Thread by @Arby_K

A new royalty in Europe.

An ancient state in the Alps.

The journey to rebuild a nation lost after the fall of an Empire begins.

Story in the evening ...

Victor Amedee François de Savoie was born in 1666 to Charles Emmanuel, Duke of Savoy, and Marie Jeanne Baptiste de Savoie-Nemours. On his father's death in 1675, his mother became his regent and pursued a pro French agenda. 1/10

Savoy is a landlocked region in the ancient Kingdom of Burgundy, situated in the Western Alps. It became a County in 1003 and, with the addition of County of Nice, got access to the Mediterranean Sea in 1388. In 1416, it was raised to a Duchy, in the Holy Roman Empire. 2/10

Although Victor Amedee's mother came from the House of Savoy, she belonged to a cadet branch and her family were peers in France. Preferring to align with France, Marie Jeanne got his son a French bride - Anne Marie d'Orleans, the niece of the French King Louis XIV. 3/10

But the French King also wanted to intervene in the affairs of the state, especially against Protestants. So when Willem Hendrik organized a grand alliance against France, Victor Amedee supported him. Savoy also had Habsburg General, Eugene de Savoie, to lead its armies. 4/10

In 1692, Savoy invaded the French province of Dauphiné. But the Duke was now vary of Habsburg influence in the Duchy, which was still part of the Holy Roman Empire ruled by the Habsburgs. So he made peace with France, gaining Pinerolo in the process. 5/10

He strengthened his ties with France by marrying his daughters, Marie Adelaide & Marie Louise to the French King's grandsons, Louis and Philippe in 1696 & 1701 respectively. The younger Philippe was a contender for the Spanish throne, after the Spanish royal family died out. 6/10

But the Habsburgs also had a claim and this led to a continental war. Victor Amedee came in support of his son-in-law. In 1701, Savoy fought against Habsburgs at Chiari along with the Bourbons. But the Habsburgs, led by Eugene de Savoie back in Habsburg colours, won the day. 7/10

By 1703, Victor Amedee was having second thoughts of his alliance. He switched to the Habsburg side and was besieged in his capital, Turin, in 1706. It lasted three months before Prince Eugene could relieve the city. The war ended in 1713 profitably for Savoy. 8/10

Savoy gained Montferrat for supporting the Habsburgs. Though Philippe was confirmed as King of Spain, he lost the Spanish possessions outside the Iberian peninsula like Sicily and Sardinia. Victor Amedee was made the King of Sicily. 9/10

But the rule was brief, since he had to exchange Sicily for Sardinia after Philippe attempted to regain his lost territories.

Though the French annexed Savoy and Nice in 1860, the rest of the state would be the base for Italian reunification by Victor Amedee's descendants. 10/10