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Absolute monarchy on the frontiers
French territorial ambitions and consequent military activity during the reign of Louis XIV ensured that a number of territories bordering on France were subject to military occupation for strategic reasons from the 1660s onwards. Drawing on extensive archival research, this study presents the occupation of two of these territories, Lorraine and Savoy, from a comparative perspective. It investigates the aims and intentions of the French monarchy in occupying these regions, the problems of administering them, and French relations with key local elite groups. Absolute monarchy on the frontiers makes a significant contribution to understanding this crucial era in the development of civil-military relations. It also places the occupations of Lorraine and Savoy within the framework of recent scholarship on early modern border societies and frontiers, and on the practice of ‘absolutism’ at the frontiers of the French kingdom. The book will appeal particularly to scholars and students of early modern France and Europe.
eBook
French military occupations of lorraine and savoie, 1670-1714
Lorraine and Savoie were both occupied twice by French armies during the personal rule of Louis XIV. Lorraine was initially invaded and occupied in 1670 to support the French strategic and logistic position in the Dutch War, yet due to political expediency this developed into a policy of outright annexation. The French relinquished Lorraine due to international pressures in 1697, but partially reoccupied it from 1702 to 1714, again as a result of strategic and logistical necessity. Savoie was occupied from 1690 to 1696 and again from 1703 to 1713 as a response to successive breakdowns in Franco-Savoyard relations, and to guarantee the south-eastern frontier of the kingdom. There was no pre-conceived or uniform policy practiced by the French when it came to the occupations of these territories, and these instead developed on the basis of events and pressures that were often beyond the control of the French government. In essence, the principal French approach to occupied territories was paternalistic, their main priority being to uphold Louis’s newly-asserted sovereignty and pay the costs of the occupation while impressing upon the local elites the benefits of collaboration and the pitfalls of continued loyalty to their old ruler. The French became more sophisticated generally towards occupied territories as the reign progressed, at least as far as circumstances allowed. In sum, the key variables that influenced how the French handled these lands, other than time and place, were security issues, local loyalties, and the expectation of either retention by France or restitution to the original sovereign.
Dissertation
The structures of occupation
A number of territories bordering on France were subject to military occupation during Louis XIV’s personal rule. If strategic necessity dictated that the French army occupy a territory, it was up to the king and his ministers to devise a suitable system to administer it. Chapter 2 identified France’s strategic aims in the occupied territories and how these aims changed over time; this chapter analyses the way these aims were manifested in administrative policy. Conquest brought the need to replace or adapt the existing regime, and the first question was who (individual or group) would govern on behalf of the
Book Chapter
The administrative elites
Of all the territories conquered or annexed by France in this period that have been subject to detailed study, none suffered a wholesale shutdown or replacement of the existing institutional apparatus. Conquests were usually followed by a confirmation of corporate and provincial privileges, signifying that the traditional contractual relationship of the ruler with his subjects was to be maintained.¹ Retention of the traditional forms of administration would, it was hoped, keep the local elites on side. In 1661, for instance, a plan to suppress the Conseil souverain of Roussillon and transfer its authority to Montpellier was opposed and ultimately dropped.²
Book Chapter
The church
The French Government was well aware of the importance of religion in managing conquered populations.¹ The church was central to the diffusion of pro-(or anti-) French views; as with the lay elites, the co-operation of the clergy was vital in maintaining order. Lorraine and Savoy were predominantly Catholic societies, and the clergy possessed immense influence over consciences and public opinion, but experience in several newly annexed provinces showed that the loyalties of the religious elites could be the most difficult to win out of all of the social groups in conquered societies.² Of course, as in France, the clergy of
Book Chapter