Victory in the Four Year’s War had a great impact on France. The French King, Louis XV and his ministers now became attached to the idea of a grand French colonial empire. France’s gains in America and Africa were to be the beginning of a globe spanning French state. To achieve this the French began encouraging increased emigration to their colonies, especially to Louisiana. The large and under populated French territory of Louisiana saw a massive increase in the amount of settlers. The French saw the populous and successful British colonies as a threat, despite their victory, and realised that the key to maintaining their power in America was population. French peasants began arriving in New France in large numbers as the government in Paris began using various incentives (money, promises of land, force) to encourage settlement there. Those that left willingly tended to flock to Canada, settling in and around Quebec and Montreal. Louisiana however tended to be settled by a combination of forced émigrés, entrepreneurial merchants as well as dissatisfied members of the bourgeoisie who attempted to escape the absolutism of France.
The rise in French settlements in the New World upsets the local native tribes that are being forced of their lands. In 1771 and 1772 a series of native attacks occur in French Louisiana and Canada. In the northeast Iroquois tribes, with weapons smuggled in from the British colonies, attack French settlements and forts. In the far west of Louisiana the Plains tribes, also under pressure from the new French expansion, step up their hostility. In response French forces are dispatched from Europe to quell the unrest. The French pre-occupation in the colonies and with Austria distracted by the war in Poland, the new Sardinian king, Victor Amadeus III decided, in late 1772, the time was right to expand the Sardinian kingdom and he invaded neighbouring Genoa. The Sardinian Army achieved great successes against the Genoese and by the end of the year the city itself had fallen, as had Corsica. The king then made the risky decision to invade the Duchy of Parma as well, before the great powers could intervene. The Duke of Parma, a Bourbon, fled to France and asked for help. The Parmans put up a spirited resistance but they too were overcome.
Victor Amadeus III:
In February of 1773 Venice, Tuscany, the Papal States and others, formed a coalition in order to halt Sardinian aggression. Leopold II of Tuscany, son of Maria Theresa, wrote his mother asking for aid. His brother, Joseph, wrote back saying he thought Leopold could handle it and that the crisis in Poland required his attention. The southern states hastily assemble a unified force and head north to face the Sardinians. In the mean time Venice begins marshalling its own forces which head west to join the southern armies. King Victor decides to attack the southern forces before the Venetians can arrive. He marches south and manages to rout the coalition army, which was suffering from a lack of unity and cohesion, at the Battle of Modena. The Venetians, upon hearing of the defeat, loose faith and their advance slows as the generals are concerned about encountering the Sardinian army. This concern is well founded, when the Sardinians catch the Venetians by surprise at the Battle of Verona resulting in a Venetian defeat. Most of northern Italy was now under Sardinian control.
In late 1773 however, Empress Maria Theresia intervened at the behest of the Italian coalition. Austrian armies moved into Italy, the stated goal being the end of Sardinia’s war of aggression, but the empress’ true purpose was to increase Austrian power in Italy. The French however were not about to allow Austrian domination of Italy. King Louis XVI, the new King of France, had been recalling troops from America and India following the Duke of Parma's arrival, and in January 1774 he threatened Austria with war unless they withdrew. The Austrians, after much debate, backed down and in April 1774 the Treaty of Nice was signed. In it, the Republic of Genoa ceded Corsica to Sardinia as well as some mainland territory. The Bourbon duke of Parma was reinstated. A new North Italian Confederation was created to counter future Sardinian aggression. Austria ceded its Italian territories to the Confederation in exchange for all of Venice’s Illyrian Territories and the Bishopric of Trent.
Prince Charles of Sardinia:
After the treaty however France moved to increase its influence in Italy. King Victor Amadeus III’s eldest son, Charles, was married to the new French king’s daughter Marie Clotidle, in an attempt, as France stated, to contain future Sardinian expansionism. This goal was lost on Austria, and the other major states, and all they saw was yet another Bourbon dynasty. There were just too many Bourbon states now. An issue made even more prevelent when word reached Vienna of the marriage between Ferdinand, son of the duke of Parma, and the French princess Louise[1], daughter of King Louis XVI. The Austrian ambassador to Paris was actually temporarily recalled in protest at these marriages, that had not been part of the Treaty of Nice and had taken part without Austrian knowledge. The feeling among many states, especially Austria, was that this family was getting a little too powerful for their own good.
[1] OTL Elisabeth,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89lisabeth_de_France
