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NAPLES, KINGDOM OF
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See also:NAPLES, See also:KINGDOM OF , the name conventionally given to the kingdom of See also:Sicily on the See also:Italian mainland (Sicily beyond the Pharos), to distinguish it from that of Sicily proper (Sicily on this See also:side of the Pharos, i.e. See also:Messina), the See also:title of "See also: After the death of HThe
ohea• Tancred the See also:emperor See also: Two years later he was elected king of the See also:Romans at the See also:diet of See also:Nuremberg in opposition to See also:Otto IV., and in 1220 he was crowned emperor in See also:Rome by pope See also:Honorius III., but continued to reside in Sicily. He quelled a rising of Sicilian barons and See also:Saracens, and confined 6o,000 of the latter at See also:Lucera in Capitanata, where they ended by becoming a most loyal See also:colony. After the death of Frederick's wife Pope Honorius III. arranged a marriage for him with See also:Yolande, daughter of See also: He opened See also:schools and See also:universities, and he himself wrote See also:poetry in Sicilian See also:dialect.
His son See also:Conrad IV. succeeded to the See also:empire, while to his illegitimate son See also:Manfred he See also:left the principality of See also:Taranto
Manfred.
and the regency of the See also:southern kingdom, to be held
in Conrad's name. By his political sagacity and
moderation Manfred won a strong party to his side and helped
Conrad tn subjugate the rebellious barons. The emperor died in
1254, Ieav;ng an See also:infant son, See also:Conradin (b. 1252), and Manfred was
appointed See also:vicar-See also:general during the latter's minority. Manfred,
too, encountered the hostility of the popes, against whom he had
to wage waf, generally with success, and of some of the barons
whom the papacy encouraged to See also:rebel; and in 1258, on a rumour
of Conradin's death, he was offered and accepted the crown of
Naples and Sicily. The rumour proved false, but he retained
the crown, promising to leave the kingdom to Conradin at his
death and to defend his rights. He now became See also:head of
the Ghibellines or Imperialists of Italy, and his position was strengthened by the marriage of his daughter Costanza to See also:Peter, son of King See also: The defection of many cities and nobles facilitated his task, and Manfred was forced to retire on See also:Benevento, where, on the 26th of See also:February, owing to the treachery of a part of his troops, he was defeated and killed. As a result of this victory Charles was soon See also:master of almost the whole kingdom, and he entered Naples, which now became the See also:capital instead of Palermo. He persecuted the nobles who had sided with Manfred, and established a military despotism which proved more oppressive than that of the Hohenstaufens had ever been. Old See also:laws, customs and immunities were ruthlessly swept away, the See also:people were ground down with taxes, and the highest positions and finest estates conferred on See also:French and Provencal nobles. Al-though the southern Italians had long been ruled by foreigners, it was the Angevin domination which thoroughly denationalized them, and initiated that long period of corruption, decadence and foreign See also:slavery which only ended in the 19th century. Invited by Sicilian malcontents and Ghibellines, Conradin (Ital. Corradino), the last surviving Hohenstaufen, descended into Italy in 1267 at the head of a small army collected Conradln. in Germany, and he found many supporters; but King Charles on See also:hearing of his arrival abandoned the See also:siege of Lucera and came to intercept him. A See also:battle took See also:place at See also:Tagliacozzo (See also:August 23rd, 1268), in which the Imperialists were defeated, and Conradin himself was subsequently caught and handed over to Charles, who had him tried for high See also:treason and beheaded (see CONRADIN). All who had assisted the unfortunate youth were cruelly persecuted, and the inhabitants of Agosta put to the See also:sword. Thus ended the power of the Hohenstaufens. Although the picturesque figures of Manfred and Conradin awakened sympathy among the people of the kingdom, their authority was never really consolidated and their See also:German knights weie hated; which facts rendered the enterprise of another foreigner like the Angevin comparatively easy. In Sicily, however, Charles's government soon made itself odious by its exactions, the insolence and cruelty of the king's French officials and favourites, the depreciation of T the currency, and the oppressive See also:personal services, he Sicilian while the nobles were incensed at the violation of See also:vespers. their feudal constitution. Just as Charles was contemplating an expedition to the See also:East, the Sicilians See also:rose in revolt, massacring the French throughout the island. The malcontents were led by the Salernitan See also:noble Giovanni da See also:Procida,a friend of the emperor Frederick and of Manfred, who had taken See also:refuge at the court of Peter III. of Aragon, See also:husband of Manfred's daughter Costanza. He had induced Peter to make good his somewhat shadowy claims to the crown of Sicily, but while preparations were being made for the expedition, the popular rising known as the Sicilian Vespers, which resulted in the See also:mass-See also:acre of nearly all the French in the island, broke out at Palermo on See also:Easter See also:Day 1282. Peter reached Palermo in See also:September, and by the following See also:month had captured Messina, the last French stronghold. Pope See also: But the Sicilians, led by James's brother, Frederick III.,' who had been See also:governor of the island and was now proclaimed king, determined to resist. The war went on with varying success, until Charles of See also:Valois, summoned by the pope to conduct the See also:campaign, landed in Sicily and, his army being decimated by disease, made peace with Frederick at Caltabellotta (1302). The Angevins renounced Sicily in favour of Frederick, who was recognized as king of Trinacria (a name adopted so as not to mention that of Sicily), and he was to marry Leonora, daughter of Charles of Valois; at his death the island would revert to the Angevins, but his See also:children would receive See also:compensation else-where. In 1303 the pope unwillingly ratified the treaty. (See CHARLES II., king of Naples and Sicily, and FREDERICK III., king of Sicily.) Charles II. died in 1309 and was succeeded by his second son Robert. (His eldest son had predeceased him, leaving a son, Roberr. Charles Robert, or Caroberto, at this See also:time king of See also:Hungary.) Robert now became See also:leader of the Guelphs in Italy, and war between Naples and Sicily broke out once more, when Frederick allied himself with the emperor Henry VII. on his descent into Italy, and proclaimed his own son Peter heir to the