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The latter, after some time, being desirous of recovering his authority, and of compelling
them to return to their former dependence, first began by attracting or enticing the
affections of the people, in order to become popular; for which reason considerable immunities
and prerogatives were granted, in the hope of gaining them over to his interest,
that they might assist in their turn in reducing to subjection those who had, as
he considered, usurped the sovereignty.
This step, though political in itself, occasioned vast confusion in those states, fomenting
and instigating intestine commotions, cabals, and conspiracies, between the
bishops, nobles, and people, who at all times participated in those disputes. Some of the
bishops, more cunning than the rest, keeping in sight their original project, embraced the
earliest opportunity of taking advantage of the weakness of many of the emperors, aided
by the ignorance of the nobles and bigotry of the people, which soon enabled them to
appropriate not only the entire spiritual, but also the temporal jurisdiction of their different
dioceses; and thus they succeeded in being acknowledged absolute sovereigns
of those provinces. In like manner were originally formed the major part of the
sovereign bishoprics, or évMcs souverains, now existing in Italy, Germany, and Switzerland.
Hereby fell Geneva and its territory under the spiritual and temporal jurisdiction
of its own bishops, who held the right of coining money, and the enjoyment of every
privilege of sovereignty, with the exception of some few immunities which the people still
retained, and of which they were extremely jealous; and though it appears that these
bishops' rights of sovereignty may be traced so far back as the emperor Frederic the First,
in 1162, yet were their reigns scarcely ever free from external or internal commotions.
Their intestine disputes arose, in general, from the jealousy of their subjects, continually
contending for a preservation of their liberties,—and their external from the policy of the
neighbouring petty sovereigns, who, by pretended right, endeavoured to enlarge their
dominions at the expense of the bishopric. But, of all their external enemies, none
appeared so dangerous or formidable as the counts of Savoy, who, by alliance and conquest,
had already annexed to their territory several provinces contiguous to the bishopric,
and even appropriated the greatest part of the Genevese comté, claiming an exclusive
sovereignty not only over that district, but also over the city itself,—a claim which the
descendants of that illustrious house have, at different periods, attempted to establish by
lenient means, as well as by force of arms,—and which, for several centuries, has occasioned
a series of cruel wars between those states {Fide Berenger's or Spont's History of
Geneva).
The counts of Savoy having at last succeeded, by a treaty concluded in 1290 between
Amé the Fifth, count of Savoy, and William the First, bishop of Geneva, in procuring
to themselves and their descendants the title of Vidame, or Vice-dominus*, of the
Genevese state, they acquired such influence in the bishopric, as to gain a majority in
their favour; so that oftentimes the episcopal dignity not only fell to the younger
branches of their family, but even to their natural children.
This influence and ascendency of course formed a strong and decided party at Geneva
for the house of Savoy; and there is scarcely any doubt, but that, with a little
more policy and indulgence on the part of the dukes of Savoy, Geneva would, in the
sequel, have voluntarily put herself under their government; and thus might they have
quietly taken possession of a city, even at that time of commercial note, which they
have never since been able to subjugate. But, having unfortunately neglected those
means, they consequently created two parties, who often engaged in quarrels, which,
without ending in any permanent advantage, served to produce fresh calamities to the
state.
One of these parties was denominated Mammelus, from Mamalukes, who fought for
the house of Savoy, in allusion to the band of slaves who combated under the sultans
of Egypt ; and the other the Huguenots, from the German eidgnoss, combined or confederated,
who maintained the rights and liberties of the people,—a name afterwards
adopted by the French protestants in the time of the religious wars, which began to
desolate that country in the reign of Charles the Ninth.
The latter of these parties, being by far the weaker, secretly came to a resolution, at
the commencement of the sixteenth century, without consent of the house of Savoy, to
enter into an alliance with the canton of Freybourg, and soon after with those of Berne and
Zurich,—which, consequently, so increased their strength, as to occasion much hatred and
jealousy on the part of Charies, the then reigning duke of Savoy. Not content with bitterly
inveighing agaÍTist this infraction as vidame of the bishopric, that sovereign had recourse to
acts of violence against several of the inhabitants, which acts were unfortunately renewed
almost immediately after by their own bishop, Jean-Louis, and again repeated by his successor,
Pierre de la Beaume, who, conirary to the established laws of the constitution, dared
• Sovereign lieutenant, or judge, of a bishop's temporal jurisdiction.