Sack of Mantua

Banner of Mantua

- Devastation of Mantua

Mantuan Citizens:

- Disorganised Defenders

- 8,000 Cavalry

- 4,000 Artillery

- 50 Mounted

**The Sack of Mantua** was a conflict in the Duchy of Mantua, in Northern Fidenza, in dealing with a peasant uprising around the Duchy. The Sack was one of the major infamous events which leaves people divided over the reputation of King Francesco VI. The people of Mantua still harbour resentment toward the House of Visconti and there has been rumours of continuing unrest there, over 30 years since the sack.

The sack is remembered as one of the most brutal events of Francesco VI's reign, with almost 20,000 innocent people being slaughtered at the hands of the Royal Army. Even after the defeat of the actual rebel forces, the King was relentless in attempting to make sure all the rebels were dead. As a result, most of the city burned. There were numerous atrocities at the sack, which won King Francesco condemnation from many bodies.

## Prelude

### **Heightened Taxes**

The authoritarian and absolutist King Francesco VI had ordered nationwide tax increases, which began to stir the unrest among the peasants all across Fidenza. A recent drought and outbreak of disease in Mantua had left the people there even less able to afford the increased taxes, so factions began to form in the city against the taxes and the presence of guardsmen and city police. Two brothers, Giuseppe and Francesco di Te, came to become the "leaders" of the rallying cries against the King.

### **Uprising**

In late June of 1731, rebel forces began to form up outside the city. When Francesco VI was informed, he declared that the city was in open revolt and needed to be crushed immediately. Thus, he began to assemble forces in Rome. Many believed Francesco VI to be too untested to handle this, as the King was just 19 years old at the time of the uprising, though he was no stranger to scheming and intrigue. Nonetheless, schemes wouldn't help the young King deal with a large uprising. The uprising, to that point, was one of the largest peasant uprisings seen in Fidenza, rivalled only by the uprising in Napoli during the Insurrection of 1580, which had a stunning 19,000 people take part.

The King's army began to march across Fidenza in early July, with the King himself and his fifty-year-old great-uncle, Prince Amadeo, leading the force. He had mustered around 22,000 Men in Rome, believing that to be enough to quash the rebellion. The numbers of the rebel forces had been miscommunicated, however, as King Francesco was told there were 18,000 Rebels when in reality there were just 8,000 rebels. The Royal Army was incredibly disciplined and well-trained, many of these same men had fought in the War of the Fidenzan Succession. They were hardened and trained. The rebels were no match for the Royal Force, in the end, but the rebels had spirit.

## Battle of San Giorgio

### **Meeting of the Armies**

King Francesco arrived outside the camp of the rebel force, with his massive army, on July 16th. The King commanded his opponents to yield and surrender, for their own sake. The now self-proclaimed leader of the cause, Giuseppe di Te, refused to negotiate with the King. He told the King, *"You may believe you have the advantage, my lord, but we have something you will never have: brotherhood. Your men fight for you out of fear and for their paychecks, not out of passion. Perhaps we will surprise you and issue you a crushing defeat, then we'll see how strong House Visconti really is."*

### **Battle**

The first manoeuvres of the battle began on July 17th, in the early morning. The cavalry of the Royal Army charged the rebel right flank, while gunfire from the infantry began to hit the rebel centre. The undisciplined and untrained rebels were barely able to put up a resistance to the King's forces, thus the right flank fell to the cavalry charge. They were pursued off the field by a part of the cavalry, where even more casualties were administered to the retreating right flank, while the King himself led the rest of the cavalry in attacking the centre from their flank. The King himself was seen to have killed twenty men in the centre on that day, greatly increasing the morale of his force and their respect for him. The King was thrown from his horse at one point, however, though he shocked many when he got back up and continued fighting with his sabre. The King sustained an injury to the leg, though refused to stop fighting.

As the centre flank of the rebels continued to fail, Francesco VI ordered his artillery to begin bombarding the left flank, which was scrambling to attempt to hold the centre. The explosive cannon fire killed dozens of rebels, leaving a chaotic mess of smoke and dying men after the bombardment had stopped. People of Mantua watched the battle from the wall, feeling shocked at the chaos and disorganised nature of the battle in comparison to many others. They noticed that the rebel forces were quickly losing, with a mass of bodies piling up in the wake of the royal force. Eventually, the King met Giuseppe di Te on the field, and managed to capture him. He had the rebel leader beheaded and his head launched by trebuchet over the walls of Mantua, as a warning to anyone who still had sympathies for the rebel cause. By early afternoon of July 17th, the battle was over. 6,672 peasant rebels lay dead on the field, another 847 were taken prisoner, with a remaining 491 of the rebel force scattering in many different directions. In contrast, only 228 Royal Troops were killed, with 273 others wounded.

## Sack

### **Early Stages**

After the battle, King Francesco demanded that the gates of Mantua be opened to the Royal Army. The local civic leaders were reluctant, fearing what might happen. It has been rumoured, though never proven, that King Francesco gave a holy oath that no damage would come to Mantua. If he did swear this, it makes what happened next even more condemnable. When the King entered the city, he ordered the city sacked. His troops flooded through the streets of the city, breaking down doors of homes and shops, killing anyone they came across. Even small children were ripped from the arms of their mothers and killed, with numerous heads being shoved onto spikes on the walls. Many of the victims of the sack were innocents, against the idea of a rebellion. The Civic Leaders of the city attempted to negotiate with the King for the bloodshed to stop, though he accused them of having rebel sympathies and placed their heads with the rest of them on the walls. Utter chaos continued in the city, with bodies piling up in the streets. The local bishop attempted to run out into the streets, holding a crucifix and calling for an end to this madness. As a result, he was ran down by men on horseback.

The King watched from the walls as Mantua was destroyed piece by piece. It was rumoured that a smile crossed his lips as he watched the retribution for the uprising. He said to his great-uncle, who was stood beside him, *"This will teach the insolent peasants that they cannot go against the crown. Perhaps they will think twice from now on when they get any ideas of revolt. No man is invincible, that is what I intend to prove. The power of the crown is paramount, no mere peasant can topple hundreds of years of tradition, power and expansion".* Meanwhile, many people tried to flee from out of the second gate, where some people succeeded in getting away from the city. Other attempted escapees, however, were mowed down by troops. The King also ordered prisoners be taken, for torture and interrogation about the uprising. The Royal Banner flew over the city that day, though by the end of it even the royal banner had burned with the city.

### **Later Stages**

The elderly Ferdinando Gonzaga, the Duke of Mantua, arrived at the scene in the early afternoon and called for an end to the chaos. He protested the brutality of the sacking to the King, who proceeded to accuse him of having sympathy for traitors and rebels. The Duke attempted to defend himself and reason with the King, but Francesco VI ordered the elderly Duke executed for treason and for defying and protesting a royal act. One of the lieutenants of the army said later in life, *"On that day, King Francesco proved that the snake can still bite. Perhaps it was too brutal... but it sent out a message. Nobody ever revolted again during Francesco VI's reign".* He had men sent to the nearby Castello di Bagnolo, the home of the House of Gonzaga.

[WIP]