kids encyclopedia robot

Kingdom of Sardinia facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Kingdom of Sardinia

1324–1861
Kingdom of Sardinia, in 1815: the Mainland states (Piedmont, Savoy, Nice) and Sardinia.
Kingdom of Sardinia, in 1815: the Mainland states (Piedmont, Savoy, Nice) and Sardinia.
Capital Cagliari
(1324–1720, 1798–1814)
Turin
(1720–1798, 1814–1861)
Government Absolute monarchy
(1324–1849)
Parliamentary constitutional monarchy
(1849–1861)
King  
• 1324–1327
James II of Aragon (first)
• 1849–1861
Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy (last)
Prime Minister  
• 1848
Cesare Balbo (first)
• 1860–1861
Camillo Benso (last)
Legislature Parliament
Subalpine Senate
Chamber of Deputies
History  
1297
1324
1714
1720
• Perfect Fusion
1848
• Loss of Savoy and Nice
1860
• Becomes the new Kingdom of Italy
1861
Area
1859 73,810 km2 (28,500 sq mi)
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Judicate of Arborea
Republic of Pisa
Sassari
Duchy of Savoy
Republic of Genoa
United Provinces of Central Italy
Kingdom of Italy
Second French Empire
Today part of Italy
France
Monaco

The Kingdom of Sardinia was a state in Southern Europe from the early 14th until the mid-19th century. The Kingdom was a member of the Council of Aragon and initially consisted of the islands of Corsica and Sardinia, sovereignty over both of which was claimed by the Papacy. Beginning in 1324, James II of Aragon and his successors conquered the island of Sardinia and established authority. In 1420, after the Sardinian-Catalan War, the last competing claim to the island was bought out. After the union of the crowns of Aragon and Castile, Sardinia became a part of the Spanish Empire.

In 1720, the island was given up by the Habsburg and Bourbon claimants to the Spanish throne to the Duke of Savoy Victor Amadeus II. The Savoyards united it with their historical possessions on the Italian mainland, and the Kingdom came to be progressively identified with the Mainland states.

When the Mainland domains of the House of Savoy were occupied and eventually annexed by Napoleonic France, the king of Sardinia temporarily resided on the island for the first time in Sardinia's history under Savoyard rule. The Congress of Vienna (1814–15), which restructured Europe after Napoleon's defeat, returned to Savoy its Mainland possessions.

In 1847–48, through the "Perfect Fusion", the various Savoyard states were unified under one legal system with their capital in Turin, and granted a constitution, the Statuto Albertino. By the time of the Crimean War in 1853, the Savoyards had built the kingdom into a strong power. On 17 March 1861 the Kingdom of Sardinia changed its name to the Kingdom of Italy, and its capital was eventually moved first to Florence and then to Rome.

The Savoy-led Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia was thus the legal predecessor of the Kingdom of Italy, which in turn is the predecessor of the present-day Italian Republic.

Notable monarchs

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Reino de Cerdeña para niños

kids search engine
Kingdom of Sardinia Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.