Charles Albert (2 October, 1798 – 28 July, 1849) was the
King of PiedmontKingdom of Sardinia, also known as Piedmont-Sardinia or Sardinia-Piedmont, was the name given to the possessions of the House of Savoy in 1720, when the crown of Sardinia was awarded by the Treaty of London to Duke Victor Amadeus II of Savoy to compensate him for the loss of the crown of Sicily to...
-Sardinia from 1831 to 1849. He succeeded his distant cousin
Charles FelixCharles Felix I of Sardinia was the Duke of Savoy, Piedmont, Aosta and King of Sardinia from 1821 to 1831....
, and his name is bound with the first Italian statute and the
First War of Independence (1848–49)The First Italian War of Independence was fought in 1848 between the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Austrian Empire. The war saw main battles at Custoza and Novara in which the Austrians under Radetzky managed to defeat the Piedmontese....
. He abdicated after his forces were defeated by the Austrian army at the
Battle of NovaraThe Battle of Novara or Battle of Bicocca was one of the battles fought between the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia during the First Italian War of Independence, within the era of Italian unification...
(1849), and died in exile soon thereafter.
He was born in
TurinTurin is a major city as well as a business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River surrounded by the Alpine arch...
in 1798, to Charles Emmanuel of Savoy, 6th Prince of Carignano and
Albertina Maria Cristina of SaxonyMaria Christina of Saxony was a Princess of Saxony and Duchess of Courland.Maria Christina was the daughter of Carl Christian Joseph of Saxony, himself son of August III of Poland...
.
Charles Albert (2 October, 1798 – 28 July, 1849) was the
King of PiedmontKingdom of Sardinia, also known as Piedmont-Sardinia or Sardinia-Piedmont, was the name given to the possessions of the House of Savoy in 1720, when the crown of Sardinia was awarded by the Treaty of London to Duke Victor Amadeus II of Savoy to compensate him for the loss of the crown of Sicily to...
-Sardinia from 1831 to 1849. He succeeded his distant cousin
Charles FelixCharles Felix I of Sardinia was the Duke of Savoy, Piedmont, Aosta and King of Sardinia from 1821 to 1831....
, and his name is bound with the first Italian statute and the
First War of Independence (1848–49)The First Italian War of Independence was fought in 1848 between the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Austrian Empire. The war saw main battles at Custoza and Novara in which the Austrians under Radetzky managed to defeat the Piedmontese....
. He abdicated after his forces were defeated by the Austrian army at the
Battle of NovaraThe Battle of Novara or Battle of Bicocca was one of the battles fought between the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia during the First Italian War of Independence, within the era of Italian unification...
(1849), and died in exile soon thereafter.
Biography
He was born in
TurinTurin is a major city as well as a business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River surrounded by the Alpine arch...
in 1798, to Charles Emmanuel of Savoy, 6th Prince of Carignano and
Albertina Maria Cristina of SaxonyMaria Christina of Saxony was a Princess of Saxony and Duchess of Courland.Maria Christina was the daughter of Carl Christian Joseph of Saxony, himself son of August III of Poland...
. His father was a fifth-generation descendant of
Thomas Francis, Prince of CarignanoThomas Francis of Savoy was an Italian military commander, the founder of the Savoy-Carignano branch of the House of Savoy which reigned as kings of Sardinia from 1831 to 1861, and as kings of Italy from 1861 until the...
, founder of the
Savoy-CarignanoThe Savoy-Carignan line, , , was an offshoot of House of Savoy descended from its first member Thomas Francis, son of Charles Emmanuel I of Savoy...
line of the
House of SavoyThe House of Savoy was formed in the early eleventh century in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, it grew from ruling a small county in that region to eventually rule the Kingdom of Italy until the end of the Second World War...
. Because none of the sons of
Victor Amadeus IIIVictor Amadeus III was King of Sardinia from 1773 until his death.-Biography:...
themselves had sons, Charles Albert was throughout his life known to be their likely successor on the throne of Sardinia.
He was educated in the intellectually liberal and Francophile atmosphere of Geneva, then in Paris during the
First French EmpireThe French Empire
, also known as the Greater French Empire or First French Empire, but more commonly known as the Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I in France...
.
Napoleon I of FranceNapoleon Bonaparte later known as Napoleon I, and previously Napoleone di Buonaparte, was a military and political leader of France whose actions shaped European politics in the early 19th century.Born in Corsica and trained as an artillery officer in mainland France, Bonaparte rose to prominence...
named him
lieutenantLieutenant is a military, naval, paramilitary, fire service, emergency medical services or police officer rank....
of the dragoons in 1814. After the fall of Napoleon, Charles Albert returned to Turin, were he was entrusted to two praeceptors who were to delete in him the dangerous libertarian ideas learned in France. However, he continued to display some sympathies with liberals.
In 1821, as
regentA regent, from the Latin regens "reigning", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Thus, the common use is for an acting deputy governor....
for the kingdom in the absence of the new king,
Charles FelixCharles Felix I of Sardinia was the Duke of Savoy, Piedmont, Aosta and King of Sardinia from 1821 to 1831....
(then in
ModenaModena is a city and a comune on the south side of the Po valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
), he conceded a constitution that was disavowed by the king, who sent him to join the French army in Spain to suppress the liberal revolution there and restore
Ferdinand VII|align=right|Ferdinand VII was King of Spain twice, in 1808, and from 1813 to 1833...
