Treaty of Campo Formio
Encyclopedia
Campoformido
Campoformido is a town and comune in the province of Udine, in north-eastern Italy, notable for the Treaty of Campo Formio.The village of Rivolto , in the comune of Codroipo, hosts the Italian Air Force acrobatic flight squadron, the Frecce Tricolori....
) was signed on 18 October 1797 (27 Vendémiaire, Year VI
French Republican Calendar
The French Republican Calendar or French Revolutionary Calendar was a calendar created and implemented during the French Revolution, and used by the French government for about 12 years from late 1793 to 1805, and for 18 days by the Paris Commune in 1871...
) by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl
Philipp von Cobenzl
Johann Philipp Graf von Cobenzl was a Carniolan nobleman, working as a diplomat of the Habsburg Monarchy and the Austrian Empire. He was an ambassador of the Habsburg Monarchy in Paris till his retirement in 1805, and then lived in Vienna...
as representatives of revolutionary France
French First Republic
The French First Republic was founded on 22 September 1792, by the newly established National Convention. The First Republic lasted until the declaration of the First French Empire in 1804 under Napoleon I...
and the Austrian monarchy
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
. The treaty marked the victorious conclusion to Napoleon's campaigns in Italy, the collapse of the First Coalition
First Coalition
The War of the First Coalition was the first major effort of multiple European monarchies to contain Revolutionary France. France declared war on the Habsburg monarchy of Austria on 20 April 1792, and the Kingdom of Prussia joined the Austrian side a few weeks later.These powers initiated a series...
, and the end of the first phase of the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
.
Terms of the treaty
Beyond the usual clauses of "firm and inviolable peace" the treaty transferred a number of Austrian territories into French hands. Lands ceded included the Austrian Netherlands (now Belgium) and certain islands in the Mediterranean, including CorfuCorfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
and other Venetian islands in the Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
. Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
and its territories (Venetia) were divided between the two states: Venice, Istria
Istria
Istria , formerly Histria , is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner...
and Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
were turned over to the Austrian emperor. Austria recognized the Cisalpine Republic
Cisalpine Republic
The Cisalpine Republic was a French client republic in Northern Italy that lasted from 1797 to 1802.-Birth:After the Battle of Lodi in May 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte proceeded to organize two states: one to the south of the Po River, the Cispadane Republic, and one to the north, the Transpadane...
and the newly-created Ligurian Republic
Ligurian Republic
The Ligurian Republic was a short-lived French client republic formed by Napoleon on 14 June 1797. It consisted of the old Republic of Genoa which covered most of the Ligurian region of Northwest Italy, and the small Imperial fiefs owned by the House of Savoy inside its territory...
, formed of Genovese
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
territories, as independent powers.
The treaty also contained secret clauses, which divided up certain other territories, made Liguria
Liguria
Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...
independent, and also agreed to the extension of the borders of France up to the Rhine, the Nette
Nette
Nette can refer to:* Nette , a river in Lower Saxony, tributary to the Innerste.* Nette , a river in Rhineland-Palatinate, tributary to the Rhine.* Nette , a river in North Rhine-Westphalia, tributary to the Niers....
, and the Roer. Free French navigation was guaranteed on the Rhine, the Meuse and the Moselle. The French Republic had been expanded into Germany and Italy's natural boundaries.
The treaty was composed and signed after five months of negotiations. It was basically what had been agreed earlier at the Peace of Leoben in April 1797, but the negotiations had been spun out by both parties for a number of reasons. During the negotiating period the French had to crush a royalist coup in September. This was used as a cause for the arrest and deportation of royalist and moderate deputies in the Directory
French Directory
The Directory was a body of five Directors that held executive power in France following the Convention and preceding the Consulate...
.
Napoleon's biographer, Felix Markham, wrote "the partition of Venice was not only a moral blot on the peace settlement but left Austria a foothold in Italy, which could only lead to further war." In fact the Peace of Campo Formio, though it reshaped the map of Europe and marked a major step in Napoleon's fame, was only a respite.
As a result of the treaty, Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette, a prisoner from the French revolution, was released from Austrian captivity.
By passing Venetian possessions in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, such as the Ionian Islands
Ionian Islands
The Ionian Islands are a group of islands in Greece. They are traditionally called the Heptanese, i.e...
to French rule, the Treaty of Campo Formio had an effect on later Greek history which was not intended or expected at the time. The placing of a small French garrison at the formerly Venetian-ruled town of Preveza
Preveza
Preveza is a town in the region of Epirus, northwestern Greece, located at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. It is the capital of the regional unit of Preveza, which is part of the region of Epirus. An immersed tunnel, completed in 2002 which runs between Preveza and Actium, connects the town...
, on the edge of Ottoman territory, proved untenable and had disastrous results for French soldiers and townspeople.
Campo Formio, now called Campoformido
Campoformido
Campoformido is a town and comune in the province of Udine, in north-eastern Italy, notable for the Treaty of Campo Formio.The village of Rivolto , in the comune of Codroipo, hosts the Italian Air Force acrobatic flight squadron, the Frecce Tricolori....
, is a village west of Udine
Udine
Udine is a city and comune in northeastern Italy, in the middle of Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic sea and the Alps , less than 40 km from the Slovenian border. Its population was 99,439 in 2009, and that of its urban area was 175,000.- History :Udine is the historical...
in north-eastern Italy, in the middle between Austrian headquarters in Udine and Napoleon's residence. The French commander resided at Villa Manin near Codroipo
Codroipo
Codroipo is a comune in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about 70 km northwest of Trieste and about 20 km southwest of Udine.The town was founded in Roman times and named Quadruvium...
, country mansion of Ludovico Manin
Ludovico Manin
Ludovico Manin was the last Doge of Venice. He governed Venice from 9 March 1789 until 1797, when he was forced to abdicate by Napoleon Bonaparte.-Early life:...
, last Doge
Doge
Doge is a dialectal Italian word that descends from the Latin dux , meaning "leader", especially in a military context. The wife of a Doge is styled a Dogaressa....
of Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
. It was there that Napoleon signed the treaty.