Editing Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy

{{Short description|Duke of Savoy from 1638 to 1675}}
{{Refimprove|date=March 2015}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Charles Emmanuel II
| image        = Ritratto di Carlo Emanuele II di Savoia (7).png
| caption      = Charles Emmanuel {{circa}} 1655–1660
| full name    = Carlo Emanuele di Savoia
| succession   = [[Duke of Savoy]]
| reign        = 4 October 1638 – 12 June 1675
| regent       = [[Christine of France]] (1638–1648)
| predecessor  = [[Francis Hyacinth, Duke of Savoy|Francis Hyacinth]]
| successor    = [[Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia|Victor Amadeus II]]
| house        = [[House of Savoy|Savoy]]
| spouse       = {{marriage|[[Françoise Madeleine d'Orléans]]|1663|1664|end=died}}<br>{{marriage|[[Marie Jeanne of Savoy]]|1665}}
| father       = [[Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy]]
| mother       = [[Christine of France]]
| issue        = [[Victor Amadeus II of Savoy]]
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|1634|6|20|df=y}}
| birth_place  = [[Turin]], [[Duchy of Savoy|Savoy]]
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|1675|6|12|1634|6|20|df=y}}
| death_place  = Turin, Savoy
| burial_place = [[Turin Cathedral]]
| religion     = [[Catholic Church]]
| signature    = 1671 signature of Carlo Emanuele II of Savoy.JPG
}}

'''Charles Emmanuel II''' ({{langx|it|Carlo Emanuele II di Savoia}}); 20 June 1634 – 12 June 1675) was [[Duke of Savoy]] and ruler of the [[Savoyard state|Savoyard states]] from 4 October 1638 until his death in 1675 {{sfn|Oresko|2004|p=18}} and under regency of his mother [[Christine of France]] until 1648.{{sfn|Oresko|2004|p=20}} He was also [[Marquis of Saluzzo]], [[Count of Aosta]], [[Count of Geneva|Geneva]], [[Moriana]] and [[Count of Nice|Nice]], as well as claimant king of [[Kingdom of Cyprus|Cyprus]], [[Kingdom of Jerusalem|Jerusalem]] and [[Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia|Armenia]]. At his death in 1675, his second wife [[Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Savoy-Nemours]] acted as regent for their 9-year-old son.

==Biography==
He was born in [[Turin]] to [[Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy]], and [[Christine of France]].{{sfn|Oresko|2004|p=18}} His maternal grandparents were [[Henry IV of France]] and his second wife [[Marie de' Medici]]. In 1638 at the death of his older brother [[Francis Hyacinth, Duke of Savoy]], Charles Emmanuel succeeded to the duchy of Savoy at the age of 4. His mother governed in his place, and even after reaching adulthood in 1648, he invited her to continue to rule.{{sfn|Oresko|2004|p=20}} Charles Emmanuel continued a life of pleasure, far away from the affairs of state.

He became notorious for his persecution of the Vaudois ([[Waldensians]]) culminating in the massacre of 1655, known as [[Piedmontese Easter]]. The massacre was so brutal that it prompted the English poet [[John Milton]] to write the [[sonnet]] ''[[On the Late Massacre in Piedmont]]''. [[Oliver Cromwell]], Lord Protector, called for a general fast in England and proposed to send the British Navy if the massacre was not stopped while gathering funds for helping the [[Waldensians]]. Sir [[Samuel Morland]] was commissioned with that task. He later wrote ''The History of the Evangelical Churches of the Valleys of Piemont'' (1658). The 1655 massacre was only the beginning of a series of conflicts, the [[Savoyard–Waldensian wars]] (1655–1690), that saw Waldensian rebels use guerrilla warfare tactics against ducal military campaigns to enforce Roman Catholicism upon the entire population.

Only after the death of his mother in 1663, did he really assume power. He was not successful in gaining a passage to the sea at the expense of [[Genoa]] ([[Second Genoese–Savoyard War]], 1672–1673),{{sfn|Oresko|2004|p=23}} and had difficulties in retaining the influence of his powerful neighbour France.

But he greatly improved commerce and wealth in the Duchy{{citation needed|date=May 2013}}, developing the port of [[Nice]] and building a road through the [[Alps]] towards France. He also reformed the army, which until then was mostly composed of mercenaries: he formed instead five Piedmontese regiments and recreated cavalry, as well as introducing uniforms. He also restored fortifications. He constructed many beautiful buildings in [[Turin]]{{citation needed|date=May 2013}}, for instance, the [[Royal Palace of Turin|Palazzo Reale]].

