Subalpine Republic

The Subalpine Republic was a short-lived republic established in 1800 on the territory of Piedmont during its military rule by Napoleonic France.

Piedmont was the main part of the Kingdom of Sardinia which, despite its name, had its core on the mainland. The kingdom suffered a first French invasion in 1796, which led to the Treaty of Paris and the loss of Savoy and Nice. After a second invasion in 1798, King Charles Emmanuel IV escaped to Rome, but he never agreed to sign a new peace treaty, approving a final arrangement of its continental territories according to international law. After the great Battle of Marengo in 1800, Piedmont was still under military occupation when on 4 June 1802, Charles Emmanuel abdicated in favor of his brother Victor Emmanuel I, who was in Cagliari under British naval protection. Napoleon took this pretext to declare the forfeiture of the old sovereignty over Piedmont, which was annexed to France in September 1802 as the départements of Doire, Marengo, Pô (briefly named "Éridan", after Eridanos), Sesia, Stura, and Tanaro, whereas Novara went to Italy.

The Subalpine Republic leaned heavily on France: Paris introduced French style reforms and a coinage based on the French franc. The structure of government was a Provisional Executive.