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| Naples 1618-1648 |
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Naples 1707-1735 |
| The Kingdom of Naples, 1648-1737 |
After the Neapolitan Revolt
of 1647-1648, the Spanish administration of Naples, headed by a viceroy, was
careful not to provoke a repetition by overtaxing her subjects. The Spanish
administration diverted from her traditional policy of leaning on the church and
the landowners, attempting to take a more balanced approach. The kingdom's
revenues were stagnant, they were used to finance the administration, the
Spanish military and for debt service, and the state debts were huge. In 1656
the plague struck, killing almost half of the population of the capital.
The Revolt of Messina (1672-1678), since 1674 dominated by the Messinian patricians, dissatisfied with Spanish rule, in neighbouring, equally Spanish Sicily served as an example to demonstrate to the Neapolitan administration, how precarious the position of Spanish rule over Naples w as, once the impression arose, that the administration diverted from the ideal of good government.
In 1701 the War of Spanish Succession broke out. In 1702, King Philip V. of Spain (Bourbon Dynasty) visited Naples. In 1706 an Austrian army achieved a decisive victory in the Italian theatre of war; in 1707 Austrian troops occupied Naples without encountering resistance. Spanish rule over Naples was terminated.
According to Historian Paolo Mattia Doria (1667-1749; member of the Neapolitan Academy of 1698), the Kingdom of Naples, in the latter phase of Spanish rule, was characterized by social discontent, ignorance (cultivated by the clergy), misery, corruption, high taxation. Toward the end of Spanish rule, the tax burden on the capital of Naples was reduced - at the expense of other parts of the kingdom. The jurisdiction was forced to serve the interests of the state; the consequence increased corruption and misery in the provinces. The noble elite was uneducated and supersillious, differences in the standard of living, the morals varied greatly within the kingdom; the government failed to use legislation in order to improve the state of education, economy and culture. Those in government failed to act as role models. (quoted after Pesendorfer p.55). The countryside effectively was controlled and exploited by a class of barons; taxation was farmed out, with the result that only a fraction of the revenue reached the administration, which regarded it her priorities to ensure the capital adequately being supplied, the Spanish navy and garrisons to be paid. The abolition of tax farming had repeatedly been demanded, in vain. The city of Naples experienced an influx of lazzi, of paupers who neither owned land nor had an occupation. The anti-Spanish Macchia Conspiracy of 1701, which intended to place the Kingdom under Austrian administration, was suppressed, not without worsening the economic situation of the capital. The papal administration, the Duke of Parma and others owned large estates in the Kingdom, the revenues of which left the country without benefitting it; actually Spain had to subsidize the administration of the Kingdom of Naples. The parallel existence of a secular and an ecclesiastic jurisdiction was not without conflict.
The bad situation of the kingdom's economy, a host of problems the Spanish administration failed to address, resulted in harsh judgments by contemporary historians and observers, which are again reflected in historiography. Yet, Spanish rule over southern Italy had provided her with two centuries of protection from foreign invasions. The Spanish administration, notably in the later half of the 17th century, promoted the sciences. In 1698 Viceroy Luis Francisco de la Cerda, Duque de Medinacell, founded the (first) Neapolitan Academy. Naples' most famous scholar of the era was scientist Giambattista Vico (1668-1744).
The Revolt of Messina (1672-1678), since 1674 dominated by the Messinian patricians, dissatisfied with Spanish rule, in neighbouring, equally Spanish Sicily served as an example to demonstrate to the Neapolitan administration, how precarious the position of Spanish rule over Naples w as, once the impression arose, that the administration diverted from the ideal of good government.
In 1701 the War of Spanish Succession broke out. In 1702, King Philip V. of Spain (Bourbon Dynasty) visited Naples. In 1706 an Austrian army achieved a decisive victory in the Italian theatre of war; in 1707 Austrian troops occupied Naples without encountering resistance. Spanish rule over Naples was terminated.
According to Historian Paolo Mattia Doria (1667-1749; member of the Neapolitan Academy of 1698), the Kingdom of Naples, in the latter phase of Spanish rule, was characterized by social discontent, ignorance (cultivated by the clergy), misery, corruption, high taxation. Toward the end of Spanish rule, the tax burden on the capital of Naples was reduced - at the expense of other parts of the kingdom. The jurisdiction was forced to serve the interests of the state; the consequence increased corruption and misery in the provinces. The noble elite was uneducated and supersillious, differences in the standard of living, the morals varied greatly within the kingdom; the government failed to use legislation in order to improve the state of education, economy and culture. Those in government failed to act as role models. (quoted after Pesendorfer p.55). The countryside effectively was controlled and exploited by a class of barons; taxation was farmed out, with the result that only a fraction of the revenue reached the administration, which regarded it her priorities to ensure the capital adequately being supplied, the Spanish navy and garrisons to be paid. The abolition of tax farming had repeatedly been demanded, in vain. The city of Naples experienced an influx of lazzi, of paupers who neither owned land nor had an occupation. The anti-Spanish Macchia Conspiracy of 1701, which intended to place the Kingdom under Austrian administration, was suppressed, not without worsening the economic situation of the capital. The papal administration, the Duke of Parma and others owned large estates in the Kingdom, the revenues of which left the country without benefitting it; actually Spain had to subsidize the administration of the Kingdom of Naples. The parallel existence of a secular and an ecclesiastic jurisdiction was not without conflict.
The bad situation of the kingdom's economy, a host of problems the Spanish administration failed to address, resulted in harsh judgments by contemporary historians and observers, which are again reflected in historiography. Yet, Spanish rule over southern Italy had provided her with two centuries of protection from foreign invasions. The Spanish administration, notably in the later half of the 17th century, promoted the sciences. In 1698 Viceroy Luis Francisco de la Cerda, Duque de Medinacell, founded the (first) Neapolitan Academy. Naples' most famous scholar of the era was scientist Giambattista Vico (1668-1744).
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EXTERNAL FILES |
Naples, Kingdom of, from infoplease;
Naples, from Catholic Encyclopedia The Royal House of the Two Sicilies, History, from The Royal House of Bourbon Article Kingdom of Naples, from EB 1911 Article Naples from Catholic Encyclopedia Il Settecento, from La Storia di Napoli, in Italian Biography of Paolo Mattia Doria, from La Filosofia e i suoi Eroi, in Italian Article Giambattista Vico, from Wikipedia Article History of Naples, from Wikipedia Civitella, from Walled Cities |
| DOCUMENTS |
List of Kings etc., from World Statesmen : Italian
States, 1760-1860 by Ben Cahoon, scroll down Medal : Philip V., King of Spain, Visit to Naples 1702, from Medal Web (Benjamin Weiss Collection) |
| REFERENCE |
History of Italian Regions : Naples / Two Sicilies, from History Book Reviews
The 18th Century : the Era of Enlightened Reforms, in : Christopher Duggan, A Concise History of Italy, Cambridge : Cambridge Univ. Pr. 1994, pp.75-86 Franz Pesendorfer, Österreich - Grossmacht am Mittelmeer ? Das Königreich Neapel unter Kaiser Karl VI. (1707/20-1734/35) (Austria - Great Power in the Mediterranean ? The Kingdom of Naples under Emperor Charles VI., 1707/20-1734/35), Wien : Böhlau 1998, in German [G] |
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