The ANNOTICO Report

As I promised in my previous Report on Garibaldi, when the News article
referred to Garibaldi being born in Nice, as if inferring to the uninformed
that he was of French Ancestry:

Giuseppe Garibaldi. Birth Date:, July 4, 1807. Death, June 2, 1882. Nice,
his home town, sadly and ironically was "swindled" from Italy at the time
Garibaldi was fighting for Italy's Unification in 1860.

Therefore, Garibaldi fights to Unify Italy, and his Home area has to be
"sacrificed" in the Unification.:(

But following this, for more than 200 years the Saracens ravaged the
country: plundering, destroying, looting, enslaving... In 974, Count
William - known as William the Liberator - expelled them.

Nice was also under Raymond Béranger III's reign until 1215, when Nice
joined forces with Genoa, but a few years later, Raymond Béranger IV
succeeded in re-imposing his authority and re-conquered Nice in 1229. In
1246, thanks to the marriage of Raymond Béranger IV's daughter with Charles
of Anjou (the brother of King Louis IX), Provence belonged to the House of
Anjou which already exercised its authority over Maine, Anjou, Naples and
Sicily.

As a result of a number of alliances, the Count of Savoy annexed Nice along
with part of Eastern Provence. In 1388, Nice fell into the power of Savoy
and this lasted until the French Revolution.

In 1792, the French Army invaded Savoy and the County of Nice.

During the Restoration, Nice was returned to the King of Sardinia in 1814
and Monaco was once again under the authority of its Prince. One year
later, the Crown of Savoy recovered Nice and its County.

Therefore, for almost 2000 years, from 900 BC to 1000 AD, the "Riviera", or
Cote D'Azur,was overwhelmingly Italic. From 1000 AD up to 1860, for the far
greatest part of those 850 years, Nice
and the surrounding territory was a part of Genoa, or Savoy, The Royal
House of Italy,

In 1860, when Italy was attempting to free itself  from the yoke of
Occupying Foreign Forces, and accomplish "Unification", France promised to
assist the House of Savoy in it's campaign to free itself from Austria in
exchange for the "Riviera" territory.

France changed it's mind, but the Italians beat the Austrians anyway.
Nevertheless, in a gesture of greed heaped on betrayal, the French demanded
the "Riviera" anyway, and Italy in it's weak and diminished state
had to accede in the Treaty of Turin, signed on March 24th 1860.

Between 900 and 600 years B.C. the Ligurian tribes from the area of Luguria
[Coastal area in Italy] centered around Genoa] came to inhabit the Riviera
coastline. They left behind them a number of fortified constructions and
rock paintings on Mount Bégo in the Vallée des Merveilles. Later on, with
the arrival of the Celts, the inhabitants came to be known as the
Celto-Ligurians.

600 years B.C. the Phocaeans set up home in Marseilles and established
several trading posts: Hyères, Antibes, Nice, Monaco... Trade also spread
into Provence and the Languedoc region and the inhabitants there adopted
the customs of the Phocaeans: cultivating olive trees, vines, pottery,
sculpture...

Around 100 years B.C. the various trading posts were attacked by
neighbouring tribes until Rome came to defend and then annexe them. From
the 1st century A.D. Roman civilisations were present in the Alpes
Maritimes: Fréjus (a harbour created by Julius Caesar), Antibes and Cimiez
which later became the capital of the Province of the Alpes Maritimes.

In 313, Constantine granted Christians the freedom of worship and hence
made Christianity the official religion. From then on, Christianity spread
first of all along the Riviera coast. The earliest evidence of this is the
construction of the Monastery on Saint Honorat Island (opposite Cannes)
which took place in the 4th century.

Then came a long period of troubled times and the country grew weaker after
the fall of the Roman Empire. The whole of Provence was under the authority
of the Barbarians: the Visigoths, the Ostrogoths, then the Francs in 536.
After the Barbarians, the region was invaded by the Moors who were repelled
thanks to Charles Martel (between 732 and 739). Following this, for more
than 200 years the Saracens ravaged the country: plundering, destroying,
looting, enslaving... In 974, Count William - known as William the
Liberator - expelled them from the country and founded a single county.

