Chapter Summaries

Pius VI reached Marseille and learned that France would host him in Avignon, while Joseph prepared to negotiate the future of the Gallican Church with French archbishops. Joseph argued that France needed to preserve the Holy See’s appearance of independence and warned that moving it under French control could repeat the Great Schism.

• Pius VI arrived in Marseille, where the Duke of Berry welcomed him and arranged for him to travel to Avignon.
• Pius VI read a newspaper presenting his departure from Rome as a merciful decision and considered asking France to suppress the Roman rebellion.
• Archbishop Beaumont and other French archbishops confronted Joseph about his plan to dissolve the Gallican Church, and Joseph confirmed that he had proposed it.
• Joseph invited the archbishops to travel with him to Avignon and asked why the Holy See held authority across Catholic nations.
• Joseph recounted how rival French and Italian Popes had caused the Great Schism and damaged the Holy See’s prestige.

Joseph persuaded the Gallican Church’s archbishops to integrate into the Holy See and pursue influence within it, while Pius VI confronted the costs of restoring the Papal Palace and the Holy See’s dwindling finances in Avignon. The chapter left Pius questioning why Avignon’s commerce produced so little tax revenue.

• Joseph explained to Archbishop Beaumont and the other archbishops how France could gain influence over the Holy See, and Beaumont withdrew from the papal election in favor of the Apostolic Camera.
• Pius VI recalled the grand welcome in Avignon and the French king’s announcement that the Gallican Church had been dissolved.
• Pius VI ordered repairs to the Papal Palace and nearby religious buildings, then asked for a railway connection to Marseille after his painful carriage journey.
• Giovio and Pamphili told Pius VI that the Holy See could not afford the railway or extensive repairs because its funds and income had dwindled.
• Giovio explained that French industrial competition had taken Avignon’s printing and tanning businesses, and Pius VI asked whether local clerics and officials still generated substantial commercial taxes.

Pius VI learned that Avignon’s clergy had largely abandoned the city, then faced the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire and the rebels’ plan to elect a king in Rome. Joseph refused to send French troops and argued that the Holy See’s power had historically come from attaching itself to a strong empire, leaving Pius VI to confront the possibility of remaining in Avignon.

• Archbishop Giovio explained that most Avignon clergy lived in French cities because Avignon lacked amenities, was unsafe, and was expensive.
• Pius VI asked about replies from Vienna and Madrid, then summoned Archbishop Consalvi, Archbishop Antonelli, and others to discuss the situation.
• Archbishop Zelada announced that the Holy Roman Empire had been dissolved and that rebels in Rome were electing a king under the banner of restoring secular rule.
• Pius VI went to Joseph for help, but Joseph said the Mediterranean Security Organization had rejected intervention in Rome.
• Joseph urged Pius VI to remain in Avignon and argued that the Holy See had gained power by attaching itself to the Roman Empire and later the Frankish Kingdom.

Joseph persuaded Pius VI that the Holy See should look beyond reclaiming Rome and support a French-led alliance that he called a new Roman Empire. Pius accepted the vision, and Joseph turned to what the Holy See could do for France.

• Joseph told Pius VI that restoring the Holy See to Rome would not secure its rule there and proposed a powerful new Roman Empire based on trade, finance, politics, military strength, and culture.
• Pius VI questioned what Joseph meant by a new empire, and Joseph explained that it would be an alliance rather than a conquest of territory.
• Joseph compared France’s revenue, deficit, and railway investment with those of Britain and other European countries to show the strength of France’s sphere of influence.
• Pius VI reconsidered France’s growing power and declared that the Holy See needed a more powerful Rome.
• Joseph welcomed Pius VI’s decision and began discussing what the Holy See could do for France.

Joseph told Pius VI that the Holy See could help France by building a European trade alliance, but first had to reform itself and regain public trust. He pressed the Pope to surrender Church lands and taxes in return for negotiated concessions and continued influence over religious rites.

