Editing History of the Alps (section)

===Western Alps===
{{further|County of Savoy|Duchy of Savoy}} 
[[File:Massif du Mont-Blanc 06.jpg|thumb|[[Mont Blanc massif]]]]

In the case of the Western Alps (excluding the part from the chain of [[Mont Blanc]] to the [[Simplon Pass]], which followed the fortunes of the [[Valais]]), a prolonged struggle for control took place between the feudal lords of [[Savoy]], the [[Dauphiné]] and [[Provence]].  In 1349 the [[Dauphiné]] fell to France, while in 1388 the county of [[Nice]] passed from Provence to the house of Savoy, which also then held [[Piedmont (Italy)|Piedmont]] as well as other lands on the Italian side of the Alps.  The struggle henceforth was limited to France and the house of Savoy, but little by little France succeeded in pushing back the house of Savoy across the Alps, forcing it to become a purely Italian power.

One turning-point in the rivalry was the [[Treaty of Utrecht (1713)]], by which France ceded to Savoy the Alpine districts of [[Exilles]], Bardonnèche ([[Bardonecchia]]), [[Oulx]], [[Fenestrelle]]s, and Châtean Dauphin, while Savoy handed over to France the valley of [[Barcelonnette]], situated on the western slope of the Alps and forming part of the county of Nice. The final act in this long-continued struggle took place in 1860, when France obtained by cession the rest of the county of Nice and also Savoy, thus remaining sole ruler on the western slope of the Alps.