The 11th century was devoted to rebuilding the country under the armed
protection of the overlords. The descendant of William the Liberator
married Raymond Béranger III and it was under his reign that Nice and
Grasse acquired Consulates. In 1215, Nice joined forces with Genoa but a
few years later, Raymond Béranger IV succeeded in re-imposing his authority
and re-conquered Nice in 1229. In 1246, thanks to the marriage of Raymond
Béranger IV's daughter with Charles of Anjou (the brother of King Louis
IX), Provence belonged to the House of Anjou which already exercised its
authority over Maine, Anjou, Naples and Sicily. The country entered a time
of prosperity and peace.

The County of Provence was in the hands of Queen Jeanne, a descendant of
Charles of Anjou. Further to a great number of manipulations and alliances,
the Count of Savoy annexed Nice along with part of Eastern Provence. In
1388, Nice fell into the power of Savoy and this lasted until the French
Revolution.

In 1419, Nice was officially granted to the Duke of Savoy in spite of the
protests made by René of Provence, who was made Count of Provence in 1394.
In 1431, René of Provence's successor died after bequeathing his county to
the King of France, Louis XI: Provence then became French. In 1489, the
King of France and the Duke of Savoy granted Monaco its independence.

>From 1524 to 1544, the war of rivalry between François I (King since 1515)
and Charles V created great tension in Provence where there were many
battles. The armistice between François I and Charles V was signed in 1538.
In 1543, the Turkish fleet joined forces with the King of France to lay
siege to Nice, without success...

During the 17th century, Nice became more organised and improved its
structure and crossed the century without much mishap, unlike Provence
which was the seat of troubles and repression: on October 18th 1590, the
Duke of Savoy took Aix, but Provence belonged to Savoy for only three
years; the Spanish seized the Lerins Islands in 1635 but did not manage to
land on the continent; during the Fronde rebellion, Louis XIV had to crush
revolutions in Draguignan and Marseilles.

>From the start of the 18th century, war resumed between France and Savoy:
- Louis XIV declared war on the Duke of Savoy in 1690... but the Treaty of
Turin returned Nice to Savoy in 1696.
- In May 1705, following an attack, Nice was annexed to France until 1713,
which is when the Treaty of Utrecht was ratified. In 1718, the Sardinian
kingdom was created and this included the County of Nice.

>From 1749 to 1748, the War of Succession in Austria: the battles between
the Franco-Spanish and Anglo-Sardinian fleets took place within the
territory of Nice. The Treaty of Aachen returned Nice to the House of Savoy
in 1748. In 1769, the Treaty of Turin altered the boundary between these
two counties: Gattières and the right bank of the Estéron were allocated to
France and Sardinia recovered La Penne and Guillaumes.

In 1792, the French Army received the order to invade Savoy and the County
of Nice. Following this, the inhabitants of Nice asked that the County
become French and on January 31st 1793, the department of the Alpes
Maritimes was created. At the same time, Monaco asked to be annexed to
France and so Monaco, Menton and Roquebrune were united with France.
Officially, it was not until May 15th 1796 - with the signature of the
Treaty of Paris - that the County of Nice became French.

During the Restoration, Nice was returned to the King of Sardinia in 1814
and Monaco was once again under the authority of its Prince. One year
later, the Crown of Savoy recovered Nice and its County.

It was not until 1860 that Nice and Savoy were attached to France and this
was in exchange for the help given by the King of Sardinia in conquering
the province of Milan. This exchange was documented in the Treaty of Turin,
signed on March 24th 1860 (except for La Brigue and Tende, which only
became French after the Second World War). The Prince of Monaco abandoned
the towns of Menton and Roquebrune and became an independent sovereign.

The early 20th century was deeply marked by the First World War and the
Rural Exodus. From 1939, troops began to gather in the region. On June 24th
1940, Menton was occupied by the Italians and the Alpes Maritimes were
demilitarised. In 1942, the French Riviera was again occupied by the
Italians.After Italy's surrender in 1943, the Italian troops left.

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