Eighteenth Century (Libertas)

Vallonian Populism (1780’s)
In July of 1783 the consular election for the following year was called in San Marino. The Conservative Party, largely divided and destabilized after the dictatorship of 1765 to 1777 reluctantly supported the young, moderately conservative politician, Giovanni Tulli. Running against Tulli was Bettino Ricasoli, an older, independent candidate, and Federico Gozi, a reformist. With relatively little funds to support his campaign, Tulli took to attacking the character of his opponents, particularly accusing Gozi of profiting off the reign of the dictatorship. As a result Tulli won in a landslide, followed by Ricasoli as his co-consul in 1784. In the beginning of the year Tulli was assigned to rule the prestigious city of Florence following his consulship, while Ricasoli was assigned Pesaro. Immediately Tulli negotiated a deal where the two consuls would trade, in exchange for Ricasoli agreeing to not interfere with Tulli’s political agenda whatsoever. Throughout much of his consulship Tulli alienated both sides of the senate, from the staunch conservatives, such as Francesco d'Este, to the more radical reformers, such as Federico Gozi and Paolo Valloni. This became clear when Tulli’s campaigning successfully struck down a proposed bill to redistribute land in the countryside among poor citizens of the capital, something that had been one of Gozi’s campaign promises. By the end of the year a growing conspiracy threatened the senate. After losing the consular election for the next year in July of 1784, Gozi reportedly began secretly working with the conspirators, and planned for an attack on the senate. Tulli received word of this, however, and publically humiliated Gozi, causing him to flee into exile in the south of the country. The leaders of the conspiracy that were discovered were ordered to be executed by Tulli with no trial, leading to a speedy end to the conspiracy, despite technically being illegal. This stabilized the republic for the time being, and by the end of Tulli’s term he was heralded as a hero. That December, as Tulli’s term was winding down, one of the newly elected tribunes, Mario Cateni, proposed the Grain Dole Act of 1784. The proposed bill would have increased the stockpile of grain the state personally owned by 20%, which was already being offered to the population of the city of San Marino had a highly subsidized rate. Up to this point Cateni had been a famous conservative, known for his distaste for corruption, and this reform alienated him from many conservatives. Cateni’s plan, however, was to appease the reformists in the senate, hoping to quiet the growing resentment, which had almost bubbled into a rebellion earlier that year. With the support of Tulli the bill passed easily. Despite the execution of many of the conspiracy leaders the year prior, by mid 1785 the remnants of the conspiracy had managed to raise an army of mercenaries and supporters, who now threatened to attack the city at any moment. It was proposed by another tribune, Pietro Filippi, that the famous general Raffaele Cadorna be recalled and handed control of the city, however, Cateni famously vetoed this proposition, and further filibustered any attempts to hand out dictatorial powers, with the previous dictatorship still fresh in his minds. Instead the conservatives proposed that a young reformist with military experience, Paolo Valloni, lead an army to disperse the group. Cateni eventually supported the motion, and Valloni left the city. This had the effect of removing the conspiracy while also removing one of the reformists’ biggest advocates from the senate, at least temporarily. Valloni was still immensely popular among the people of San Marino, and upon dispersing the force with resounding success, he announced that he would be running for consul of 1787, and begin began returning to the capital early, being awarded the right to hold a triumph. Still at the head of an army, Valloni was technically unable to enter the city, and the conservative senate pushed back his triumph until after the scheduled election for consul, in an effort to stop Valloni from running. Valloni’s proposals to enter the city were rejected by the senate, with proposed legislation to allow Valloni to still run for consul being filibustered by Cateni. With no other option, Valloni eventually renounced his command, loosing the right to a triumph, but managing to enter the city once again. Once in the city Valloni negotiated to run on a joint ticket with the more conservative but uncharismatic Antonio Belluzzi, a personal friend of Tulli, who he hoped would balance out his platform. As the figurehead of the partnership Valloni toured the cities making speeches, while Belluzzi financially paid for their campaigns. One of the most outspoken opponents of Valloni’s campaign continued to be Cateni, whose son in law, Marino Beni, was also running against Valloni. When it became clear that Valloni was the frontrunner in the election, Cateni successfully lobbied for Valloni’s eventual governorship to be over the mountains of central Italy, rather than a city or region, which would have derailed Valloni’s post-consulship ambitions. That July Valloni won in a landslide. Belluzzi, however, was narrowly defeated by Beni, leading to two fierce opponents becoming co-consuls. This was considered a partial victory by the conservatives, who backed Beni and hoped to halt Valloni’s more reformist tendencies. Meanwhile, Valloni formed an important political alliance between himself, the former general and senator Raffaele Cadorna, and the senator Mario Castagni, considered to be the wealthiest man in San Marino, due in part to his extortionist practices as the head of the largest firefighting company. Up to this point both Castagni and Cadorna had largely been unable to get any meaningful legislation past the powerful conservative bloc, and hoped to use Valloni’s popularity and influence for their benefit. Cadorna, one of the republic’s most famous generals, had promised his veterans vast land grants, something that the senate had vehemently opposed, due to the high expense and the fact that the majority of senators would be most affected by the loss of land. Crassus had been elected with the support of the republic’s tax collectors, promising to reform the tax administration in the city. These two men’s combined wealth and prestige was put firmly behind Valloni, who spent the remainder of the year before his term planning his course of action. On 1 January, the first day of Valloni’s consulship, he ordered that the transcripts of the senate hearings be recorded and posted so that the people could read what was being debated, which was very popular among Valloni’s urban supporters. That same day he proposed an ambitious land reform bill, much more expansive than the one previously proposed only a few years prior.

