The Treaty of Turin, signed on 29 August 1696 by the French King and the Duchy of Savoy, ended the latter's involvement in the Nine Years' War. Savoy signed a separate peace with France and left the Grand Alliance, an anti-French coalition formed on 20 December 1689 by England, the Dutch Republic and Emperor Leopold. On 7 October 1696, the treaty was followed by the Convention of Vigevano in which France, Savoy, Leopold and Spain agreed a general ceasefire in Italy. The Treaty of Turin was made part of the 1697 Treaty of Ryswick. Background Northern Italy provided access to the southern borders of France and Austria, which made the Duchy of Milan and Duchy of Savoy essential to their security. In 1631, France annexed Pinerolo in Piedmont and occupied Casale Monferrato and much of the Duchy of Savoy was in modern France, including the County of Nice and County of Savoy. Savoy was considered a minor power and seen by many as a French satellite state. During the 1688-89 Nine Years' War between France and a coalition opposing it that included the Grand Alliance, Savoy was important for two reasons. Although France's northern borders had been strengthened by new fortifications, those in the south-east remained relatively weak. Also, the Camisard revolt in south-western France by Huguenots after the 1685 Edict of Fontainebleau provided opportunities for outside intervention. In early 1690, the Allies began recruiting support for the Camisards among Huguenot exiles and the "Vaudois", Protestants living what is now Swiss Canton of Vaud and persecuted by both Savoy and France. By summer 1690, it had become clear that Savoy would be involved on one side or the other. Faced with that choice, the Duke of Savoy, Victor Amadeus, ended his persecution of the Vaudois and joined the Alliance. His primary objective was to regain Pinerolo and Casale, which were strategic locations controlling access to his capital, Turin. A French force, led by Nicolas Catinat, defeated a Savoyard army at Staffarda in August 1690. Savoy was nearly overrun in late 1691 but was saved by reinforcements from Spain, Bavaria and Brandenburg-Prussia. In 1692, Victor Amadeus made a short-lived invasion of the Dauphiné, the only Allied incursion into French territory during the entire war. The war was financially crippling for participants, especially France, which was nearly forced into bankruptcy by fighting the Grand Alliance on its own. Combined with crop failures