The revolution of 1848-1849 in the Kingdom of Naples

According to the provisional peace of October 3, 1735, which ended the War of Polish Succession 1733-1735 (confirmed by the Vienna Austro-French Treaty on November 18, 1738), Austria renounced the kingdom of Naples and Sicily in favor of Don Carlos of Parma , the fifth son of Philip V of Spain, on the condition that it will not be combined with Spain. In 1759, Don Carlos became the King of Spain, passing Naples and Sicily to his third son, Don Fernando (1751-1825), who founded the line of Neapolitan Bourbons under the name Ferdinand IV . In 1806 he was expelled from Naples by Napoleonic troops, but with the help of the English fleet retained power over Sicily; Napoleon I transferred the Neapolitan crown first to his brother Joseph (1806-1808), and then to Marshal Joachim Murat (1808-1815). After Murat abdicated from the Neapolitan throne on May 20, 1815, he was again occupied by Ferdinand IV, who proclaimed himself in 1816 the king of both Sicilies .

Returning to power, Ferdinand IV abolished all the French institutions and laws introduced during the reign of Napoleonic proteges Joseph and Murat, noble posts, ranks in the army, feudal rights, and even the payment of church tithe were returned.

It is clear that these reactionary measures provoked violent discontent among the population, which, fueled by the propaganda of the carbonarians (members of a secret patriotic society, whose goal was the liberation and unification of all Italy), resulted in a real rebellion of the cavalry brigade in July 1820. The division of General Guillermo Pepe was sent to pacify them, but he also joined the rebels. Demonstrations demanding reform began in Naples, and the frightened Ferdinand IV announced that a parliament would be convened in October.

And he was indeed convened, but by this time the situation had already changed. On the island of Sicily, in Palermo, peasant unrest began. The radicals who led the uprising immediately created a temporary junta and demanded the separation of Sicily from the Kingdom of Naples. The carbonaries were afraid that such actions would cause the intervention of the Austrian forces and lead to the complete defeat of their organization in Naples. Therefore, General Pepe sent a 10,000th division against the rebels, led by his brother. As a result, in September 1820, the uprising in Sicily was crushed, which to some extent deprived the carbonaries of widespread popular support.

In addition, the hopes of carbonarians to avoid intervention did not come true. The powers of the Holy Alliance were extremely concerned about the events in Naples, and in the end it was decided to restore order. At the direction of the Holy Alliance, in March 1821, the 43,000-strong Austrian army entered the Kingdom of Naples, which quickly defeated the troops of General Pepe. The parliament, which lasted less than six months, was dispersed, and the absolute power of Ferdinand was again restored in Naples.

The heirs of Ferdinand continued his policy. Having ascended the throne, his son Francis I paid little attention to state affairs, leaving them to his ministers. He himself spent time among his favorites, in amusements and feasts, surrounding himself with soldiers because of fear of assassination attempts. His frank gestures of friendship towards the Austrians, as defenders of the regime, evoked the most negative feelings among his subjects. It is enough that the troops of the interventionists remained in the country until 1827. The grandson of Ferdinand and the son of Francis, Ferdinand II, upon assuming the throne, promised liberal reforms, but in fact he tried to strengthen absolutism. The performances of 1831 caused by the revolution in France and the uprising in Sicily in 1837, inspired by the members of Young Italy, were brutally suppressed. The situation was heating up.

In January 1848, an uprising broke out in Palermo, which was joined by local military garrisons and which could not even be crushed by troops deployed from the continent. On April 13, 1848, the General Committee, led by Ruggiero Settimo, proclaimed the independence of Sicily from the Kingdom of Naples. Unrest spread throughout the south of Italy, reaching Naples. As a result, Ferdinand was forced to introduce a bourgeois constitution.

On March 24, 1848, the King of Sardinia, Karl Albert, declared war on Austria, and Ferdinand, fearing that all the fruits of victory would go to him, sent 16,000 of his soldiers. This made a significant contribution to the first military successes of Italians.

But already on May 15, with the help of the remaining troops loyal to him, Ferdinand dispersed the Neapolitan parliament, as he refused to swear allegiance to him. As a result, a bloody massacre broke out in Naples between the Unionists and the troops of the king. For several days the city was in the grip of a rampaging crowd of soldiers, not so much fighting each other as robbing the population. Hundreds of civilians died. Frightened by this rampant disaster, Ferdinand urgently withdrew his troops from the Austrian front, which significantly weakened Italian forces. As a result, only the Piedmontese continued the war with Austria with the support of the Garibald detachments.

By the end of 1848, he managed to suppress the revolutionary movement in his kingdom. An episode is noteworthy: cracking down on the rebels, he bombed the city of Messina (Sicily) in the spring of 1849, for which he received the nickname "king bomb" (it. "Re` Bomba"). By May 5, 1849, the rule of the Kingdom of Naples was restored.

Subsequently, Ferdinand initiated the intervention in the Roman Republic , which contributed to its fall on July 3, 1849.

• Vodovozov V.V. , -. The revolution of 1848 // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.