Lexi Webster
The annexation of Venice by Austria was a result of shifting power dynamics in the 19th century, which saw control of the region pass between Austria and France. The fall of the Republic of Venice, which had existed for over a thousand years, was caused by the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. The Republic of Venice had maintained a policy of neutrality, but its northern Italian possessions became a battleground between French and Austrian forces. Napoleon's troops entered Venetian territories, and Venice fell without a fight. In 1797, Napoleon signed a preliminary armistice at Leoben, with the territories of the Terraferma conceded to the Habsburg Empire. However, this did not last long, and in 1805, the Treaty of Pressburg ceded the Habsburgs' Venetian Province to France. Napoleon was crowned King of Italy in 1805, and Venice was incorporated into his empire. In 1814, following Napoleon's defeat, the Congress of Vienna returned Venice to Austrian rule, and it became part of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, ruled by the Austrian Emperor.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of Annexation | 20 April 1814 |
| Annexing Party | Austrian Empire |
| Annexed Party | Venice |
| Reason | Austrian claims to the territories of the former Lombard Duchy of Milan and the former Republic of Venice |
| Resulting Entity | Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia |
| Previous Ruler | Napoleon |
| Treaty | Treaty of Schönbrunn |
| Previous Rule | Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy |
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What You'll Learn
The French Revolution
In 1795, the revolutionary French Republic, under the Directory, decided to confront the Austrian-Hungarian Empire in Northern Italy, where the Habsburgs had significant interests and possessions. The French army, led by a young Napoleon Bonaparte, pursued defeated Austrian troops into Venetian territory. Despite Venice's protests, Napoleon demanded provisions and free passage, and his troops occupied Venetian cities. The Republic of Venice found itself unable to defend its territories due to a lack of soldiers, artillery, and naval support.
Napoleon's actions in Venice were characterised by arrogance and a disregard for the Venetian neutrality. He pursued his own interests, signing a preliminary armistice with the Habsburgs in 1797 while continuing peace talks with them. The territories of the Terraferma were conceded to the Habsburg Empire, and in 1805, the Treaty of Pressburg formally ceded the Venetian Province to France. Napoleon was crowned King of Italy in 1805, and Venice became part of his empire, undergoing significant changes and public works projects.
The fall of Napoleon's empire in 1814 led to a shift back to Austrian rule in Venice. The Congress of Vienna recognised the Austrian Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty's rights to the former Republic of Venice, and it became part of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, ruled by the Austrian Emperor. This kingdom lasted from 1815 until 1866, when it was dissolved and its territories were incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy.
The Austrian authorities faced challenges due to the Italian unification movement, and Venice revolted against Austrian rule in 1848, forming a provisional government. However, Austrian forces restored their rule in 1849, and Emperor Franz Joseph I ruled over the kingdom until its end. The Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia was a constituent land of the Austrian Empire, with a population of over 5 million people, including Italians, Friulians, Germans, Slovenians, and Jews.
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Napoleon's rise to power
Napoleon Bonaparte, born in 1769 on the island of Corsica to a family of Italian origin, rose to power during the French Revolution. He moved to mainland France in 1779 and was commissioned as an officer in the French Royal Army in 1785. He supported the French Revolution in 1789 and promoted its cause in Corsica.
Napoleon's rapid rise through the ranks began after winning the siege of Toulon in 1793 and defeating royalist insurgents in Paris in 1795. In 1796, he commanded a military campaign against the Austrians and their Italian allies in the War of the First Coalition, winning decisive victories and becoming a national hero. He invaded Egypt and Syria in 1798, which served as a springboard to political power. In 1799, Napoleon returned from the Egyptian Campaign and, in November of the same year, led a coup d'état against the French Directory, establishing the Consulate and becoming the First Consul of France.
In 1800, Napoleon's forces defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Marengo, securing France's victory in the War of the Second Coalition. In 1803, he sold the territory of Louisiana to the United States. Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of the French in 1804, further expanding his power. The breakdown of the Treaty of Amiens led to the War of the Third Coalition in 1805, which Napoleon decisively won at the Battle of Austerlitz, leading to the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire.
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The Austrian-Hungarian Empire
The fall of the Venetian Republic was the result of the French Revolution, which threw Europe into turmoil for two decades. The revolutionary French Republic decided to open a front against the Austrian-Hungarian Empire in Northern Italy, where the Habsburgs had many possessions and interests. The Republic of Venice had maintained a policy of neutrality, but its possessions in northern Italy were in the direct path of the French army's advance towards Vienna. As a result, Venice was ill-prepared for war, with too few soldiers and artillery, and a navy that was too far south to be of use.
Napoleon's troops entered Verona, Brescia, and Bergamo, and Venice soon lost most of the mainland to Napoleon without a formal declaration of war. In 1797, Napoleon signed a preliminary armistice at Leoben with the representatives of the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor, Francis II. The territories of the Terraferma, including Venice, were conceded to the Habsburg Empire in the secret annexes of the treaty, in return for French possession of the Austrian Netherlands. However, the French rule over Venice did not last long, and in 1805, the Treaty of Pressburg ceded the Habsburgs' Venetian Province back to France.
In 1814, after the fall of the Napoleonic Empire, Venice was returned to Austria by the Treaty of Paris, and became the seat of the Austrian governor. The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia was first ruled by Emperor Francis I from 1815 until his death in 1835, and then by Emperor Franz Joseph I for the rest of its existence. However, the Austrians never fully gained acceptance from the Venetians, and in 1848, Venice revolted against Austrian rule, forming the Governo Provvisorio di Venezia (Venice Provisional Government). The Austrian forces restored rule over the kingdom in 1849, and it remained under Austrian rule until 1866 when, following the Third Italian War of Independence, its remaining territory was incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy.