See also:throne. Robert led or sent many devastating expeditions into Sicily, and hostilities continued under King Peter even after Frederick's death in 1337. Peter died in 1342, leaving an infant son Louis; but just as Robert was preparing for another expedition he too died in the same year. Robert had been a capable ruler, a See also:scholar and a friend of See also:Petrarch, but he lost See also:influence as a See also:Guelph leader owing to the rise of other powerful princes and republics, while in Naples itself his authority was limited by the rights of a turbulent and rebellious baronage (see ROBERT, king of Naples). His son Charles had died in 1328 and he was succeeded by his granddaughter See also:Joanna, wife of See also:Andrew of Hungary, but the princes of the See also:blood Joanna L and the barons stirred up trouble, and in 1345 Andrew was assassinated by See also:order of See also:Catherine, widow of Philip, son of Charles II., and of several nobles, not without suspicion of Joanna's complicity. Andrew's brother Louis, king of Hungary, now came to Italy to make good his claims on Naples and avenge the See also:murder of Andrew. With the help of some of the barons he drove Joanna and her second husband, Louis of Taranto, from the kingdom, and murdered Charles of Durazzo; but as Pope Clement refused to recognize his claims he went back to Hungary in 1348, and the fickle barons recalled Joanna, who returned and carried on desultory warfare with the partisans of Louis of Hungary. Louis of Taranto and Joanna were crowned at Naples by the pope's See also:legate in 1352, but Niccolo Acciaiuoli, the See also:seneschal, became the real master of the kingdom. In 1374 Joanna made peace with Frederick of Sicily, recognizing him as king of Trinacria on condition that he paid her See also:tribute and recognized the pope's suzerainty. She nominated Louis of Anjou her heir, but while the latter was recognized by the antipope Clement VII„ Pope See also:Urban VI. declared Charles of Durazzo (great-grandson of Charles II.) king of Sicily al di qua del See also:Faro (i.e. of Naples). Charles conquered the kingdom and took Joanna prisoner in 1381, and had her murdered the following
He was the second king of that name in Sicily, but was known as Frederick III. because he was the third son of King Peter.year. Louis, although assisted by Amadeus VI. of See also:Savoy, failed to drive out Charles, and died in 1384. Charles III. died two years later and the kingdom was plunged into anarchy once more, part of the barons siding with his sevenyear-old son Ladislas, and part with Louis II. of Anjou. The latter was crowned by the antipope Clement, while Urban regarded both him and his rival as usurpers. On Urban's death in 1389 Boniface IX. crowned Ladislas Ladislas. king of Naples, who by the year 1400 had expelled
Louis and made himself master of the kingdom. In 1407 he occupied Rome, which Gregory XII. could not hold. But See also: He died in 1414, and was succeeded by his See also:sister Joanna II. (q.v.), during whose reign the kingdom Joanna !!. sank to the lowest depths of degradation. In 1415
Joanna married James of See also:Bourbon, who kept his wife in a state of semi-confinement, murdered her See also:lover, Pandolfo Alopo, and imprisoned her See also:chief See also:captain, See also:Sforza; but his arrogance drove the barons to See also:rebellion, and they made him renounce the royal dignity and abandon the kingdom. The history of the next few years is a See also:maze of intrigues between Joanna, Sforza, Giovanni See also:Caracciolo, the See also:queen's new lover, Alphonso of Aragon, whom she adopted as her heir, and Louis III. of Anjou, whom we find pitted against each other in every possible See also:combination. Louis died in 1434 and Joanna in 1435 (see JOANNA II., queen of Naples). The succession was disputed by Rene of Anjou and Alphonso, but the former eventually renounced his claims and Alphonso was recognized as king of Naples by Pope See also:Eugenius IV. in 1443.
Under Alphonso,• surnamed "the Magnanimous," Sicily was once more united to Naples and a new era was inaugurated, for the king was at once a brilliant ruler, a scholar and a See also:patron of letters. He died in 1458, leaving Naples thle MaA° to his illegitimate son See also: In 1485 the disaffection of the barons, due to the king's harshness and the arrogance and cruelty of his .son, found vent in a revolt led by Roberto Sanseverino and See also:Francesco Coppola, which was crushed by means of See also:craft and treachery. Ferdinand died in 1494 full of forebodings as to the probable effects of the invasion of Charles VIII. of France, and The was succeeded by Alphonso (see FERDINAND I., king of invasion Naples). The French king entered Italy in September of charges 1495, and conquered the Neapolitan kingdom without VIII. much difficulty. Alphonso abdicated, his son Ferrandino and his brother Frederick withdrew to See also:Ischia, and only a few towns in See also:Apulia still held out for the Aragonese. But when the pope, the emperor, Spain and See also:Venice, alarmed at Charles's progress, formed a defensive See also:league against him, he quitted Naples, and Ferrandino, with the help of Ferdinand II. of Spain, was able to reoccupy his dominions. He died much regretted in 1496 and was succeeded by Frederick. The country was torn by See also:civil war and See also:brigandage, and the French continued to See also:press their claims; and although Louis XII. (who had succeeded Charles VIII.) concluded a treaty with Ferdinand of Spain for the See also:partition of Naples, France and Spain fell out in 1502 over the See also:division of the spoils, and with Gonzalo de See also:Cordoba's victory on the Garigliano in See also:December 1502, the whole kingdom was in See also:Spanish hands. On the death of Ferdinand in 1516, the See also:Habsburg Charles became king of Spain, and three years later was elected emperor as Charles V.; in 1522 he appointed John de See also:Lannoy See also:viceroy of Frederick m. Charles HI. Naples, which became henceforth an integral part of the Spanish dominions. The old divisions of nobility, clergy and people were maintained and their mutual rivalry encouraged; the nobles were won over by titles and by the splendour of the viceregal court, but many persons of See also:low See also:birth who showed See also:talent were raised to high positions. The viceroy was assisted by the See also:Collateral Council and the Sacred See also:College of See also:Santa Chiara, composed of Spanish and Italian members, and there was an armed force of the two nationalities. Spanish rule on the whole was oppressive and tyrannical, and based solely on the See also:idea that the dependencies must pay tribute to the dominant kingdom. During the rule of Don Pedro de See also:Toledo (one of the best viceroys) Naples became the centre of a See also:Protestant movement which spread to the See also:rest of Italy, but was ultimately crushed by the See also:Inquisition. In