War of the Montferrat Succession


The War of the Montferrat Succession was a war of succession from 1613 to 1617 over the Duchy of Montferrat in northwestern Italy.

Background

The direct cause of the conflict was the death of duke Francesco IV Gonzaga of Montferrat and Mantua on 22 December 1612 without male heirs. His brother Ferdinando Gonzaga was a cardinal, but renounced his ecclesiastical career in order to succeed his brother in both the Duchy of Mantua and the Duchy of Montferrat. However, Francesco's wife [Margarida of Duchy of Savoy|Savoy, Vicereine of Portugal|Margaret of Savoy] was the daughter of duke Charles Emmanuel I of Savoy, who claimed Montferrat now fell to Maria. Charles Emmanuel invoked the treaty of 1 May 1330 on the occasion of the marriage of Yolande Palaeologina of Montferrat, daughter of Theodore I, Marquess of Montferrat, and Argentine Spinola, with Aymon, Count of Savoy. The treaty stipulated that when the male descendants of the marquis of Montferrat went extinct, those of Yolande would succeed in the marquisate, to provide the daughters with money.

The war

Both sides rallied numerous other states to their camps, and the war raged on for four years. Spain and France joined Ferdinando's side, but France would defect to Charles Emmanuel's side in 1615. That year, the Peace of Asti was drawn up between Spain and Savoy, but the treaty was never signed and the war continued. In 1617, agreements signed in Madrid and then at Pavia led to a peace settlement according to which: the Duke of Savoy would contest the succession of Ferdinando through Imperial tribunals and not through war, both Spain and Savoy would disarm, and occupied territories would be restored to Savoy and the Montferrat. Ferdinando was thus ultimately confirmed Duke of Mantua and Montferrat as intended.

Aftermath

When Ferdinando died in 1626, his brother Vincenzo II, also a cardinal, succeeded him as Duke of Mantua and Montferrat. Despite marrying, following the resignation of Ferdinando and the expulsion of Vincenzo from the Sacred College of Cardinals, neither produced any legitimate children. A new crisis erupted when Vincenzo II died on 26 December 1627, leading to the War of the Mantuan Succession.

Battles