He died on 12 June 1675, leaving his second wife as regent for his son.{{sfn|Oresko|2004|p=26}} He is buried at [[Turin Cathedral]].

==Marriages and issue==
[[File:Armoiries Savoie 1630.png|thumb|right|150px|Coat of Arms of the Dukes of Savoy after Victor Amadeus I]]
Charles Emmanuel first met Marie Jeanne of Savoy in 1659 and fell in love with her. However, his mother disagreed with the pairing, and encouraged him to marry [[Françoise Madeleine d'Orléans]], daughter of his maternal uncle [[Gaston, Duke of Orléans]], the younger brother of his mother Christine Marie. They were married on 3 April 1663.{{sfn|Oresko|2004|p=19-20}} The couple had no issue. His mother died at the end of 1663, and his first wife died at the start of 1664. This left him free to get married on 20 May 1665 to [[Marie Jeanne of Savoy]].{{sfn|Oresko|2004|p=21-23}}  They had one son:

* [[Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia]] (1666–1732), future King of Sicily and later Sardinia;{{sfn|Oresko|2004|p=23}} married [[Anne Marie d'Orléans]] and had issue; had illegitimate issue also; married [[Anna Canalis di Cumiana]] in a [[morganatic marriage]]

From his relationship with Jeanne Marie Benso ({{nee}} de Trécesson), Marchioness of Cavour (the wife of Maurizio Pompilio Benso, Marquess of Cavour), he had a daughter, Cristina Ippolita of Savoy (1655–1730), who married Carlo Besso Ferrero Fieschi, 4th Prince of Masserano.<ref name="Giry-Deloison1995">{{cite book |last1=Giry-Deloison |first1=Charles |last2=Mettam |first2=Roger |title=Patronages Et Clientélismes, 1550-1750: France, Angleterre, Espagne, Italie |date=1995 |publisher=Centre d'histoire de la région du Nord et de l'Europe du Nord-Ouest |isbn=978-2-905637-21-5 |pages=47, 54-55 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Patronages_Et_Client%C3%A9lismes_1550_1750/WGUVAQAAIAAJ |access-date=28 February 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

==Ancestors==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy'''
|2= 2. [[Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy]]
|3= 3. [[Christine of France]]
|4= 4. [[Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy]]
|5= 5. [[Catalina Micaela of Spain|Catherine Michelle of Austria]]
|6= 6. [[Henry IV of France]]
|7= 7. [[Marie de' Medici]]
|8= 8. [[Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy]]
|9= 9. [[Margaret of France, Duchess of Berry|Margaret, Duchess of Berry]]
|10= 10. [[Philip II of Spain]]
|11= 11. [[Elisabeth of Valois]]
|12= 12. [[Antoine of Navarre|Anthony of Navarre]]
|13= 13. [[Jeanne d'Albret|Joan III of Navarre]]
|14= 14. [[Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany]]
|15= 15. [[Archduchess Joanna of Austria (1547–1578)|Joanna of Austria]]
}}

==References==
{{reflist}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070928082517/http://www.alleanza-monarchica.com/italia-reale/Carlo_Emanuele_II_Duca_di_Savoia (alleanza monarchica, Italian)]
*{{cite encyclopedia |last=Oresko| first=Robert|editor-first=Clarissa | editor-last=Campbell Orr |encyclopedia=Queenship in Europe 1660–1815: The Role of the Consort |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2004 |pages=16–55 |title=Maria Giovanna Battista of Savoy-Nemours (1644–1724): daughter, consort, and Regent of Savoy |isbn=0-521-81422-7}}

{{Commons category|Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy}}

{{s-start}}
{{S-hou|[[House of Savoy]]|20 June|1634|12 June|1675}}
{{s-reg}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Francis Hyacinth, Duke of Savoy|Francis Hyacinth]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Duke of Savoy]]|years=1638–1675|}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia|Victor Amadeus II]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Princes of Savoy}}
{{Dukes of Savoy}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles Emmanuel 02 Of Savoy}}
[[Category:1634 births]]
[[Category:1675 deaths]]
[[Category:17th-century dukes of Savoy]]
[[Category:Nobility from Turin]]
[[Category:Princes of Savoy]]
[[Category:Claimant kings of Jerusalem]]
[[Category:Counts of Aosta]]
[[Category:Counts of Geneva]]
[[Category:Child monarchs from Europe]]
[[Category:Burials at Turin Cathedral]]