History of Italy French Revolution
The Parthenopaean Republic, 1799



The Kingdom of Both Sicilies in the 18th Century : Absolutism



The Kingdom of Both Sicilies had long been in DYNASTIC UNION with Spain. When Spanish King Charles II. died in 1700, the Spanish line of the HABSBURG DYNASTY ended. The succession of Duke Philip of Anjou was contested, and the WAR OF SPANISH SUCCESSION broke out (1701-1714). As a result, Sicily was ceded to Savoy, Sardinia and Naples to Austria. In 1720 Austria and Savoy exchanged Sardinia for Sicily, so that the Kingdom of both Sicilies, now under Austrian Habsburg rule, was reunited. In 1735, during the WAR OF POLISH SUCCESSION, Spain, now under the Bourbon Dynasty, regained the Kingdom of Both Sicilies.
The two Sicilies, ever since the PRAGMATIC DECREE of 1759, were administrated as separate units, were ruled in PERSONAL UNION by a side branch of the Spanish line of the Bourbon dynasty. As in Spain, tha Neapolitan Bourbons ruled in the spirit of enlightened absolutism and undertook a number of reforms.

The Spanish and Austrian Line of the Habsburgs, the Spanish/Neapolitan Line of the Bourbon, the Dukes of Savoy had one thing in common : they were foreigners, and as such they were perceived by the establishment, the landowning nobility and the church, which cooperated in order to defend their position.
The university of Naples was the first to appoint a professor for political economy, ANTONIO GENOVESI (1754). Some attempts were made by the Neapolitan government to introduce reforms; the Jesuits were expelled in 1765, convents closed, attempts were made to reform the agriculture, vehemently opposed by the landowning nobility.


List of Kings of Both Sicilies , 1700-1789
1700-1713
1713-1718
1718-1735
1734-1759
1759-1825 		Philip V.
Victor Amadeus
Charles (VI.)
Charles IV.
Ferdinand III. 		Bourbon Spanish line
Savoy
Habsburg Austrian Line
Bourbon Spanish line
Bourbon Spanish line



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
DOCUMENTS Map : major Italian States in 1748, from Modern Italy at Dickinson College; with inaccuracies (Veltlin etc.)
George Chalmers: [A] collection of treaties between Great Britain and other powers. (London 1790): vol. 2 : English Treaties with two Sicilies :
1713 The Engagement, concerning the Rights of British Merchants in Sicily, at Utrecht pp.338 ff
List of Kings etc., from World Statesmen : Italian States, 1760-1860 by Ben Cahoon, scroll down
Charles III. of Spain, the Two Sicilies etc., Pragmatic Decree of October 6th 1759, posted by Chivalric Orders, in Italian
Portrait of (the 9-year-old, future) King Ferdinand IV. of Naples, 1760, by Adolf Mengs, posted by Web Gallery of Art
REFERENCE The 18th Century : the Era of Enlightened Reforms, in : Christopher Duggan, A Concise History of Italy, Cambridge : Cambridge Univ. Pr. 1994, pp.75-86



This page is part of World History at KMLA
Last revised on January 9th 2002