1930), pp. 233-235. 2"Histoire de la rupture survenue en 1690 entre le roy Louis XIV et le due de Savoye Victor-Am&dee IIe du nom, et de la Paix conclue entre Sa Majesty et Son Altesse Royale par le Trait€ sign£ \ Turin le 29 2 eighteenth century. It contains a useful account of the immediate causes of the diplomatic break between France and Savoy in 1690, together with a careful summary of the course of the negotiations which led to the reconciliation on 1696. The only detailed published accounts of the subject are found in TessS's Memolres. ^ in the comte d'Haussonville's work on the Duchess of Burgundy,^ and in an article by Paul Canestrier in the Revue d'his- toire diplomatique. ® It is now generally recognized that Tesse's Memolres were not the work of Tessi himself; rather, they were written by Philippe Henri de Grimoard in the early nineteenth century. Grimoard used Tessa's papers and correspondence with regrettable carelessness, even to the point of inventing Incidents which did not occur. For this reason, the account of the negotiations in Tesse's M&moires must be used with care. juin et puis le 29 aoust 1696, " A.A.E. , Fonds divers, Memoires et Documents, Sardaigne, IV, fols. 37-241. Philippe Henri de Grimoard, ed., Memolres et lettres du mare- chal de Tessi (2 vols.: Paris; Treuttel et Wurtz, 1806). (Hereinafter referred to as Tess£*, Memoires.) ^G.P.O. de Cleron, comte d'Haussonville, La duchesse de Bourgogne et l'alliance Savoyard so u s Louis XIV (3 v o ls .; 4th ed.; Paris: Calmann-L^vy, 1906). 5Paul Canestrier, "Comment M. de Tess£ prepara, en 1696, le traite de paix entre Louis XIV et Victor-Am€d£e II de Savoie," Revue d'histolre diplomatique. XXXVIil (1934), 370-392. ®See below, Chapter V, footnote 100. 3 Haussonville's work is primarily concerned with the Duchess of Burgundy and her role in the French-Savoyard alliance in the years after 1696. The first half of Volume One is devoted to the negotiations which led to the Treaty of Turin. They are, however, treated primarily from the perspective of the marriage contract between Marie-Adelaide of Savoy and the Duke of Burgundy, an important but by no means crucial issue of the negotiations. Furthermore, Haussonville's account belongs to that genre of impressionistic, semi-popular studies so characteristic of the historians of the Academie franjalse. It is valu able as far as it goes, but it can hardly be considered a definitive treatment of the subject. Canestrier's article would seem to be more to the point. It is, however, quite discursive and suffers from compression. There are generous quotations from archival material, but there are no references and the context is sometimes unclear. Finally, Canestrier does not discuss the related negotiations which led to the Treaty of Vigevano in October, 1696. An account of the Savoy negotiations of 1693-1696 need not be justified, however, solely on the grounds that no adequate modem treatment of them exists. There are other reasons for undertaking such a study. First of all, the Savoy negotiations provide insights into the motives behind the shifting configurations of war and diplomacy in late seventeenth-century Europe. The relative importance of considerations of dynastic, territorial and economic aggrandizement in the policies of the princes of Europe may be clarified by such a study. Second, the relationship between the aims of high policy and the means at the disposal of states to achieve those alms may be illumi nated. To a great degree, the Treaty of Turin was a testimony to Louis XIV's recognition of the fact that his resources were not in exhaustible—that sacrifices of traditional policies and advantages might at times be required for the successful resolution of an otherwise hopeless situation. One may also gain some appreciation of the nature of the day-to- day work of seventeenth-century diplomatists. In this connection several questions immediately come to mind. How explicit were the instructions given by a government to its representative? Were alter native courses of action always spelled out in detail, or was the agent allowed room for improvisation?