Introduction

Summary

In 1690, the Savoyard state (comprising the Duchy of Savoy, the Principality of Piedmont, the Duchy of Aosta and the County of Nice) was a minor European power, a satellite of its more powerful neighbour across the Alps, the France of Louis XIV, whose troops (garrisoned in the imposing fortresses of Pinerolo in the Val Chisone and of Casale in the Monferrato) threatened the Savoyard capital, Turin, and it was widely regarded as a satellite. However, this would change with Savoyard participation in the Nine Years War (1688–97) and the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–13). In the summer of 1690, the duke – whose territories were going to be caught up in the escalating Nine Years War whether he liked it or not – joined the Grand Alliance powers ranged against Louis XIV by means of treaties with Emperor Leopold and with Spain, England and the Dutch Republic, all of whom promised to help him in his struggle against the French king, and to secure for him Pinerolo. Thereafter, Victor Amadeus II's states became more familiar to informed opinion in Europe as one of the theatres of war.