Besançon (Imperial Free City)
Substate | Defunct
1184 CE to 1678 CE
The Free Imperial City of Besançon is a self-governing city that is part of the Holy Roman Empire.From 1184 until 1654, the City of Besançon is a free imperial city (Freie Reichsstadt) as shown by the coat of arms until today and called Bisanz.
It starts as a prince-bishopric, an ecclesiastical state in the Holy Roman Empire.
At first it is governed by the archbishop of Besançon, although later most of this power is taken by a council within the town.
It comprises only a tiny area around the city of Besançon in the Franche-Comté and for a large part of the time is in effect controlled by the dukes of Burgundy, then the Habsburgs.
Finally, it loses its imperial status, but remains a free city.
Worlds
The Atlantic Lands
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Frederick I Barbarossa Grants Free Imperial Status to Besançon (1184 CE)
In 1184, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa granted Besançon the status of a Free Imperial City, making it an autonomous city-state directly under imperial authority rather than under the control of local feudal lords.
Significance of Free Imperial Status
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Increased Autonomy
- As a Free Imperial City, Besançon was placed under the immediate jurisdiction of the Emperor, rather than a duke, bishop, or count.
- The city gained self-governance, including control over taxation, trade, and legal matters.
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Strategic and Political Importance
- Besançon, located in the Franche-Comté region, was a key crossroads between the Holy Roman Empire and the Kingdom of France.
- By elevating Besançon to Free Imperial status, Barbarossa strengthened imperial control over Burgundy, countering French influence in the region.
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Economic Growth
- The city's new status encouraged commercial expansion, making Besançon a thriving trade and administrative center.
- Free Imperial Cities typically developed strong urban economies, benefiting from imperial protection without feudal restrictions.
Context in Barbarossa’s Reign
- This move was part of Frederick I Barbarossa’s broader policy of strengthening imperial power by elevating loyal cities to counterbalance rebellious nobles.
- Other cities, such as Lübeck and Nuremberg, were similarly granted Free Imperial status, helping Barbarossa consolidate his rule.
- Besançon remained a loyal and strategic imperial city within the Holy Roman Empire until its annexation by France in 1678 under Louis XIV.
The 1184 grant of Free Imperial City status to Besançon marked a turning point in its political and economic development, reinforcing imperial authority in Burgundy and ensuring the city’s long-term prosperity within the Holy Roman Empire.
Louis XIV plans to conquer as many Spanish territories as possible with a new campaign, so as to use these as bargaining counters at any peace negotiations.
To this end, he plans to take the Spanish Franche-Comté.
This is isolated, and practically devoid of Spanish troops, for several reasons: France had respected the territory's neutrality in the last war against Spain; furthermore, the Spanish generals do not expect an attack by the French in the middle of winter.
Louis XIV instructs the Prince de Condé to undertake preparations for a winter campaign against the Franche-Comté.
Condé had fallen into disgrace as a former opponent of the King during the Fronde and is entrusted with a military command in 1668 for the first time in nine years.
As the Governor of Burgundy, Condé is in the best position to prepare an attack against the County.
To this end, a second army of newly raised troops is set up.
Louis XIV once again personally accompanies the campaign.
The King leaves Saint-Germain on February 2, 1668, in order to join up with the man army.
It is at this point that he receives news of the formation of the Triple Alliance; he is also informed by a spy that its members would be prepared to declare war on France.
Despite this, he persists with the campaign, as he hopes to conquer territories that would be a suitable bargaining counter in later negotiations.
General de Condé had started the invasion on February 4, and on February 7 takes the free imperial city of Besançon, which also lies in Franche-Comté.
On the same day, ...
...a further French corps under General François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg, manages to take Salin.
Both strongholds put up practically no resistance.
After this, ...
...the French army concentrates on taking the town of Dole.
This town does not surrender until February 14 after a short siege of four days, in which four hundred to five hundred French soldiers lose their lives.
Five days later, ...
...on February 19, the stronghold of Gray also falls to the French.
Shortly before, the Spanish Marquis de Yenne had surrendered to the French king, and now persuades the Governor of Gray to capitulate.
Louis XIV returns to Saint-Germain, arriving on February 24, 1668.
After only seventeen days, the whole County has been occupied.
The causes behind this quick success are surprise, and the fact that the Spanish were badly prepared.
Furthermore, the local population tends to sympathize with the French, and has mostly welcomed them.
The conquest of the France-Comté was initially only supposed to be the prelude to a broad campaign in the spring.
The army's size has been increased to one hundred and thirty-four thousand soldiers.
The plan is that the King and the Maréchal de Turenne will conquer the remaining part of the Spanish Netherlands with sixty thousand men.
At the head of a force of ten thousand men, the brother of the King, Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, is to advance into Catalonia, while the Prince de Condé, with twenty-two thousand men, is to defend against any potential offensive by the Holy Roman Empire in the dioceses of Metz, Toul and Verdun.
However, after Louis XIV has secured the Franche-Comté as a bargaining counter, the immediate question is whether he should bow to the demands of the triple alliance, or whether he should continue the war.
The Marquis de Louvois, the Secretary of State for War, as well as Turenne and Condé, favor continuing the war, as the situation seems advantageous, since the Spanish are significantly weakened.
On the other hand, the foreign minister, Hugues de Lionne, and the finance minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, both prefer to see a peace treaty signed quickly, as the costs of continuing the war are incalculable (so far it has cost most than eighteen million livres), and the international conditions do not make a victory seem likely.
This is especially the case since Spain has in the meantime signed the Treaty of Lisbon with Portugal and can now concentrate on the war with France.
Louis XIV is forced to realize that France is no match for the coalition of Spain, the Netherlands, England, and Sweden, and therefore announces a cease-fire until the end of March 1668 and starts negotiations.
The parties involved meet in Saint-Germain in early April and negotiate a peace treaty by the thirteenth.
During these negotiations, the Triple Alliance manages to enforce their demands: France abandons the Franche-Comté, including the free imperial city of Besançon, but first destroys all fortifications of the cities of Gray and Dole.
French troops also have to withdraw from the Spanish Netherlands.
A total of twelve conquered cities are to remain in the hands of the French king: Lille, Tournai, Oudenarde, Courtrai, Furnes, Bergues, Douai with la Scarpe, Binche, Charleroi, Ath and Armentiers.
A congress chaired by the nuntius of Pope Clement IX meets from the 25th of April onward in Aachen, where on May 2, 1668, the treaty is finally signed.
France has gained some territory in Flanders, but nearly all of the Spanish Netherlands, as well as the Franche-Comté, is returned to Spain.
Louis XIV, inwardly seething, had hoped to take the entirety of the Spanish Netherlands and feels betrayed by the Dutch, who, to French eyes, are only independent due to French assistance in the Eighty Years' War.
The War of Devolution will thus lead directly to the Franco-Dutch War of 1672–1678.