Convention of Turin
Encyclopedia
The Convention of Turin was a 1742 agreement between Austria
and Sardinia
signed in the Sardinian capital of Turin
. It created a military alliance between the states, directly principally against Spain. It was signed by the Sardinian Chief Minister the Marquis D'Ormea and the Austrian envoy Count Schulenburg.
Following the outbreak of the War of the Austrian Succession
and the attack on Austria by a coalition of states including France
, Prussia
, Bavaria
and Saxony
- their possessions in Italy began to look vulnerable. Spain had ambitions in the area, driven by Elisabeth Farnese who wished to secure Italian kingdoms for her sons. Austria tried to persuade Sardinia to join with them against Spain, although this was resisted by the Sardinian leadership.
Sardinian attempts to remain neutral were undermined by apparent Spanish threat's to their independence. After a large Spanish force was shipped across the Mediterranean and was poised for offensive operations in Italy, Sardinia moved towards concluding agreements with both the British and Austrians. The Sardinians initially made specific territorial requests from Austria as a payment for their co-operation, but later abandoned this for vaguer promises for new territory in Lombardy
. The agreement was concluded on 1 February 1742. The agreement was later expanded on by the Treaty of Worms (1743)
.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
signed in the Sardinian capital of Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
. It created a military alliance between the states, directly principally against Spain. It was signed by the Sardinian Chief Minister the Marquis D'Ormea and the Austrian envoy Count Schulenburg.
Following the outbreak of the War of the Austrian Succession
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...
and the attack on Austria by a coalition of states including France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
and Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
- their possessions in Italy began to look vulnerable. Spain had ambitions in the area, driven by Elisabeth Farnese who wished to secure Italian kingdoms for her sons. Austria tried to persuade Sardinia to join with them against Spain, although this was resisted by the Sardinian leadership.
Sardinian attempts to remain neutral were undermined by apparent Spanish threat's to their independence. After a large Spanish force was shipped across the Mediterranean and was poised for offensive operations in Italy, Sardinia moved towards concluding agreements with both the British and Austrians. The Sardinians initially made specific territorial requests from Austria as a payment for their co-operation, but later abandoned this for vaguer promises for new territory in Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
. The agreement was concluded on 1 February 1742. The agreement was later expanded on by the Treaty of Worms (1743)
Treaty of Worms (1743)
The Treaty of Worms was a political alliance formed between Great Britain, Austria and the Kingdom of Sardinia, signed on September 13, 1743. It was largely an ambitious piece of foreign policy on the part of the British government which sought to split the Emperor Charles VII from French...
.