• Pius VI offered to endorse Bourbon rule, anoint Louis, and help suppress heretics, but Joseph demanded practical benefits for France.
• Joseph tasked the Pope with touring Europe and helping the Trade Department establish a Catholic trade alliance with lower tariffs, shared standards, and a system for resolving disputes.
• Joseph said the Holy See had lost prestige because it controlled land, interfered in secular affairs, collected unpopular taxes, and rejected Enlightenment thought.
• Joseph proposed that the Church give its land to national governments, stop interfering in secular matters, hand marriage cases to secular courts, dissolve the Inquisition, and embrace Enlightenment ideas.
• Pius VI objected that surrendering Church lands and tithes was impossible, but Joseph warned that nationalist governments would soon seize them and offered treaty-protected income and operating rights as alternatives.

Joseph persuaded Pius VI to accept reforms and a French-backed loan to develop Avignon, while secretly planning to use the debt to bring the Holy See's finances and surrounding lands under French control. Pius VI agreed to convene the Cardinals and tour Europe, and Joseph arranged for Doctor Potti to treat the Pope's gout.

• Pius VI warned Joseph that surrendering Church lands and abolishing the tithe would leave the Holy See unable to cover its expenses and debts.
• Joseph proposed developing Avignon with gas streetlights, tap water, and businesses, financed by a nearly ten-million-franc loan from the French Trade and Development Bank.
• Pius VI accepted Joseph's offer, unaware that the loan would eventually give France control of the Holy See's finances and the County of Venaissin.
• Joseph planned to use the Holy See's anticipated revenue and reforms to secure its foreign Church assets for the Holy Trade Alliance and install Archbishop Beaumont in the Apostolic Camera.
• Pius VI said he would summon the Cardinals to discuss Joseph's plan and prepare for a tour of Europe.
• Joseph learned that Pius VI's gout had worsened and called for Doctor Potti to examine him.

Joseph used his knowledge of gout to give Pius VI baking soda water and dietary advice, hoping to keep the Pope alive and cooperative. Pius VI began a diplomatic mission to the Flemish Republic to promote the Holy See’s new ideals and recruit a member for the Holy Trade Alliance.

• Joseph arranged for Doctor Potti to prescribe Pius VI costly baking soda water and advise him to change his diet.
• Pius VI saw the medicine as a miracle cure and agreed to the treatment.
• Queen Mary told Joseph she was delighted that Pius VI had visited her and Louis XVI in Avignon.
• Joseph reassured Queen Mary that she was fortunate and considered requiring the Pope to visit Versailles twice a year.
• On December 26, 1802, Pius VI left for the Flemish Republic with several Cardinal Archbishops and a large entourage.
• Pius VI planned to meet French officials in Paris as part of his mission to promote the Holy See’s ideals and the Holy Trade Alliance.

The Pope promoted Joseph’s Holy Trade Alliance during his European tour, while Sir Briggs judged that Britain’s interests were threatened but expected Cologne’s divided parliament to stall the plan. The alliance had gained four prospective members, and its expansion now depended on how Cologne responded.

• Pius VI preached against tariffs and transit fees at St. Paul's Cathedral in Münster as part of his tour promoting the Holy Trade Alliance.
• Vernon warned Sir Briggs that the alliance’s wide-ranging economic framework could form a closed market harmful to Britain.
• Joseph’s plan aimed to unite Catholic countries economically, pressure Britain and Prussia, and accommodate some Protestant states through special arrangements.
• Sir Briggs argued that differing national interests would make negotiations drag on for years despite the Holy See’s support.
• Sir Briggs predicted that Cologne’s quarrelsome parliament would block the alliance, citing its parties’ disputes and demands that France return the city of Cologne.

Susie abandoned his planned speech to announce Pius VI’s encyclical, which transferred major Church powers and revenues to secular governments in states joining the Holy Trade Alliance. Cologne’s parliament welcomed the benefits but realized they depended on joining the Alliance.