. He distinguished himself at the
Battle of TrocaderoThe Battle of Trocadero 31 August 1823, was a battle in the Spanish Civil War of 1820–23 which ended the war in favor of the conservative reaction to the constitutional rebellion.- Prelude :...
in 1823, which annihilated hopes of a
constitutional monarchyA constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a written , unwritten or blended constitution...
for Spain and also gained him the favour of Austria.
Charles Albert succeeded Charles Felix to the throne of Sardinia in 1831. Although an Italian patriot allegedly opposed to the Austrian
hegemonyHegemony is the preponderance of power, and the construction of consent from the powerless through cultural values.-In politics:...
in Northern Italy, he put down the
MazziniGiuseppe Mazzini , the "Soul of Italy," was an Italian patriot, philosopher, Freemason and politician. His efforts helped bring about the modern Italian state in place of the several separate states, many dominated by foreign powers, that existed until the 19th century...
conspiracy. He introduced a series of reforms that abolished domestic customs barriers within the kingdom, promulgated a constitutional law code (
Statuto AlbertinoThe Statuto Albertino or Albertine Statute was the constitution that King Charles Albert I of Sardinia conceded to the Kingdom of Sardinia on 4 March 1848....
) inspired to those of France and Belgium, and supported the arts and sciences.
During the
Revolutions of 1848The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations, Springtime of the Peoples or the Year of Revolution, were a series of political upheavals throughout the European continent...
he agreed to a constitutional regime that remained in place for the century that the
Kingdom of ItalyItaly, united in 1861, has significantly contributed to the cultural and social development of the entire Mediterranean area. Many cultures and civilizations have existed there since prehistoric times....
lasted. The same year he
declared warThe First Italian War of Independence was fought in 1848 between the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Austrian Empire. The war saw main battles at Custoza and Novara in which the Austrians under Radetzky managed to defeat the Piedmontese....
on Austria, with the small army supported by volunteers from the whole of Italy. However, after his initial victories lost him the support of the Pope and the other Italian monarchs, he was defeated at
Battle of CustozaThe Battle of Custoza was fought on July 24 and 25, 1848 during the first Italian War of Independence between the armies of the Austrian Empire, led by Field Marshal Radetzky, and of the Kingdom of Sardinia, led by King Charles Albert of Piedmont....
(July 24 1848), being forced to sign an armistice at Vigevano on August 9. When, pushed by the increasing influence of the Republicans in Piedmont, he attempted to resume the war the next year, the Piedmontese were again crushed by Radetzky's troops
at NovaraThe Battle of Novara or Battle of Bicocca was one of the battles fought between the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia during the First Italian War of Independence, within the era of Italian unification...
. Rather than redrawing the Statute, he abdicated in favour of his son, Victor Emmanuel fleeing in exile to Portugal.
He died at
PortoPorto , also known as Oporto in English, is Portugal's second city and capital of the Norte NUTS II region. The city is located in the estuary of the Douro river in northern Portugal. The largest city in the region, Porto is considered the economic and cultural heart of the entire region...
the same year. His remains were transferred to the
Basilica of SupergaThe Basilica of Superga is a church in the vicinity of Turin.It was built from 1717 to 1731 for Victor Amadeus II of Savoy by Filippo Juvarra, at the top of the hill of Superga, to fulfill a vow the duke had made during the Battle of Turin. The architect made allusions to different earlier styles...
.
Friedrich EngelsFriedrich Engels was a German social scientist, author, political theorist, philosopher, and father of communist theory, alongside Karl Marx. Together they produced The Communist Manifesto in 1848...
said of Charles Albert:
Among the indigenous princes, the number one enemy of ItalianItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
freedom was and is Charles Albert. The Italians should bear in mind and repeat every hour the old saying: "God watch over my friends, so that I can watch over my enemies." From FerdinandFerdinand II was the King of the Two Sicilies from 1830 until his death.-Family:...
of the House of BourbonThe House of Bourbon is an important European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty. Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples & Sicily, and Parma...
, there is nothing to fear; he has for a long time been discredited. Charles Albert on the other hand calls himself pompously the "liberator of Italy" while on the very people he is supposed to he liberating he imposes as a condition the yokeA yoke is a wooden beam which is used between a pair of oxen to allow them to pull a load . There are several types, used in different cultures, and for different types of oxen...
of his rule (Neue Rheinische ZeitungThe Neue Rheinische Zeitung was a German daily newspaper, published by Karl Marx from Cologne in 1848 and 1849. Its name refers to a paper earlier edited by Marx, the Rheinische Zeitung...
No. 73, August 12, 1848).
Family and children
In 1817, Charles Albert married his second cousin once removed, Maria Theresa of Tuscany, the youngest daughter of
Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of TuscanyFerdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany was Grand Duke of Tuscany, . He was also the Prince-elector and Duke of Salzburg and Grand Duke of Würzburg ....
and Princess Luisa Maria Amelia Teresa of the Two Sicilies. The couple had the following children:
- Vittorio Emanuele II
Victor Emmanuel II was the King of Piedmont, Savoy, and Sardinia from 1849 to 1861. On 18 February 1861, he assumed the title King of Italy to become the first king of a united Italy, a title he held until his death in 1878...
(1820–78)
- Ferdinand, Duke of Genoa
Prince Ferdinand Maria Alberto Amedeo Filiberto Vincenzo of Savoy, Duke of Genoa was the founder of the Genoa branch of the House of Savoy-Biography:...
(1822–55), 1st Duke of GenoaGenoa is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria. The city has a population of about 610,000 and the urban area has a population of about 900,000...
- Maria Cristina (fl 1826–27)
External links