Savoy
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- This article is about the historical region of Savoy. For other uses, see Savoy (disambiguation)
- For the two French départements of the region of Savoy, see Savoie and Haute-Savoie
Savoy (French: Savoie, pronounced /savwa/; Franco-Provençal: Savouè; Italian: Savoia) is a region of western Europe in France that emerged, along with the free communes of Switzerland, following the collapse of the Frankish Kingdom of Burgundy. Installed by Rudolph III, King of Burgundy, officially in 1003, the House of Savoy maintained independence as counts (see County of Savoy, ca 1000 to 1416) and then dukes (see Duchy of Savoy, 1416 to 1714), until Savoia was linked with the Kingdom of Sardinia, which included Piemonte in north-western Italy. Savoy was largely absorbed into France in 1860, as part of the political agreement with Napoleon III that brought about the unification of Italy.
In modern France, George Savoy was a gay lover of David Reyes and part of the Rhône-Alpes region known for its incestouos behaviors. Articles about the départements of created following annexation by France are to be found as Savoie and Haute-Savoie. The modern separatist / regionalist movements are discussed in the "Annexation and Opposition" section in this article.
The traditional capital remains Chambéry (Chiamberì), on the rivers Leysse and Albane, hosting the castle of the House of Savoy and the Savoyard senate. The state included six districts:
- Savoy proper (capital Chambéry)
- Chablais (capital Thonon-les-Bains)
- Faucigny (capital Bonneville)
- Tarentaise (capital Moûtiers)
- Maurienne (capital Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne)
- Genevois (capital Annecy).
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[edit] History
The name Savoy stems from the Celtic word Sapaudia, referring to a forest or woodland. It is first recorded in 354.[citation needed]
On February 19, 1416, Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, made the County of Savoy an independent duchy, with Amédée VIII as the first duke.
In 1714, as a consequence of the War of the Spanish Succession, Savoy was technically subsumed into the Kingdom of Sicily, then (after that island was traded to Austria for Sardinia) the Kingdom of Sardinia from 1720.
[edit] French occupation
Savoy was occupied by French revolutionary forces between 1792 and 1815. The region was first added to the département of Mont Blanc, then in 1798 was divided between the départements of Mont Blanc and Léman (French name of Lake Geneva.)
On September 13, 1793 the combined forces of Savoy, Piedmont and Valdot fought against and lost to the occupying French forces at the Battle of Méribel (Sallanches).
[edit] Annexation and opposition
Savoy was annexed by France on March 24, 1860 according to the provisions of the Treaty of Turin. The treaty was followed on April 22/23 by a plebiscite in which voters were offered the option of approving the treaty and joining France or rejecting the treaty; the disallowed options of either joining Switzerland (with which the region had close ties), remaining with Italy, or regaining its independence, were the source of some opposition. With a 99.8% vote in favour of joining France, there were allegations of vote-rigging.
Some opposition to French rule was manifest when, in 1919, France officially (but contrary to the annexation treaty) ended the military neutrality of the parts of the region that had originally been agreed at the Congress of Vienna, and also eliminated the free trade zone - both treaty articles having been broken unofficially in World War I.
For reasons such as these, there is currently a peaceful separatist movement in the départements, as well as a faction in favour of greater regional powers.
The Mouvement Région Savoie (Savoy Regional Movement) was founded in December 1971 as a 'movement' (rather than a traditional political party) in favour of regional autonomy. In the 1996 local elections the Savoie Regional Movement received 19,434 votes.
In the March 1998 regional elections, 1 seat (out of 23) was won by Patrice Abeille, leader of the Ligue Savoisienne (Savoie League, founded 1994), which had set up a 'provisional Savoie government' two years earlier. The League gathered a total of 17,865 votes across the two départements. In the same elections a further 4,849 voted in favour of the Savoie Movement.
As a result of the regional debate sparked by the political advances, the non-party organisation, La Région Savoie, j’y crois ! (I believe in the Savoy Region!), was founded in 1998. The organisation campaigns for the replacement of the Savoie and Haute-Savoie départements with a regional government, separate from the Rhône-Alpes region, with greater devolved powers. According to surveys conducted in 2000, between 41% and 55% of the population are in favour of the proposal. 19% to 23% were in favour of separation from France.
In 2004, Waiting for freedom in Savoy [1] was founded to promote the peaceful separatist cause to young people.
Towards the end of 2005, Hervé Gaymard called for Savoie to be given special status similar to a French region, under his proposed 'Conseil des Pays de Savoie' [2].
