Territory of Monferrato
The Gonzaga Nevers, were the direct successors of the branch of
the Gonzaga family, and that is to say: Charles I (1631-1637),
Charles II (1637-1665) and Ferdinando Carlo (1665-1707) ruled so
bad the remaining territory of Monferrato. Ferdinand Carlo, last
and worst of the Dukes of Mantova and Monferrato, sold in 1681 to
Louis XIV the citadel of Casale, mighty fortress that gave the
Bourbons a solid point of support in the fight against the
Habsburgs of Spain and Austria in Italy. During the war of the
League of Augusta, Casale was taken off to France from the
Austro-Savoy weapons (1695), and returned to Ferdinando Carlo,
after having demolished its fortifications. A few years later, at
the beginning of the succession war of Spain, the same Ferdinando
Carlo delivered his state to the French (1701).
Carlo Ferdinando was declared guilty of treason by the emperor, his
feudal ruler, and stripped of his states and human rights, Mantova
fell under the empire, and Monferrato, after the victory of Turin,
was finally assigned to Vittorio Amedeo II (1708) . The treaties of
Utrecht (1713) and Rastadt (1714) finally confirmed the allocation
of Monferrato to the House of Savoy. Since then, the history of the
marquisate is confused with that of Piemonte.