Sicily Spanish rule was less See also:absolute, for the island had not been conquered, but had given itself over voluntarily to the Aragonese; and the parliament, formed by the three bracci or orders (the militare consisting of the nobility, the ecclesiastico, of the clergy, and the demaniale, of the communes), imposed certain limitations on the viceroy, who had to See also:play off the three bracci against each other. But the oppressive character of the government provoked several rebellions. In 1598 an insurrection, headed by the philosopher Tommaso See also:Campanella, broke out in See also:Calabria, and was crushed with great severity. In 1647, during the viceroyalty of the See also:marquis de Los Leres in Sicily, See also:bread riots in Palermo became a veritable revolution, and the people, led by the See also:goldsmith Giovanni d' Alessio, drove the viceroy from the city; but the nobles, fearing for their privileges, took the viceroy's part and turned the people against d' Alessio, who was murdered, and Los Leres returned. On the 7th of See also:July 1647, tumults occurred at Naples in consequence of a new See also:fruit tax, and the viceroy, Count d' Arcos, was forced to take refuge in the Castelnuovo. The populace, led by an Masanleito. See also:Amalfi fisherman, known as See also:Masaniello (q.v.), obtained arms, erected barricades, and, while professing See also:loyalty to the king of Spain, demanded the removal of the oppressive taxes and murdered many of the nobles. D' Arcos came to terms with Masaniello; but in spite of this, and of the assassination of Masaniello, whose arrogance and ferocity had made him unpopular, the disturbances continued, and again the viceroy had to retire to Castelnuovo and make concessions. Even the arrival of reinforcements from Spain failed to restore order, and the new popular leader, Gennaro Annese, now sought assistance from the French, and invited the See also:duke of See also:Guise to come to Naples. The duke came with some soldiers and See also:ships, but failed to effect anything; and after the recall of d' Arcos the new viceroy, Count d'Ognate, having come to an arrangement with Annese and got Guise out of the city, proceeded to punish all who had taken part in the disturbances, and had Annese and a number of others beheaded. In 167o disorders broke out at Messina. They began with a See also:riot between the nobles and the burghers, but ended in an anti- Spanish movement; and while the inhabitants called The re- in the French, the Spaniards, who could not crush the vohnion at Messina. rising, called in the Dutch. Louis XIV. sent a fleet under the duc de Vivonne to Sicily, which defeated the Dutch under de Ruyter in r676. But at the peace of See also:Nijmwegen (1679) Louis treacherously abandoned the Messinese, who suffered cruel persecution at the hands of the Spaniards and lost all their privileges. An anti-Spanish See also:conspiracy of Neapolitan nobles, led by Macchia, with the See also:object of proclaiming the See also:archduke Charles of See also:Austria king of Naples, was discovered; but in 1707 an See also:Austrian army conquered the kingdom, and Spanish rule came to an end after 203 years, during which it had succeeded in thoroughly demoralizing the people. In Sicily the Spaniards held their own until the peace of See also:Utrecht in 1713, when the island was given over to Duke See also:Victor of Savoy, who assumed the title of king. In 1718 he had to hand back his new See also:possession to Spain, who, in 1720, surrendered it to Austria and gave Sardinia to Victor Amadeus. In 1733 the treaty of the Escurial between France, Spain and Savoy against Austria was signed. Don See also:Carlos of Bourbon, son of Philip V. of Spain, easily conquered both Naples and Sicily, and in 1738 he was recognized as king of the Two Sicilies, Spain renouncing all her claims. charges Charles was well received, for the country now was an 111. See also:independent kingdom once more. With the Tuscan Bernardo Tanucci as his See also:minister, he introduced many useful reforms, improved the army, which was thus able to repel an Austrian invasion in 1744, embellished the city of Naples and built roads. In 1759 Charles III., having succeeded to the Spanish crown, abdicated that of the Two Sicilies in favour of his son Ferdinand, who became Ferdinand IV. of Naples and III. of Sicily. Being only eight years old, a regency under Tanucci was appointed, and the See also:young king's See also:education was purposely neglected by the minister, who wished to Pvratnand dominate him completely. The regency ended in 1767, and the following year Ferdinand married the masterful and ambitious Maria Carolina, daughter of the empress Maria See also:Theresa. She had Tanucci dismissed and set herself to the task of making Naples a great power. With the help of John See also:Acton, an See also:English-See also:man whom she made minister in the place of Tanucci, she freed Naples from Spanish influence and secured a rapprochement with England and Austria. On the outbreak of the French Revolution the king and queen were not at first hostile to the new movement; but after the fall of the French See also:monarchy they became violently opposed to it, and in 1793 joined the first See also:coalition against France, instituting severe persecutions against all who were remotely suspected of French sympathies. Republicanism, however, gained ground, especially among the See also:aristocracy. In 1796 peace with France was concluded, but in 1798, during See also:Napoleon's absence in Egypt and after See also:Nelson's victory at See also:Aboukir, Maria Carolina induced Ferdinand to go to war with France once more.' Nelson arrived in Naples in September, where he was enthusiastically received. The king, after a somewhat farcical occupation of Rome, which had been evacuated by the French, hurried back to Naples as soon as the French attacked his troops, and although the lazzaroni (the lowest class of the people) were devoted to the See also:dynasty and ready to defend it, he fled with the court to Palermo in a panic on See also:board Nelson's ships. The wildest confusion prevailed, and the lazzaroni massacred See also:numbers of persons suspected of republican sympathies, while the nobility and the educated classes, finding themselves abandoned by their king in this cowardly manner, began to contemplate a republic under French auspices as their only means of salvation from anarchy. In See also:January 1799 the French under See also:Championnet reached Naples, but the lazzaroni, See also:ill-armed and ill-disciplined Pronah la as they were, resisted the enemy with desperate Naples courage, and it was not until the loth that the invaders and the were masters of the city. On the 23rd the Partheno- Parthenopaean republic was proclaimed. The Republicans were preaeR~ men of culture and high character, but doctrinaire and unpractical, and they knew very little of the See also:lower classes of their own country. The government soon found