Besançon Franche-Comte France

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

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

The Franche-Comté (the former "Free County" of Burgundy, as distinct from the neighboring Duchy) passes in 1556 from the Austrian Habsburgs to the Spanish branch of the family when the abdicating emperor Charles V in July 1554 bestows it upon his son, Philip II, King of Spain.

The Franche-Comté will remain in Spanish hands for most of the next one hundred and twenty years until its final cession to France in 1678  in the Treaty of Nijmegen.

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, ...