Beyond the usual clauses of "firm and inviolable peace", the treaty transferred a number of Austrian territories into French hands. Lands ceded included the
Austrian Netherlands (most of modern Belgium). Territories of the
Republic of Venice were divided between the two states: certain islands in the
Mediterranean, including
Corfu and other
Venetian possessions in the Ionian Sea were turned over to the French. The city of
Venice with the
Terraferma (Venetian mainland),
Venetian Istria,
Venetian Dalmatia and the
Bay of Kotor region were turned over to the Habsburg emperor. Austria recognized the
Cisalpine Republic and the newly created
Ligurian Republic, formed of
Savoyard state and
Genoese territories, as independent powers. The Italian states formally ceased to owe fealty to the
Holy Roman Emperor, ending the formal existence of the
Kingdom of Italy, which, as a personal holding of the emperor, had existed
de jure but not
de facto since at least the 14th century. The treaty contained secret clauses signed by Napoleon and representatives of the Holy Roman emperor, which divided up certain other territories, and agreed to the extension of the borders of France up to the
Rhine, the
Nette, and the
Roer. Free French navigation was guaranteed on the Rhine, the
Meuse and the
Moselle. The French Republic had been expanded into areas that had never before been under French control. The treaty was composed and signed after five months of negotiations. Its terms largely reflected those agreed upon earlier in the
Treaty of Leoben in April 1797, although the talks were prolonged by both parties for various reasons. During this period, the French had to suppress the
Coup of 18 Fructidor, a royalist uprising in September, which served as a pretext for the arrest and deportation of royalist and moderate deputies from the
Directory. Napoleon's biographer,
Felix Markham, wrote "the partition of Venice was not only a moral blot on the peace settlement but left Austria a foothold in Italy, which could only lead to further war." In fact, the Peace of Campo Formio, though it reshaped the map of Europe and marked a major step in Napoleon's fame, was only a respite. One consequence was the
Peasants' War, which erupted in the
Southern Netherlands in 1798 following the French introduction of
conscription. As a result of the treaty,
Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette, a prisoner from the French Revolution, was released from Austrian captivity. By passing Venetian possessions in Greece, such as the
Ionian Islands, to
French rule, the treaty had an effect on later Greek history neither intended nor expected at the time. ==References==