itself in See also:financial difficulties, owing to Championnet's demands for See also:money; it failed to organize the army, and met with scant success in its attempts to "democratize " the provinces. Meanwhile the court at Palermo sent See also:Cardinal Fabrizio See also:Ruffo, a wealthy Cardlaal and influential See also:prelate, to Calabria, to organize a See also:Rude See also:counter-revolution. He succeeded beyond expectation, and the and with his "See also:Christian army of the Holy Faith" san-(Esercito Cristiano della Santa Fede), consisting of fedistl. brigands, convicts, peasants and some soldiers, marched through the kingdom plundering, burning and massacring. An English See also:squadron approached Naples and occupied the island of Procida, but after a few engagements with the Republican fleet commanded by Caracciolo, an ex-officer in the Bourbon See also:navy, it was recalled to Palermo, as the Franco-Spanish fleet was expected. Ruffo, with the addition of some See also:Russian and See also:Turkish See also:allies, now marched on the capital, whence the French, See also:save for a small force under Mejean, withdrew. The scattered Republican detachments were defeated, only Naples and See also:Pescara holding Naples a Spanish possession. Revolutions. Sicily under Savoy. out. On the 13th of See also:June Ruffo and his hordes reached Naples, and after a desperate battle at the See also:Ponte della Maddalena, entered the city. For See also:weeks the Calabresi and lazzaroni continued to pillage and See also:massacre, and Ruffo was unable, even if willing, to restrain them. But the Royalists were not masters of the city, for the French in See also:Castel Sant' Elmo and the Republicans in Castelnuovo and Castel dell' Uovo still held out and bombarded the streets, while the Franco-Spanish fleet might arrive at any moment. Consequently Ruffo was desperately anxious to come to terms with the Republicans for the evacuation of the castles, in spite of the queen's orders to make no terms with the rebels. After some negotiation an See also:armistice was concluded and a See also:capitulation agreed upon, whereby the castles were to be evacuated, the hostages liberated and the garrisons See also:free to remain in Naples unmolested or to See also:sail for See also:Toulon.
While the vessels were being prepared for the voyage to Toulon all the hostages in the castles were liberated save four;
but on the 24th of June Nelson arrived with his fleet,
Nelson at
Naples. and on hearing of the capitulation he refused to
recognize it save in so far as it concerned the French.
Ruffo indignantly declared that once the treaty was signed,
not only by himself but by the Russian and Turkish commandants
and by the See also:British captain See also:Foote, it must be respected, and on
Nelson's refusal he said that he would not help him to See also:capture
the castles. On the 26th Nelson changed his attitude and
authorized See also:Sir William See also: War with France continued until See also: In January 1814 he signed a treaty with Austria, each power guaranteeing the dominions of the other, while Sicily was to be left to Ferdinand. The following month he proclaimed his separation from Napoleon and marched against See also:Eugene See also:Beauharnais, the French viceroy of See also:Lombardy. But no important engagements took place, and when Napoleon escaped from See also:Elba, Murat suddenly returned to the See also:allegiance of his old chief. He marched at the head of 35,000 men into See also:northern Italy, and from See also:Rimini issued his famous See also:proclamation in favour of Italian independence, which at the time fell on See also:deaf ears (March 30th, 1815). He was subsequently defeated by the Austrians several times and forced to See also:retreat, and on the 18th of May he sailed from Naples for France (see MURAT, JOACHIM). Generals Guglielmo See also:Pepe and Carrascosa now concluded a treaty with the Austrians at Casalanza on favourable terms, and on the 23rd the Austrians entered Naples to restore Bourbon rule. Ferdinand and Maria Carolina had continued to reign in Sicily, where the extravagance of the court and the odious Neapolitan See also:system of See also:police espionage rendered their presence a See also:burden instead of a blessing to the island. The king The Bourbons obtained a See also:subsidy from Great Britain and allowed in Sicily. British troops to occupy Messina and Agosta, so that they might operate against the French on the mainland. A See also:bitter conflict broke out between the court and the parliament, and the British minister, See also:Lord William See also:Bentinck, favoured the opposition, forced Ferdinand to resign his authority and appoint his son regent and introduced many valuable reforms. The queen perpetually intrigued against Bentinck, and The even negotiated with the French, but in 1812 a more English liberal constitution on British lines was introduced, and constitua Liberal See also:ministry under the princes of Castelnuovo t1Otl' and Belmonte appointed, while the queen was exiled in the following year. But after the fall of Napoleon Sicily ceased to have any importance for Great Britain, and Bentinck, whose memory is still cherished in the island, departed in 1814. Ferdinand succeeded in getting a reactionary ministry appointed, and dissolved parliament in May 1815, after concluding a treaty with Austria—now freed by Murat's defection from her engagements with him—for the recovery of his mainland dominions by means of an Austrian army paid for by himself. On the 9th of June Ferdinand re-entered Naples and See also:bound The himself in a second treaty with Austria not to introduce restore-a constitutional government;' but at first he abstained Naps. from persecution and received many of Murat's old officers into his army in accordance with the treaty of Casalanza. In See also:October 1815 Murat, believing that he still had a strong party in the kingdom, landed with a few companions at See also:Pizzo i The See also:secret See also:article of the treaty of June.12, 1815, runs as follows: " H.M. the King of the Two Sicilies, in re-establishing the government of the kingdom, will not agree to any changes irreconcilable either with the See also:ancient institutions of the monarchy or with the principles adopted by H.I. and R. Austrian See also:Majesty for the See also:internal regime of his Italian provinces." It is to be noted that this did not involve the See also:obligation of interfering with the ancient constitution of Sicily, which Metternich desired to see remain undisturbed. Joachim Murat. di Calabria, but was immediately captured by the police and the peasantry, court-martialled and shot. Ferdinand to some extent maintained French legislation, but otherwise reorganized the state with Metternich's approval on Bourbon lines; he proclaimed himself king of the Two Sicilies at the See also:congress of See also:Vienna, incorporating Naples and Sicily into one state, and abolished the Sicilian constitution (December 1816). In 1818 he concluded a See also:Concordat with the Church, by which the latter renounced its suzerainty over the kingdom, but was given See also:control over education, the censorship and many other privileges. But there was much disaffection throughout the country, and the Carbonarist lodges, founded in Tehoiatlon Murat's time with the object of freeing the country of 1820. from foreign rule and obtaining a constitution, had made much progress (see See also:CARBONARI). The army indeed was honeycombed with Carbonari, and General Pepe, himself a member of the society, organized them on a military basis. In July 182o a military See also:mutiny broke out at See also:Caserta, led by two officers and a See also:priest, the mutineers demanding a constitution although professing loyalty to the king. Ferdinand, feeling himself helpless to resist, acceded to the demand, appointed a ministry composed of Murat's old adherents, and entrusted his authority to his son. The ultra-democratic single-chamber Spanish constitution of 1812 was introduced, but proved utterly unworkable. The new government's first difficulty was Sicily, where the people had risen in rebellion demanding their own See also:charter of 1812, and although the Neapolitan troops quelled the outbreak with much bloodshed the division proved fatal to the prospects of See also:liberty. The outbreak of the military rising in Naples, following so shortly on that in Spain, seriously alarmed the See also:powers responsible for the preservation of the peace in Europe. The position was complicated by the somewhat enigmatic attitude of Russia; for the Neapolitan Liberals, with many of whom Count See also:Capo d' Isfria, the Russian minister of foreign affairs, had been on friendly terms, proclaimed that they had the " moral support " of the See also:tsar. This idea, above all, it was necessary for Austria to destroy once for all. The See also:diplomatic negotiations are discussed in the article on the history of Europe (q.v.). Here it suffices to say that these issued in the congress of See also:Troppau (October 1820) and the proclamation of the famous Troppau See also:protocol affirming the right of collective " Europe " to interfere to crush dangerous internal revolutions. Both France and Great Britain protested against the general principle laid down in this See also:instrument; but neither of them approved of the Neapolitan revolution, and neither of them was opposed to an intervention in Naples, provided this were carried out, not on the ground of a supposed right of Europe to interfere, but by Austria for Austrian ends. By general consent King Ferdinand was invited to attend the adjourned congress, fixed to meet at See also:Laibach in the See also:spring of the following year. Under the new constitution, the permission of parliament was necessary before the king could leave Neapolitan territory; but this was weakly granted, after Ferdinand had sworn the most See also:solemn oaths to maintain the constitution. He was scarcely beyond the frontiers, however, before he repudiated his engagements, as exacted by force. A cynicism so unblushing shocked even the seasoned diplomats of the congress, who would have preferred that the king should have made a decent show of yielding to force. The result was, however, that the powers authorized Austria to march an army into Naples to restore the autocratic monarchy. This decision was notified to the Neapolitan government by Russia, See also:Prussia and Austria—Great Britain and France maintaining a strict See also:neutrality. Meanwhile the regent, in spite of his See also:declaration that he would See also:lead the Neapolitan army against the invader, was secretly undermining the position of the government, and there were divisions of See also:opinion in the ranks of the Liberals themselves. General Pepe The was sent to the frontier at the head of 8000 men, but AustriansNaples. was completely defeated by the Austrians at See also:Rieti on the 7th of March. On the 23rd the Austrians entered Naples, followed soon afterwards by the king; every vestige of freedom was suppressed, the reactionary Mediciministry appointed, and the inevitable state trials instituted with the usual See also:harvest of executions and imprisonment. Pepe saved himself by See also:flight. (See FERDINAND IV., king of Naples.) Ferdinand died in 1825, and his son and successor, See also:Francis I., an unbridled libertine, at once threw off the See also:mask of Liberalism; the corruption of the administration under Medici Francis I. assumed unheard-of proportions, and every See also:office was openly sold. The Austrian occupation lasted until 1827, having cost the state 310,000,000 lire; but in the meanwhile the Swiss Guard had been established as a further See also:protection for See also:autocracy, and the revolutionary outbreak at Bosco on the Cilento was suppressed with the usual cruelty. (See FRANCIS I., king of the Two Sicilies.) Francis died in 1830 and was succeeded by his son, Ferdinand II., who at first awoke hopes that the conditions of the country would be improved. He was not devoid of good qualities, and took an See also:interest in the material welfare of the country, but he was narrow-minded, ignorant and bigoted; he made the administration more efficient, and re-organized the army which became purged of Carbonarism, and such Carbonarist plots as there were in the 'thirties were not severely punished. Ferdinand was impatient of Austrian influence, but on the death of his first wife, Cristina of Savoy, he married Maria Theresa of Austria, who encouraged him in his reactionary tendencies and brought him closer to Austria. An outbreak of See also:cholera in 1837 led to disorders in Sicily, which, having assumed a political character, were repressed by Del Caretto with great severity. The government tended to become more and more autocratic and to rely wholly on the all-powerful police, the spies and the priests; and, although the king showed some independence in foreign affairs, his popularity waned; the See also:desire for a constitution was by no means dead, and the survivors of the old Carbonari gathered See also:round Carlo See also:Poerio, while the Giovane Italia society (independent of Mazzini), led by Benedetto Musolino, took as its See also:motto " Unity, Liberty and Independence." But as yet the idea of unity made but little headway, for southern Italy was too widely separated by See also:geographical conditions, history, tradition and See also:custom from the rest of the peninsula, and the See also:majority of the Liberals—themselves a minority of the See also:population—merely aspired to a constitutional Neapolitan monarchy, possibly forming part of a See also:confederation of Italian states. The attempt of the Giovane Italia to bring about a general revolution in 1843 only resulted in a few sporadic out-breaks easily crushed. The following year the Venetian See also:brothers See also:Bandiera, acting in See also:concert with