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| The Bourbon Kingdom of Sicily, 1806-1815 |
The Geopolitical Situation . In June 1799, Naples fell and the Parthenopean Republic ended. The Bourbon dynasty, with British aid, was restored. In 1806, the French again invaded southern Italy, and the Bourbons, again, fled to Sicily (where, under the protection of the British navy, they could hold out). Napoleon again reshaped the political landscape of Italy; he installed his brother Joseph as the King of Naples.
In January 1799 and again in 1806, Bourbon King Ferdinand IV. had taken residence in Palermo on Sicily, which was out of reach of the French forces, protected by the British navy. He continued to claim all of his kingdom during both periods while he was unable to reside in his capital Naples; on the other hand, Joachim Murat also claimed the entire Kingdom of Two Sicilies, although he never brought the island under his control.
In 1814 King Murat had come to an agreement with the Austrians and seemed to survive the reshaping of Europe's political landscape at the Vienna Congress. However, Murat's alliance with Napoleon during his final 100 days opened the opportunity for the Bourbons to be restored to the throne of Naples (1816).
Domestic Policy . The British held the port cities of Messina, Catania, Taormina and Syracuse occupied; the Sicilian force of 12,000 men had been placed under British command. The massive presence of the British was a burden to the Sicilian population, and a somewhat dubious blessing to the Bourbon court.
When the marriage of Napoleon with Marie Louise of Habsburg was negotiated, the British suspected an intrigue by Queen Maria Carolina, who, as her husband Ferdinand IV. devoted most of his energy to hunting and fishing, was deciding the policies of the court. In 1811 she decreed that all communal property, as well as the lands of abbeys under royal patronage, were declared property of the crown and put up for sale. Sicilian patriots, regarded this a violation of privilege; the Queen ordered the leaders of the opposition patriots arrested; the latter appealed to the British. Newly arrived ambassador Lord Bentinck protested energetically against the decrees. He met with nobles opposing the Queen, agreed with them on the abolition of the decrees. King Ferdinand IV. declared his son Francis Vicar General. The British temporarily discontinued their subsidies to the crown. British troops surrounded the capital Palermo; the King, regarding himself a prisoner of the British, conceded to Lord Bentinck's demands; the King then left touring the Levant.
In 1812 Sicily's parliament promulgated a liberal constitution, the constitution all but disempowered King Ferdinand IV. of the ruling Bourbon dynasty. The years 1812-1814 saw the factions lead by Prince Belmonte and Prince Castelnuovo (also known as Prince Villarmosa) compete for power.
With the Restoration of Bourbon rule in Naples, the many reforms Murat had undertaken on the mainland were cancelled; Sicily, never under the control of the French, never had experienced these reforms; in 1816 King Ferdinand IV., residing in Naples, cancelled the Sicilian constitution.
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EXTERNAL FILES |
La Sicilia e la Sardegna, 1806-1814, from Cronologia, in Italian Entry from Infoplease Encyclopedia on Kingdom of Naples Biography of Francis I., King of the Two Sicilies, from EB 1911 Article Lord William Bentinck, from Wikipedia |
| DOCUMENTS | Map : NE Sicily, 1809, 1 : 200,000, from napoleonseries.org Sicile, from Annuaire 1789-1815, in French |
| REFERENCE |
History of Italian Regions : Sicily, from History Book Reviews
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This page is part of World History at KMLA First posted in 2000, last revised on March 16th 2006 Click here to go Home Click here to go to Information about KMLA, WHKMLA, the author and webmaster Click here to go to Statistics |