Helvetian War (1788 - 1790)
Paolo Valloni left the capital of San Marino in 1788, having successfully passed an amendment to his earlier governorship. Instead of his initial governorship he was granted the provinces of Trentino, Veneto, and Brescia, which at this time stretched as far north as Como, and bordered Milano to the west. While initially only granted the command of two legions; the Legio VII Corazzata and the Legio XI Stelvia, Valloni immediately ordered the creation of two more out of his new provinces; the XV and XVI. Also around this time a conflict had broken out between the state of St. Gallen and the city of Appenzell, which had won its independence from St. Gallen more than two centuries prior, although not without starting a period of almost constant conflict. Appenzell had nominally entered the Swiss Confederacy in the early fifteenth century, but with Habsburg support was eventually annexed by St. Gallen. The Second Appenzell War was largely a conflict between the Habsburgs, and overall Imperial influence, and the Swiss Confederacy, which represented a larger Swiss independence movement. Although Appenzell became independent in 1602, the Swiss Confederacy was greatly broken, and the Swiss monarchy was restored. San Marino had previously supported the similarly democratic Swiss, as they provided a considerable opponent to Austrians along San Marino’s border. In 1716 the Count of Toggenburg, Austria’s largest ally and by and large a puppet of the Habsburgs by the end of his reign, died without an heir, leaving his fairly sizeable domain in Switzerland contested by both major powers in the region. Appenzell, already preparing for war against St. Gallen, immediately besieged Rheineck, while the Habsburgs occupied Feldkirch and other territories along their border. The King of the Swiss, Aloys I of Liechtenstein, whose family had only recently ascended to control over the former confederacy, sought to solidify his influence over the region and if possible expand his domain, and influenced a claim over Toggenburg proper. By Spring of 1788 this conflict had spiraled into an all out war between Austria and the Swiss. Also that year the Austrians gained an unlikely ally when Zurich pressed a claim to parts of Toggenburg, opening up a second front against the Swiss. Although Aloys I was initially successful on the field, defeating an Austrian army at the Battle of Ragaz, he was soon cut off by a successful revolt in Sargans, which declared an independent state, and he turned west. Zurich had been repulsed by Aloys’ brother, Johann Joseph, they continued their push into Toggenburg, even capturing Uznach soon after. Valloni sought to go to war with the Austrians, and reassured Aloys I of as much, but doubting that the senate would declare such a war, especially if he was at the head of its army, Valloni instead sought to trick the Austrians into attacking him, and immediately marched his four legions north. His opportunity came when it was reported that south of Sargans, the Austrians were moving into the Three Leagues, a confederacy of three semi-independent lesser confederacies, which half a century prior had allied with the San Marinese. The northern section of the Three Leagues, particularly around the city of Davos, had loosely been under the control of the late Count of Toggenburg, and the Three Leagues assumed control over the region. The Austrian movements into this territory, constituted an invasion, even if the Austrians were not aware or did not recognize that the Three Leagues had any jurisdiction in the region. Claiming to be coming to the aid of the Three Leagues, Valloni marched north and attacked the Austrians east of Chur, beginning Italian involvement in the conflict. The war would not come to an end until 1790, with the Treaty of Constance. The Swiss, who by 1789 were on the brink of complete destruction by the hands of an Austrian army, were essentially liberated by Valloni, even if the majority of their territorial demands were not met. The Three Leagues annexed all of its former territory, including Davos and Malenfeld, and essentially became a puppet of San Marino. The Swiss would annex, Uznach, Sargans, Windegg and other minor territories, while Zurich, which had defected to the Swiss side less than a year prior, affirmed its control over Kyburg. The Habsburgs annexed Toggenburg and the rest of its territory, while installing a friendly government in Appenzell. Overall the Habsburgs would gain the most territory at the end of the war, despite not subduing the Swiss. Although the senate greatly chastised Valloni, especially the conservative bloc, Valloni’s success forced the senate to recognize him for his achievements and also pardon him of wrongdoing. The war, however, had ravaged Trentino and Veneto, and had produced little in the way of concessions directly for the San Marinese. What the war did achieve, however, was it humiliated the Austrians, who would shift their policies toward San Marino in the coming century.