Mazzini, landed in Calabria, believing the whole country to be in a state The of revolt; they met with little See also:local support and were attempt. Baum attempt. quickly captured and shot, but their death aroused much sympathy, and the whole See also:episode was highly significant as being the first attempt made by See also:north Italians to promote revolution in the south. In 1847 a pamphlet by L. See also:Settembrini, entitled " A Protest of the People of the Two Sicilies," appeared anonymously and created a deep impression as a most scathing See also:indictment of the government; and at the same time the See also:election of See also:Pius IX., a pope who was believed to be a Liberal, caused widespread excitement throughout Italy. Conspiracy was now rife both in Naples and Sicily, but as yet there was no idea of deposing the king. Many persons were arrested, including Carlo Poerio, who, however, continued to See also:direct the agitation. On the 12th of January 1848 a revolution under the leadership of Ruggiero Settimo broke out at Palermo to the cry of " in-dependence or the 1812 constitution," and by the end of February the whole island, with the exception of Thohition Messina, was in the hands of the revolutionists. These Siciiy. events were followed by demonstrations at Naples; the king summoned a See also:meeting of generals and members of his See also:family on the 27th of January, and on the See also:advice of See also:Filangieri (q.v.), who said that the army was not to be relied upon, he dismissed the Pietracatella ministry and Del Caretto, and summoned the duke of Serracapriola to See also:form another administration. On the 28th he granted the constitution, and the Liberals Bozzelli and Carlo Poerio afterwards joined the See also:cabinet. The Ferdinand II. popular demand was now that Naples should assist the See also:Lombards in their revolt against Austria, for a feeling of Italian solidarity The was growing up. The ministry of Carlo Troya succonstltu• ceeded to that of Serracapriola, and after the parlia- tion of mentary elections, in which many extreme Radicals 1848. were elected, Ferdinand declared war against Austria (See also:April 7th, 1848). After considerable delay a Neapolitan army under General Pepe marched towards Lombardy in May, while the fleet sailed for Venice. But a dispute between the king and the parliament concerning the form of the royal oath having arisen, a See also:group of demagogues with criminal folly provoked disturbances and erected barricades (May 14th). The king refused to open parliament unless the barricades were removed, and while the moderate elements attempted to bring about conciliation, the ministry acted with great weakness. A few The 15th shots were fired—it is not known who fired first—on of may. the 15th, the Swiss regiments stormed the barricades and See also:street fighting lasted all day. By the evening the Swiss and the royalists were masters of the situation. A new ministry under See also:Prince Cariati was appointed. Parliament was dissolved, the See also:National Guard disbanded and the army recalled from the Po. Fresh elections were held and the new parliament met on the 15th of July, but it had the king, the army and the See also:mob against it, and anti-constitutionalist demonstrations became frequent. After a brief session it was prorogued to the 1st of February 1849, and when it met on that date a deadlock between king and parliament occurred. The Austrian victories in Lombardy had strengthened the court party, or Camarilla as it was called, and on the 13th of March the See also:assembly was again dissolved, and never summoned again. The king was at See also:Gaeta, whither the See also:grand-duke of See also:Tuscany and Pius IX. had also repaired to escape from their rebellious subjects, and the city became the headquarters of Italian reaction. In Sicily the revolutionists were purely insular in their aspirations and bitterly hostile to the Neapolitans, and the attempts Sicily. at conciliation, although favoured by Lord See also:Minto, failed, for Naples wanted one constitution and one parliament, whereas Sicily wanted two, with only the king in See also:common. The Sicilian assembly met in March 1848, and Settimo in his inaugural speech declared that the Bourbon dynasty had ceased to reign, that the throne was vacant and that Sicily united her destinies to those of Italy. Settimo was elected See also:president of the government, but the administration was lacking in statesmanship, the See also:treasury was empty, and nothing was done to raise an army. After the Austrian victories King Ferdinand sent a Neapolitan army of 20,000 men under Filangieri to subjugate the island. The troops landed at Messina, of which the citadel had been held by the royalists throughout, and after three days' desperate fighting the city itself was captured and sacked. The British and French admirals imposed a truce with a view to conciliation, and the king offered the Sicilians the Neapolitan constitution and a See also:separate parliament, which they refused. Sicilian troops were now levied throughout the island and the chief command given to the See also:Pole Mieroslawski, but it was too See also:late. Filangieri marched forward taking See also:town after town, and committing many atrocities. In April he reached Palermo while the fleet appeared in the bay; tumults having broken out within the city, the government surrendered on terms which granted See also:amnesty for all except Settimo and See also:forty-two others. For a few months after the See also:dissolution of the Neapolitan parliament the government abstained from persecution, but with the crushing of the Sicilian revolution its hands were free; and when the See also:commission on the affair of the 15th of May had completed its labours the state trials and arrests began. The See also:arrest of S. Faucitano for a demonstration at Gaeta led to the See also:discovery of the Unitd Italiana society, whose object was to free Italy from domestic tyranny and foreign domination. Thousands of respectable citizens were thrown into See also:prison, such as L. Settembrini, Carlo Poerio and Silvio Spaventa. The trials were conducted with the most scandalous contempt of See also:justice, and moral and See also:physical See also:torture was applied to extort confessions. The abominable See also:con- ditions of the prisons in which the best men of the kingdom were immured, linked to the vilest common criminals, was made known to 'the world by the famous letters of W. E. See also:Gladstone, which branded the Bourbon regime as " the negation of See also:God erected into a system of government." The merest suspicion of unorthodox opinions, the possession of foreign See also:newspapers, the wearing of a See also:beard or an See also:anonymous denunciation, sufficed for the arrest and condemnation of a man to years of imprisonment. while the attendibili, or persons under police surveillance liable to imprisonment without trial at any moment, numbered 50,000. The remonstrances of Great Britain and France met with no success. Ferdinand strongly resented foreign interference, and even rejected the Austrian proposal for a league of the Italian despots for mutual See also:defence against See also:external attacks„and internal disorder. In 1856 his See also:life was unsuccessfully attempted by a soldier, and the same year See also:Baron Bentivegna organized a revolt near Palermo, which was quickly suppressed. In 1859 Carlo See also:Pisacane, an ex-Neapolitan officer who had taken part t in the defence of Rome, fitted out an expedition, a with attteemmptpt. . 