The Siege of Genoa took place in 1746 during 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...

 when an Allied force of Austrians

Austrians

Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....

, Sardinians soldiers and British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 sailors besieged the capital of the Republic of Genoa

Republic of Genoa

The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....

. The city ultimately surrendered to the Austrian commander Antoniotto Botta Adorno

Antoniotto Botta Adorno

thumb|Antoniotto Botta Adorno.Antoniotto Botta Adorno was a high officer of the Habsburg Monarchy and a plenipotentiary of the Austrian Netherlands.-Biography:...

, after being abandoned by its principal allies 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...

 and Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. The manner in which Austria had negotiated a separate surrender that didn't include Britain or Sardinia angered their allies, and for a while the British fleet under George Townshend were instructed by Arthur Villettes

Arthur Villettes

Arthur Villettes was a British diplomat who played an important role in diplomatic negotiations of the 18th century often serving as an envoy of the long-standing controller of British foreign policy the Duke of Newcastle...

 to continue their blockade of the city in protest until ordered to cease it by the Duke of Newcastle

Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and 1st Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, KG, PC was a British Whig statesman, whose official life extended throughout the Whig supremacy of the 18th century. He is commonly known as the Duke of Newcastle.A protégé of Sir Robert Walpole, he served...

 in London.

Aftermath

The Austrians mistreated many of the inhabitants of Genoa, causing deep resentment. Following the departure of large numbers of the Austrians for an Allied campaign to invade southern France, the city rose on 7 December 1746 driving out the remainder of the garrison. An attempt to retake the city

Siege of Genoa (1747)

The Siege of Genoa took place in 1747 when an Austrian army under the command of Count Schulenberg launched a failed attempt to capture the capital of the Republic of Genoa....

the following year failed.