Napoleon in Italy (1796-1799)
During the revolutionary triennium (1796–99), political initiative in Italy remained in French hands. The moderate heads of the post-Jacobin Directory regarded the conquered Italian territories primarily as bargaining chips. However, Napoleon, as commander of the French armies in Italy, worked actively to establish “sister republics.” He hoped for financially stable and politically dependable governments that would recognize French hegemony, adopt French legislation, and hold radical elements at bay. Thus, he supported the establishment of moderate republican governments headed by prominent Italian citizens.
The first of these, the Cispadane Republic, was established at Modena in March 1797; in July it merged with the Cisalpine Republic, which encompassed Lombardy. A third republic, the Ligurian Republic, incorporating the former republic of Genoa, was proclaimed on 6 June 1797. In Piedmont the Savoy government suppressed Jacobin uprisings until the French forced the Savoy king to leave, annexing his territories in February 1799.
The situation in Italy changed in November 1797 when Napoleon departed on his ill-fated expedition to Egypt. Under pressure from England, King Ferdinand IV of Naples invaded the Roman Republic and attempted to restore the papal government in Rome. The French armies launched a counteroffensive. King Ferdinand took refuge in Sicily under the protection of the British fleet, and French troops occupied Naples on 23 January 1799, and established the Parthenopean Republic.
Early in 1799 the French situation in Italy deteriorated rapidly. After the birth of the Second Coalition against France (March 1799), Austrian and Russian troops were able to occupy the Cisalpine Republic and to reach Turin in less than two months. Thus, the French lost the entire Po valley. In addition, most of the French army was forced to withdraw from Naples, which surrendered on 23 June 1799, and soon afterward the king and his wife Maria Carolina, a sister of Marie-Antoinette of France, returned to Naples from Sicily.
The French, who had occupied Tuscany between March and July 1799, were driven out by a violent peasant uprising, the Viva Maria (“Long Live the Virgin Mary”). This movement developed into a march on urban centers, assaults on Jewish residents, and a hunt for real or alleged local Jacobins; it also re-established the power of the landowning aristocracy and of the clergy. The Roman Republic fell in September 1799. The French resisted only in Genoa, while a large number of Italian Jacobins took refuge in France. Thus ended the revolutionary triennium.
The first of these, the Cispadane Republic, was established at Modena in March 1797; in July it merged with the Cisalpine Republic, which encompassed Lombardy. A third republic, the Ligurian Republic, incorporating the former republic of Genoa, was proclaimed on 6 June 1797. In Piedmont the Savoy government suppressed Jacobin uprisings until the French forced the Savoy king to leave, annexing his territories in February 1799.
The situation in Italy changed in November 1797 when Napoleon departed on his ill-fated expedition to Egypt. Under pressure from England, King Ferdinand IV of Naples invaded the Roman Republic and attempted to restore the papal government in Rome. The French armies launched a counteroffensive. King Ferdinand took refuge in Sicily under the protection of the British fleet, and French troops occupied Naples on 23 January 1799, and established the Parthenopean Republic.
Early in 1799 the French situation in Italy deteriorated rapidly. After the birth of the Second Coalition against France (March 1799), Austrian and Russian troops were able to occupy the Cisalpine Republic and to reach Turin in less than two months. Thus, the French lost the entire Po valley. In addition, most of the French army was forced to withdraw from Naples, which surrendered on 23 June 1799, and soon afterward the king and his wife Maria Carolina, a sister of Marie-Antoinette of France, returned to Naples from Sicily.
The French, who had occupied Tuscany between March and July 1799, were driven out by a violent peasant uprising, the Viva Maria (“Long Live the Virgin Mary”). This movement developed into a march on urban centers, assaults on Jewish residents, and a hunt for real or alleged local Jacobins; it also re-established the power of the landowning aristocracy and of the clergy. The Roman Republic fell in September 1799. The French resisted only in Genoa, while a large number of Italian Jacobins took refuge in France. Thus ended the revolutionary triennium.