Simplon (department)

Former French department (1810–1815)

Department of Simplon

Département du Simplon (French)

1810–1813

Location of Simplon in France (1812)

Status| Department of the French First Empire
Chef-lieu| Sion
46°11′N 7°41′E﻿ / ﻿46.183°N 7.683°E﻿ / 46.183; 7.683
Common languages| French
German
Historical era| Napoleonic Wars

• Annexation of the Republic of Valais

| 13 December 1810

• Occupied by Austrian forces

| 29 December 1813
Area

• 1812

| 5,000[1] km2 (1,900 sq mi)
Population

• 1812 census

| 65500[1]

Preceded by | Succeeded by

|

|  | Republic of Valais

|

| Restoration and Regeneration in Switzerland |

|

Today part of| Switzerland

Simplon (French: [sɛ̃.plɔ̃]) was a department of the First French Empire. It was named after the Simplon Pass (Italian: Passo del Sempione). It was formed in 1810, when the Republic of Valais was annexed by France. Its territory corresponded with that of the present-day Swiss canton of Valais.

The chef-lieu of the department was Sion. The department was subdivided into the following three arrondissements and cantons:[1]

* Sion: Hérémence, Loèche, Sierre and Sion.
* Brigue: Brigue, Conches, Mœrel, Rarogne and Viège.
* Saint-Maurice: Entremont, Martigny, Monthey and Saint-Maurice.

After the final defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1815, the department was admitted to the Swiss Confederation and became the canton of Valais.

## Creation

[edit]

Maison de Kalbermatten, former prefecture of the department

The department was created by Article 2 of the decree of 12 November 1810, reuniting the Valais to the French Empire. This decree is written as follows:

NAPOLEON, EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH, KING OF ITALY, PROTECTOR OF THE CONFEDERATION OF THE RHINE, MEDIATOR OF THE SWISS CONFEDERATION:
Considering that the Simplon Road, which unites the Empire to our Kingdom of Italy, is useful to more than sixty million men; that it cost our treasures in France and Italy more than eighteen million, an expense which would become useless if commerce could find there no convenience and perfect security;
That the Valais did not fulfill any of the engagements it had contracted when we had the work begun to open this great communication;
Wanting moreover to put an end to the anarchy which afflicts this country, and to cut short the abusive pretensions of sovereignty of a part of the population on the other,
We have decreed and ordered, decree and order the following:
FIRST ARTICLE. - The Valais is reunited to the Empire.
ART. 2. - This territory will form a department under the name of Department of Simplon.
ART. 3. - This department will be part of the seventh military division.
ART. 4. - It will be taken possession, without delay, on our behalf, and a general commissioner will be in charge of administering it throughout the rest of this year.
ART. 5. - All our ministers will be charged with the execution of this decree.
Signed: Napoleon
By the Emperor: The Minister Secretary of State,
Signed: Hugues-Bernard Maret, Duke of Bassano

This decree was confirmed by the organic senatus-consulte of 13 December 1810. This senatus-consulte is written as follows:

FIRST ARTICLE. - The Valais is reunited to the territory of the French Empire.
ART. 2. - It will form a department under the name of Department of Simplon.
ART. 3. - The department of Simplon will have a deputy in the Legislative Body. - This deputy will be appointed in 1811: he will be renewed in the year of the fourth series, to which the Department of Simplon will belong.
ART. 4. - The Department of Simplon will be the jurisdiction of the imperial court of Lyon.
Bond of the Département du Simplon, issued 7. December 1812; probably the oldest bond from Switzerland

## Administration

[edit]

### Prefects

[edit]

The prefect (préfet) was the highest state representative in the department. The holder of the office was also subprefect of Sion.

Term start  | Term end  | Office holder

|
|

11 January 1811[2] | 13 November 1811 | Claude Joseph Parfait Derville-Maléchard
13 November 1811[3] | 29 December 1813 | Claude-Philibert Barthelot de Rambuteau

### Secretary-general

[edit]

The secretary-general was the deputy to the prefect.

Term start  | Term end  | Office holder

|
|

11 January 1811 | 29 December 1813 | Joseph Rouiller[4]

### Subprefect of Brigue

[edit]

Term start  | Term end  | Office holder

|
|

8 February 1811 | 29 December 1813 | Léopold de Sepibus[4]

### Subprefect of Saint-Maurice

[edit]

Term start  | Term end  | Office holder

|
|

8 February 1811 | 29 December 1813 | Michel Dufour[4]

### Other officials

[edit]

The Simplon was represented in the Empire's Corps Legislatif by Charles Emmanuel de Rivaz, a cousin of Isaac de Rivaz. The commander of the troops stationed in the department was Étienne Félix d'Henin de Cuvillers.[4]

## See also

[edit]

* Valais History

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c Almanach Impérial an bissextil MDCCCXII, p. 469-470, accessed in Gallica 31 July 2013 (in French)
2. ^ Archives Nationales. "DERVILLE-MALÉCHARD, Claude Joseph Parfait". francearchives.fr. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
3. ^ Archives Nationales. "BARTHELOT DE RAMBUTEAU, Claude Philibert". francearchives.fr. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
4. ^ a b c d BIOLLAY, Emile (1965). Des treize cantons du département (1813) aux treize dizains du canton (1815) (in French). p. 16.

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Annexed departments of the French First Republic (1792–1804) and of the French First Empire (1804–1814)

Ionian Islands|

* Corcyre
* Ithaque
* Mer-Égée

Austrian Netherlands|

* Deux-Nèthes
* Dyle
* Escaut
* Forêts
* Jemmape
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* Meuse-Inférieure
* Ourthe
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Old Swiss Confederacy|

* Léman
* Mont-Terrible
* Simplon

Kingdom of Holland|

* Bouches-de-la-Meuse
* Bouches-de-l'Escaut
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* Bouches-du-Rhin
* Ems-Occidental
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Holy Roman Empire|

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Italian states|

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Kingdom of Spain|

* Bouches-de-l'Èbre
* Montserrat / Bouches-de-l'Èbre-Montserrat
* Sègre
* Ter / Sègre-Ter

Austrian Empire|

* Illyrian Provinces (autonomous departments)

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

Other|

* Historical Dictionary of Switzerland

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