• Drost and the Hardline Faction denounced the proposed Trade Alliance and branded supporters traitors as Susie arrived at Cologne’s Parliament.
• Susie declined to give his planned speech and instead read Pius VI’s new regulations to the members.
• The encyclical transferred Church estates, taxes, and judicial authority to secular governments and recognized state laws on marriage, divorce, and inheritance.
• Cologne’s members celebrated the changes and considered how they might benefit, including by changing inheritance laws.
• The members noticed that the new regulations applied only to states within the Holy Trade Alliance.

Sir Briggs tried to prevent Cologne from joining the Holy Trade Alliance, but arrests and Father Gleiner’s support for accession left him powerless. Cologne voted to begin negotiations and reaffirmed its existing borders, while its leaders discussed how to protect local industries during the transition.

• Sir Briggs learned that Drost had been arrested for accepting a bribe and that Father Gleiner refused to meet him.
• Father Gleiner published an article supporting Cologne’s entry into the Holy Trade Alliance, and Westphal was arrested for forging bills.
• Cologne’s Parliament voted overwhelmingly to begin accession negotiations and passed a resolution reaffirming the Rhineland borders and the Stuttgart Declaration settlements.
• At a banquet in Münster, Harcourt, Kolkirk, and Steffens debated tariffs and limited free trade zones to protect Cologne’s industries.

Steffens explained the Trade Alliance’s rules and institutions to legislators, who were impressed by their fairness and potential benefits. The chapter left them enthusiastic about the Alliance, while Joseph understood that its key institutions would give France considerable practical influence.

• Vice Speaker Kolkirk and Harcourt praised the Trade Alliance’s rules for offering access to a vast market while limiting risks to domestic industries.
• Joseph’s reasoning behind the free-trade-zone provisions was explained, including why political costs and competition would make the hub-and-spoke model difficult to sustain.
• Steffens described the Member States’ Summit, where voting weights were limited and member states could take turns hosting.
• Steffens explained that the Alliance Council handled routine affairs between summits and was based in Avignon, giving France influence over its operations.
• Steffens outlined the Trade Dispute Mediation Court, whose justices were chosen by member-state nominations and a joint vote, and whose seat was also in Avignon.

Steffens promoted the Holy Trade Alliance’s investment and monetary institutions to Cologne parliamentarians, explaining how membership would drive financial reforms and strengthen trade. As Cologne moved toward accession negotiations and prepared to convict Drost, British officials concluded that France was gaining influence and turned their attention to the Church.

• Steffens described the Holy Investment Bank and Monetary Management Committee, including their roles in financing development and preventing financial crises.
• Steffens explained that Alliance membership required monetary and financial reforms, and Olvers endorsed introducing paper money backed by gold and silver.
• Harcourt and Marek agreed that Drost’s embezzlement verdict could be delivered the following Tuesday, with Drost likely sentenced to hard labor aboard a Mediterranean ship.
• Henderson told Briggs that Lord Hawkesbury considered him to have failed, then learned of Drost’s arrest and concluded that Cologne had sided with France.
• Henderson decided that Britain would have to seek influence through the Church.

Henderson planned to use Münster's clergy to disrupt Cologne's accession to the Holy Trade Alliance, but the Holy See's promised stipend increases won the clergy's support instead. Portalis explained that the raises would be funded through church revenues and investment in the Holy Investment Bank.

• Henderson urged Sir Briggs to enlist senior clergy to oppose the Holy Trade Alliance and stir up public demonstrations.
• Sir Briggs visited Father Dressler and other clergymen, but they rejected him as a Protestant heretic.
• At the Church of Saint Salvati, Portalis told Father Dressler and other senior clergymen that the Holy See would raise clergy stipends by 10% to 18%.
• Portalis said the raises would come chiefly from the Apostolic Perpetual Fund, which would invest church assets in the Holy Investment Bank.
• The clergy accepted the benefits of the Alliance and began preaching in its favor to their congregations.