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The Venetian Republic's neutrality
The Republic of Venice had a long-standing policy of neutrality, which it attempted to maintain during the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. However, its northern Italian possessions (the Domini di Terraferma) were directly in the path of the French army's advance towards Vienna. The Venetian Senate created a provveditore generale for the Terraferma, Nicolò Foscarini, to oversee all magistrates in its mainland territories. Despite these efforts, the Venetian defences were weak, and the state was in no position to mobilise for a war. The French army soon entered Verona, Brescia, and Bergamo, and Venice lost most of its mainland territories to Napoleon without a fight.
The Venetians protested violations of their neutrality, but Napoleon demanded provisions for his troops and free passage to pursue the Austrians. The Venetian Republic's neutrality was further compromised when the cities of the Terraferma agreed to participate in a conference in Venice to decide the common fate of the Most Serene Republic's former territories. They decided to unite with the newly formed Cisalpine Republic, but the French did not respect this choice.
In 1797, Napoleon signed a preliminary armistice at Leoben with the representatives of the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor, Francis II. In the secret annexes of the treaty, the territories of the Terraferma were conceded to the Habsburg Empire, in return for French possession of the Austrian Netherlands. However, the population of Verona, along with a part of the Venetian troops quartered there, rose in revolt against French rule in what became known as the "Veronese Easter".
The Venetian Republic was ultimately unable to maintain its neutrality and was annexed by Napoleon's Kingdom of Italy in 1805. After Napoleon's defeat, Venice returned to Austrian rule in 1814 and was incorporated into the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia in 1815. The region remained a part of the Austrian Empire until it was ceded to the Kingdom of Italy in 1866, following the Third Italian War of Independence.
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The Congress of Vienna
The fall of the Republic of Venice was the result of a war that Venice was not formally a part of. The French Revolution threw Europe into chaos for two decades. The Republic of Venice had followed its traditional policy of neutrality, but its possessions in northern Italy (the Domini di Terraferma) were now in the direct path of the French army's advance towards Vienna. The French denounced the armistice agreement on 20 May and recommenced hostilities. The Venetian Senate had created a provveditore generale for the Terraferma, Nicolò Foscarini, to oversee all magistrates in its mainland territories (the reggimenti). However, the state of Venetian defences was poor: arms were lacking, and the fortifications were in disrepair.
Napoleon consequently acted not only with importance but also with arrogance. His troops soon entered Verona, Brescia, and Bergamo. Venice wasn’t formally at war with France, but Napoleon’s troops were all over the mainland, and did as they pleased. A much-anticipated Austrian counteroffensive lasted from the summer of 1796 until January 1797, but when the Austrians lost their stronghold in Mantua, the war was all but over. While Venice had effectively lost most of the mainland to Napoleon without a fight, they still had the city of Venice and the lagoon, and Istria and Dalmatia across the Adriatic.
On 17 April 1797, Napoleon signed a preliminary armistice at Leoben in Styria, with the representatives of the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor, Francis II. In the secret annexes of the treaty, the territories of the Terraferma were conceded to the Habsburg empire, in return for French possession of the Austrian Netherlands. On the same day, however, events took a different turn at Verona. The population, and a part of the Venetian troops quartered there, tired of French arrogance and oppression, rose in revolt. The episode, known as the "Veronese Easter", quickly reduced the occupation troops to the defensive, restricting them to the city's forts.
In 1805, the Treaty of Pressburg ceded the Habsburgs' Venetian Province to France. Napoleon, having been proclaimed Emperor of the French the previous year, was crowned King of Italy with the Iron Crown of Lombardy at Milan. Venice thus returned to French control. Napoleon suppressed the religious orders and began large-scale public works in a city that was to become one of the capitals of his empire.
In 1814, following the fall of Napoleon, Venice returned to Austrian rule, and with the collapse of the Kingdom of Italy, the entire Veneto followed. The region was incorporated into the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia in 1815, by resolution of the Congress of Vienna. The Congress of Vienna combined these lands into a single kingdom, ruled in personal union by the Habsburg Emperor of Austria. The kingdom was commonly called the "Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom" and was a constituent land (crown land) of the Austrian Empire from 1815 to 1866. It was created in recognition of the Austrian House of Habsburg-Lorraine's rights to the former Duchy of Milan and the former Republic of Venice. The kingdom only survived for fifty years—the region of Lombardy was ceded to France in 1859 after the Second Italian War of Independence, which then immediately ceded it to the Kingdom of Sardinia.
Lombardy-Venetia was finally dissolved in 1866 when its remaining territory was incorporated into the recently proclaimed Kingdom of Italy following the kingdom's victory against Austria in the Third Italian War of Independence.
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Frequently asked questions
Austria got to annex Venice because of the outcome of the Second Italian War of Independence and the defeat in the Battle of Solferino in 1859.
The Second Italian War of Independence was a conflict between Austria and the Kingdom of Sardinia, which resulted in the Kingdom of Sardinia gaining Lombardy.
The Austrian counteroffensive was an attempt by the Austrians to retake the mainland territories of Venice, which had been occupied by Napoleon's troops. The counteroffensive lasted from the summer of 1796 until January 1797, when the Austrians lost their stronghold in Mantua.
Napoleon played a significant role in the fall of Venice. He led the French army that invaded Venetian territories and disregarded instructions from the Directory to annul the accord of Leoben and issue an ultimatum to the Austrians.
The Venetians never fully accepted Austrian rule and revolted against it in 1848, leading to the formation of the Venice Provisional Government. However, Austrian forces restored their rule in 1849.
