Kingdom of Naples , state covering the southern part of the Italian peninsula from the Middle Ages to 1860. It was often politically united with Sicily.
Read more about this topic Italy:Naples and Sicily Under the Austrian Habsburg rule after 1707, there were numerous reform plans in Naples, but few concrete measures. As Sicily under Austrian... By the early 12th century, the The Normans had a state in South Italy and Sicily in areas formerly created by Byzantines , Lombards and Muslims were occupied. In 1130, Roger II. After the Unification of all Norman acquisitions of the title of King of Sicily and Puglia . The existence of this Norman state was initially denied by the popes and Roman emperors who Sovereignty over the south claimed . In the late 12th century the kingdom passed to the Hohenstaufen Kaiser (the most notable of these was Kaiser Frederick II. , king of Sicily from 1198 to 1250). Under these early rulers, the kingdom was at the height of its prosperity. Politically it was one of the most central states in Europe, economically it was a major trading center and grain producer, and culturally it was a point of Spread of Greek and Arabic learning in Western Europe.
After the extinction of legitimate Hohenstaufen line Charles of Anjou , the French king's brother Louis IX. , gained control of the kingdom (1266). Charles moved the capital from Palermo, Sicily, to Naples, a shift that reflected his policy orientation toward northern Italy, where he was leader of the Guelf (pro-papal) party . But his harsh rule and high taxation provoked the rebellion known as Sicilian Vespers ( cf. 1282), which led to the political split from Sicily from the mainland and when the Spanish House of Aragon acquired the island's crown. The episode had important consequences for Naples and Sicily. In the struggles between the Angevins and the Aragonese that lasted more than a century, the real victors were the barons, whose powers were extended by grants from the kings. In the prevailing anarchy feudalism firmly conquered both kingdoms.
Naples enjoyed a brief period of prosperity and importance in the reign of Robert, King of Naples (1309–43). Italian affairs, but from the mid-14th to the 15th centuries the history of the kingdom was one of dynastic strife within the House of Angevin. Finally, in 1442, Naples fell to the ruler of Sicily. Alfons V. by Aragon, who in 1443 titled " King of the Two Sicilies “, ie of Sicily and Naples. The title was given by his son and grandson Ferdinand I and Ferdinand II Keep .
At the end of the 15th century, the Kingdom of Naples continued to be involved in the struggles of foreign powers for the domination of Italy. It was created by the French king Charles VIII Claims who kept it short (1495). Naples and Sicily were conquered by the Spanish in 1504 and ruled by viceroys for two centuries. Under Spain The country was considered a source of income only and experienced a steady economic decline. Provoked by high taxes, the lower and middle classes rebelled in July 1647 (Rebellion of Masaniello ), but the Spanish and barons joined forces to quell the rebellion in 1648.
As a result of the War of Spanish Succession (1701–14), the Kingdom of Naples came under the influence of the Austrians Habsburg . (Sicily was briefly held by Piedmont.) In 1734, the Spanish prince Don Carlos de Borbón (later king) Charles III Conquered Naples and Sicily, then ruled by the Spanish Bourbons as a separate kingdom. During the 18th century, in the spirit of "enlightened despotism," the Bourbon kings promoted reform to correct social and political injustices and modernize the state.
The Bourbon King Ferdinand IV. In his reform course, using the example of French Revolution held up which unleashed a flood of Republican and Democratic ideas. These ideas appealed strongly to those liberals - bourgeois Intellectuals , nobles and churchmen alike - who had seen the Bourbon reforms more as an aim to strengthen the king's power , than to benefit the nation. "Patriots" began to conspire and were opposed by persecution. Ferdinand's army joined Allied forces against Republican France in the War of the Second Coalition - with disastrous results. Naples was conquered by the French and Ferdinand fled to Sicily. On January 24, 1799, the The Parthenopean Republic was proclaimed but left unprotected. The city of Naples, abandoned by the French, fell to Ferdinand's forces on June 13, 1799, after desperate resistance from the patriots. Before giving in, they were promised freedom to stay or go into exile, but on June 24, met Horatio Nelsons fleet one, and nelson leaned in agreement with the powers in Sicily the terms of the surrender. Many captured Republicans were killed. Ferdinand returned to Naples, but his further machinations with the Austrians and British angry Napoleon . After defeating the Austrians at Austerlitz, he sent his brother Joseph to conquer Ferdinand's kingdom. Napoleon first annexed the kingdom to France and then declared it independent, with Joseph as king (March 30, 1806). When Joseph was posted to Spain (1808), Napoleon gave his brother-in-law Joachim Murat Naples . Under the French, Naples became unified by abolishing feudalism and adopting a Code modernized , and Murat was too Right popular as king. Ferdinand IV (later Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies) was twice forced to flee to Sicily, which he held with the help of the British.
With the Restoration of 1815, the kingdom now officially called the Two Sicilies finally joined the conservative European countries. As many in the kingdom embraced liberal ideas while kings were increasingly confirmed in their absolutism, political clashes were inevitable. Heavy rebellions broke out in 1820 when Ferdinand I was forced to issue a constitution, and again in 1848 under Ferdinand II when Sicily tried to gain its independence. The poor political and economic situation of the kingdom led to a slight collapse in the face of this The Invaded by Giuseppe Garibaldi in 1860 and both Naples and Sicily voted on the Referendum in October of the same year predominantly for unification with northern Italy .