Ligurian Republic
The Ligurian Republic (Italian: Repubblica Ligure, Ligurian: Repubbrica Ligure) was a client republic (a puppet state) formed by Napoleon I of France on 14 June 1797, after his army occupied Italy. It consisted of the old Republic of Genoa which Napoleon abolished and which covered most of the Ligurian region of northwest Italy, and the small Imperial fiefs owned by the House of Savoy inside its territory. Its first constitution was passed on 22 December 1797, establishing a Directorial republic.
Ligurian Republic Repubblica Ligure Repubbrica Ligure | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1797–1805 | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
 Continental Italy in 1799 | |||||||||
 Devastated blazon because of the proclamation of the Ligurian Republic, 1797; Taggia, Italy | |||||||||
| Status | Sister republic of France | ||||||||
| Capital | Genoa | ||||||||
| Common languages | Italian, Ligurian | ||||||||
| Government | Constitutional republic | ||||||||
| Doge | |||||||||
• 1797–1805 | Girolamo Luigi Durazzo | ||||||||
| Legislature | Legislative Council[1] | ||||||||
| Council of Seniors | |||||||||
| Council of Sixty | |||||||||
| Historical era | Napoleonic Wars | ||||||||
• | 14 June 1797 | ||||||||
• | 4 June 1805 | ||||||||
| Currency | Genoan pound | ||||||||
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History
The directory was overthrown on 7 December 1799 and the executive Girolamo Luigi Durazzo was temporarily replaced by a commission.[2] In 1800 a Doge was nominated for 5 years. In 1802 he was nominated for life. The Doge had no real powers, because he and the state were controlled by Napoleon and his army. Despite the appearance as a constitutional republic with a constitution and a legislature, almost everything was decided by Napoleon, like in all the other French client states.[3]
The state was briefly occupied by the Austrian army in 1800, but Napoleon soon returned with his army. A new constitution was published in 1801, establishing institutions more similar to those of the previous Genoan Republic, with a Doge who was president of a senate. The Ligurian Republic used the traditional Genoese flag, a red cross on a white background.
In June 1805, the Ligurian Republic was annexed by the French to the French Empire.
After the fall of Napoleon in 1814, the republic was briefly restored between 28 April and 28 July. Following the Congress of Vienna it was awarded to the Kingdom of Sardinia and annexed on 3 January 1815.
References
- ↑ Woolf, Stuart (November 2002). Napoleon's Integration of Europe. ISBN 9781134944200.
- ↑ Journal de Bruxelles 90, page 718 and 719, 'De Gênes, le 16 Frimaire (7 décembre 1799)' (in French)
- ↑ Hearder, Harry (22 July 2014). Italy in the Age of the Risorgimento 1790 - 1870. ISBN 9781317872054.