Genova 1684




A.) Prehistory

The port of Genova, although located in the Republic of Genova, was of vital strategic importance to the Spanish Empire, as the Spanish Duchy of Milan was landlocked. Communication between Spain and Milan went through Genova. Furthermore, the Spanish crown depended heavily on loans from Genovan bankers.
In the second half of the 17th century, Spanish military power declined, while France was on the ascendancy.
In 1678/1679, the treaties of Nijmegen ended the Dutch war of Louis XIV. (1672-1678) and the Swedish-Brandenburgian War (1675-1679). The allies opposing France were exhausted, Brandenburg even disgruntled; while they had succeeded in containing French expansion during the war, they were no longer willing or/and able to do so after.


B.) Genoa 1684

From May 18th to May 22nd 1684 a French fleet commanded by Marquis Abraham de Quesnay, without a formal declaration of war, bombarded the city of Genova. About 13,000 cannonballs were shot at the city. The French objective was neither conquest nor looting, but punishing the city for her alliance with and support of the Spanish.


EXTERNAL
FILES 		Article Abraham Duquesne, from Columbia Encyclopedia
Article Genoa, from Catholic Encyclopedia
Anno 1684, from Cronologia, in Italian
Una Storia Ignorata (an ignored story), from Franco Bampi, in Italian
DOCUMENTS Mappe di Genova ed altre mappe antiche diverse (old maps of Genoa)
Map Genova in 1684, from Mappe di Genova ed altre mappe antiche diverse
REFERENCE



This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on February 11th 2004, last revised on November 19th 2004

Click here to go Home
Click here to go to Information about KMLA, WHKMLA, the author and webmaster
Click here to go to Statistics