's Mazzini's approval, from See also:Genoa, and landed at Sapri in Calabria, where he hoped to raise the See also:flag of revolution; but the local police assisted by the peasantry attacked the See also:band, killing many, including Pisacane himself, and capturing most of the rest. The following year, at the instance of Great Britain and France, Ferdinand commuted the sentences of some of the political prisoners to See also:exile. (See FERDINAND IL, king of the Two Sicilies). In May 1859 Ferdinand died, and was succeeded by his son, Francis II., who came to the throne just as the Franco-Sardinian victories in Lombardy were See also:sounding the death-knell Francis 11. of Austrian predominance and domestic despotism in Italy (see ITALY: History). But although there was much activity and plotting among the Liberals, there was as yet no revolution. Victor See also:Emmanuel, king of Sardinia, wrote to the new king proposing an alliance for the division of Italy, but Francis refused. In June part of the Swiss Guard mutinied because the Bernese government not having renewed the See also:convention with Naples the troops were deprived of their cantonal flag. The mutinous regiments, however, were surrounded by loyal troops and shot down; and this affair resulted in the disbanding of the whole force—the last support of the autocracy. Political amnesties were now decreed, and in September 1859 Filangieri was made See also:prime minister. The latter favoured the Sardinian alliance and the granting of the constitution, and so did the king's See also:uncle, See also:Leopold, count of See also:Syracuse. But Francis rejected both proposals and Filangieri resigned and was succeeded by A. Statella. In April 186o Victor Emmanuel again proposed an alliance whereby Naples, in return for help in expelling the Austrians from See also:Venetia, was to receive the See also:Marche, while Sardinia would annex all the rest of Italy except Rome. But Francis again refused, and in fact was negotiating with Austria and the pope for a simultaneous invasion of See also:Modena, Lombardy and Romagna. In the meantime, however, events in Sicily were reaching a crisis destined to subvert the Bourbon dynasty. The Sicilians, unlike the Neapolitans, were thoroughly alienated from the Bourbons, whom they detested, and after the aaritandzatheldl peace of Villafranca (July 1859) Mazzini's emissaries, Thousand. F. See also:Crispi and R. Pilo, had been trying to organize a rising in favour of Italian unity; and although they merely succeeded in raising a few squadre, or armed bands, in the mountainous districts, they persuaded See also:Garibaldi (q.v.), without the magic of whose personal See also:prestige they knew nothing important could be achieved, that the revolution which he knew to be imminent had broken out. The authorities at Palermo, learning of a projected rising, attacked the See also:convent of La Gangia, the headquarters of the rebels, and killed most of the inmates; but in the meanwhile Garibaldi, whose hesitation had been overcome, embarked on the 5th of May 186o, at See also:Quarto, near Genoa, with loon picked followers on board two steamers, and sailed for Sicily. On the r rth the expedition reached See also:Marsala and landed without opposition. Garibaldi was somewhat coldly received by the astonished population: but he set forth at once for The Neapolitan prisons. Salemi, whence he issued a proclamation assuming the See also:dictator-See also:ship of Sicily in the name of Victor Emmanuel, with Crispi as secretary of state. He continued his march towards Palermo, where the bulk of the 30,000 Bourbon troops were concentrated, gathering numerous followers on the way. On the 15th he attacked and defeated 3000 of the enemy under General Landi at See also:Calatafimi; the See also:news of this brilliant victory revived the revolutionary agitation throughout the island, and Garibaldi was joined by Pilo and his bands. By a cleverly devised ruse he avoided General See also:Colonna's force, which expected him on the Palermo. See also:Monreale road, and entering Palermo from Misilmeri received an enthusiastic welcome. The Bourbonists, although they bombarded the city from the citadel and the warships in the See also:harbour, gradually lost ground, and after three days' street fighting their See also:commander, General See also:Lanza, not knowing that the Garibaldians had scarcely a See also:cartridge left, asked for and obtained a twenty-four See also:hours' armistice (May 3oth). Garibaldi went on board the British flagship to confer with the Neapolitan generals Letizia and Chretien; Letizia's proposal that the See also:municipality should make a humble See also:petition to the king was indignantly rejected by Garibaldi, who merely agreed to the See also:extension of the armistice until next day. Then he informed the citizens by means of a proclamation of what he had done, and declared that, knowing them to be ready to See also:die in the ruins of their city, he would renew hostilities on the expiration of the armistice. Although unarmed, the people rallied to him as one man, and Lanza became so alarmed that he asked for an unconditional extension of the armistice, which Garibaldi granted. The dictator now had time to collect See also:ammunition, and the Neapolitan government having given Lanza full powers to treat with him, 15,000 Bourbon troops embarked for Naples on the 7th of June, leaving the revolutionists masters of the situation. The Sardinian Admiral Persano's salute of nineteen guns on the occasion of Garibaldi's See also:official See also:call constituted a See also:practical recognition'of his dictatorship by the Sardinian (Piedmontese) government. In July further reinforcements of See also:volunteers under See also:Cosenz and Medici, assisted by See also:Cavour, arrived at Palermo with a good See also:supply of arms furnished by subscription in northern Italy. Garibaldi's forces were now raised to 12,000 men, besides the Sicilian squadre. Cavour's attempt to bring about the See also:annexation of Sicily to Sardinia failed, for Garibaldi wished to use the island as a basis for an invasion of the mainland. Most of the island had now been evacuated by the Bourbonists, but Messina and a few other points still held out, and when the Garibaldians advanced eastward they encountered a force of 4000 of the enemy under See also:Colonel Bosco at Milazzo; on the loth