Royal Decree by King Charles Albert of Sardinia in the Months Before He Was Forced to Abdicate the Throne

On offer is a printed decree issued by King Charles Albert of Sardinia, who would shortly be forced to abdicate his throne. The document is a state decree issued by the government of the Kingdom of Sardinia under the auspices of King Charles Albert.

The coat of arms and name of the king, Charles Albert, are prominently printed on the front page. Charles Albert ruled from 1831 until 1849. His name was given to the Albertine Statute which was essentially the first constitution of the Kingdom of Italy and remained in force for the first couple of years of the Republic of Italy. He engaged in wars with the Austro-Hungarian Empire over territory and, 24 days after promulgating this decree, was handed a disastrous military defeat by them. Four months later, he was forced to abdicate and his son, Victor Emmanualle II ascended the throne.

This decree is a tax and spend bill authorizing the continued collection of taxes and payment of state bills. An excerpt follows: 

Le Senat et la Chambre des Deputes ont adopte, nous avons ordonne et ordonnons ce qui suit: Sont etendus a tout le mois de mars de l'annee courante 1879 les facultes qui ont ete accordees par les lois du 23 decembre 1849, de percevoir lex taxes et les impots directs et indirects de toute sort, de debiter les genres de priviledge du domaine, suivant les tarifs en vigueur et de payer les depenses de l'Etat.

[Translation: The Senate and the Chamber of Deputies have adopted, we have ordered and order the following: Are extended to the whole of March of the current year, the powers which were granted by the laws of December 23, 1849, to collect the taxes and direct and indirect taxes of any kind, to debit the kinds of privileges of the domain, according to current rates and to pay state expenses]. 

L'authorization de payer les depenses comprend aussi celles de toute espece, aux quelles on doit faire face par trimestre echu ou anticipe pendant les premiers trois mois de l'annee

[Translation: The authorization to pay expenses also includes those of all kinds, which we must face per quarter overdue or anticipated during the first three months of the year]

The Kingdom of Sardinia was comprised of the Island of Sardinia and the northern Italian states of Savoy and the Piedmont. The state, in its various forms was in existence from the late 1200’s until 1861. In 1861, the Kingdom underwent a change to become the Kingdom of Italy, continuing the rule of the House of Savoy. This lasted until 1946 when Italy was declared a republic.

For a historian, especially one interested in the history of modern Italy, this is a direct connection to the turbulent times that saw the rise of revolutionaries such as Garibaldi who fought to create the modern state of Italy.

The printed document measures 8.75 inches by 6.0 inches. Formed by folding a single sheet in half, the decree fills 2 pages. The document is in good condition with a small amount of staining along the edges.