Piedmontese Civil War

Date	1639 – 1642
Location	Northern Italy
Result	stalemate

Belligerents

France

Regency faction

Spain

Prince Thomas faction

Commanders and leaders

The Piedmontese Civil War was a conflict in northern Italy, connected with the Franco-Spanish War of 1635-59.

From 1635, Piedmont had been forced to join France in its war against Spain, fighting principally against Spanish-controlled former Duchy of Milan, though its ruler, Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy, avoided formally declaring war on Spain.

In October 1637, Victor Amadeus died, and with his eldest son Francis Hyacinth only five years old, his will placed government under the regency of his widow Christine Marie of France, sister of Louis XIII of France. Despite her French origins, Christine did try to govern independently, she resisted French attempts to take over the regency, and on occasion she even stood up to personal bullying by Cardinal Richelieu; but Piedmont was so thoroughly dominated by its powerful neighbour that it could not follow an independent course, and Christine tended to be blamed for events over which she had no control. She did not help matters, however, by handing much of government over to her lover, Philippe d'Agliè. The late prince's brothers Thomas and Maurice had fears that they would be excluded from their rights to the succession, reinforced when, soon after the death of Victor Amadeus, Christine was forced by the French to write to the brothers insisting that they not return to Piedmont - though since Thomas was serving Spain at the time, the French demand was not entirely unreasonable. In 1638, Thomas sent his friend the marquis of Pallavicini to Turin, officially on a courtesy mission to Christine but actually to sound out public opinion in Piedmont on her rule; Maurice was also negotiating with other governments, including the Pope, to overturn Victor Amadeus' testament and end the regency of Christine, and soon was plotting simply to capture her. The situation became even worse in October 1638 when Francis Hyacinth died, and the succession passed to Charles Emmanuel, only four years old; although the testament of Victor Amadeus had made arrangements for a regency only for Francis Hyacinth, Christine continued as regent, but her legal position was much weaker, and her opponents argued that any regency for Charles Emmanuel had to be approved by the Estates, or by Piedmont's suzerain the Emperor, to be legitimate - there are suggestions that the Emperor had already declared Victor Amadeus' will void and Christine's regency invalid, but this is not reported by others.

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