of July a desperate battle took place resulting in a hard-won Garibaldian victory. The Neapolitan government then decided on the evacuation of the whole of Sicily except the citadel of Messina, which did not surrender until the following year. The news of Garibaldi's astonishing successes entirely changed the situation in the capital, and on the 25th of June 186o the The king, after consulting the ministers and the royal Neapolitan family, granted a constitution, and appointed A. constitu- Spinelli prime minister. Disorders having taken tion. place between Liberals and reactionaries, Liberio Romano was made minister of police in the place of Aiossa. Sicily being lost, the king directed all his efforts to save Naples; he appealed to Great Britain and France to prevent Garibaldi from See also:crossing the Straits of Messina, and only just failed (for this episode see under See also:LACAITA, G.). Victor Emmanuel himself wrote to Garibaldi urging him to abstain from an attack on Naples, but Garibaldi refused to obey, and on the 19th of August he crossed with 4500 men and took Reggio by See also:storm. He was soon joined by the rest of his troops, 15,000 in all, and although the Neapolitan government had 30,000 men in Calabria alone, the army collapsed before Garibaldi's advance, and the Garibaldi people rose in his favour almost everywhere. Francis the mainland. offered Garibaldi a large sum of money if he would m abstain from advancing farther, and 50,000 men to fight the Austrians and the pope; but it was too late, and on the 6th of September the king and queen sailed for Gaeta. The40,000 Bourbon troops between See also:Salerno and See also:Avellino fell back panic-stricken, and on the 7th Garibaldi entered Naples alone, although the city was still full of soldiers, and was received with delirious See also:enthusiasm. On the 11th a part of the royalists capitulated and the rest retired on See also:Capua. Cavour now decided that Sardinia must take part in the liberation of southern Italy, for he feared that Garibaldi's followers might induce him to proclaim the republic and attack Rome, which would have provoked French hostility; consequently a Piedmontese army occupied the Marche and See also:Umbria, and entered Neapolitan territory with Victor Emmanuel at its head. On the 1st and 2nd of October 186o a battle was fought on the See also:Volturno victor between 20,000 Garibaldians, many of them raw Emmanuel levies, and 35,000 Bourbon troops, and although at and first a Garibaldian division under Tiirr was repulsed, asriham'. Garibaldi himself arrived in time to turn defeat into victory. On the 26th he met Victor Emmanuel at See also:Teano and hailed him king of Italy, and subsequently handed over his conquests to him. On the 3rd of See also:November a See also:plebiscite was taken, which resulted in an overwhelming majority in favour of See also:union with Sardinia under Victor Emmanuel. Garibaldi departed for his island home at See also:Caprera, while L.C. See also:Farini was appointed viceroy of Naples and M. Cordero viceroy of Sicily. The last remnant of the Bourbon army was concentrated at Gaeta, the siege of which was begun by Cialdini on the 5th of November; on the The fella loth of January 1861 the French fleet, which Napoleon Gaeta. dynasty, was withdrawn at the instance of Great Britain; and although the See also:garrison fought bravely and the king and queen showed considerable courage, the fortress surrendered on the 13th of February and the royal family departed by See also:sea. (See FRANCIS II., King of the Two Sicilies.) The citadel of Messina capitulated a month later, and Civitella del Tronto on the 21st of March. On the 18th of February the first Italian parliament met at See also:Turin and proclaimed Victor Emmanuel king of Italy. Thus Naples and Sicily ceased to be a separate political entity and were absorbed into the united Italian kingdom. . See also:fano al 1313 ; C. Cipolla, Storia delle signorie Italiane dal 1313 al 1530; Cosci, L' Italia See also:durante le preponderanze straniere, 1530-z786; A. Franchetti, Storia d'Italia dal 1786 al 1799; G. de See also:Castro, Storia d' Italia dal 1799 al 1814; F. Bertolini, Storia d' Italia dal 1814 al 1878. For the more See also:recent history P. See also:Colletta's Storia del reame di Napoli (See also:Florence, 1848) will be found very useful, though not without See also:bias, and G. Pepe's Memorie (See also:Paris, 1847) are also important, both authors having played an important part in the events of 1809–1815 and 1820–1821; N. Nisco, Gli ullimi 36 anni del reame di Napoli (Naples, 1889). On the subject of the revolution of 1799 and the Nelson episode there is quite a library. The documents are mostly to be found in Nelson and the Neapolitan See also:Jacobins (Navy Records Society, See also:London, 1903), edited by H. C. Gutteridge, with an introduction, where Nelson's See also:action is defended, and a bibliography. A. T. See also:Mahan in his Life of Nelson (2nd ed., London, 1899), and in the English See also:Historical See also:Review for July 1899 and October 1900, takes the same view; for the other side see C. Giglioli, Naples in 1799 (London, 1903), which is impartial and well written; F. P. See also:Badham, Nelson at Naples (London, 1900) ; P. See also:Villari, " Nelson, Caracciolo e la Repubblica Napolitana " (Nuova Antologia, February 16, 1899) ; A. Maresca, Gli avvenimenti di Napoli dal 13 giugno al 12 luglio, 1799 (Naples, 1900) ; B. Croce, Studii storici See also:sulla rivoluzione Napoletana del 1799 (Rome, 18.97); Freiherr von Helfert has attempted the impossible task of whitewashing Queen See also:Mary See also:Caroline in his Konigin Karolina von Neapel and Sicilien (Vienna, 1878) and Maria Karolina von Osterreich (Vienna, 1884), while in his Fabrizio Ruffo (Italian edition, Florence, 1885) he gives a rose-coloured portrait of that prelate and his brigand bands; see also H. Hiiffer's Die neapolitanische Republik See also:des Jahres 1999 (See also:Leipzig, 1884). For a general See also:account of the French period see C. Auriol, La France, l'Angleterre, et Naples (Paris, 1906 and R. M. See also:Johnston, The See also:Napoleonic Empire in South Italy (London, 1904), both based on documents. For the latest period see N. Nisco, Gli ultimi 36 anni del reame di Napoli (Naples, 1889) ; H. R. Whitehouse, The Collapse of the Kingdom of Naples (New See also:York, 1899), and R. de Cesare, La See also:Fine d' un regno (Citta di See also:Castello, 1900), which contains much See also:information but is not always accurate. For the British occupation of Sicily see G. Bianco, La Sicilia durante l' occupazione Inglese (Palermo, 1902) ; and for Sicily from 1830 to 1861, Francesco Guardione's Il Domino del Borboni in Sicilia (Turin, 1908) will be found useful. The best account of Garibaldi's expedition is G. Trevelyan's Garibaldi and the Thousand (London, 1909). (L. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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