The Troubled Inheritance of Duke Charles II of Savoy

Weakness of Savoy in the face of minorities and premature deaths from 1478 to Charles II’s accession in 1504 bequeathed grave political and financial problems, alongside growing tensions between the Estates of Savoy (capital Chambéry) and the Estate of Piedmont (capital Turin), with the latter far outstripping the former in granting the duke much needed subsidies. Difficulties were compounded by Charles’s own irresolution and procrastination, as well as his appointing favourites as councillors. Charles was further handicapped by the onset of the Italian Wars, with Savoy harried and plundered by foreign armies. Despite an advanced fiscal administration, Savoy was constantly in financial straits, forcing the duke to raise loans on foreign capital markets.