FERDINAND I. 1751-18251. Icing of the Two Sicilies from 1759 to 1825• llo was tho third son of Charles III. of Spa in. and was horn at Naples, January 12, 1751. When Charles ascended the Spanish throne, in 1759, Ferdinand succeeded him in Naples and Sicily under a re gency of which the progressive minister Tanucei was the head. Many reforms were inaugurated, and in 1767 the Jesuits were expelled from the kingdom. lu 1768, after attaining his majority, the young King married Carolina Maria, a daugh ter of Maria Theresa of Austria, who was given a voice in the royal council after the birth of an heir, and soon undermined the influence of Tanucei, who was dismissed in 1777. An .* lishman, Sir John Acton, succeeded him in favor.
and became virtually Prime Minister. Ferdi nand was led to join England and Austria against France in 1793, but was glad to make peace with the Directory in 1790. In 1798, how ever, he joined the secret alliance of Russia, Austria, and England, and his army occupied Rome. Ferdinand was no warrior and sadly lacked personal courage, for as soon as the French appeared and attacked his forces he fled to Na ples, and, embarking in an English man-of-war, escaped to Palermo. Naples was entered by the French, who, aided by a party of the nobles and citizens, established the short-lived Partheno pean Republic. The lower classes, who had fiercely opposed the French, were hostile to the new regime, and this, combined with reverses iu northern Italy, led the French army to with draw. The Republic collapsed before Cardinal Ruffo's Calabrian forces, and Ferdinand was re stored. A reign of terror was immediately in augurated, and the republicans suffered greatly, but could do nothing in the presence of an English fleet under Nelson and a Royalist army. Relief came in ISO], when Ferdinand was forced to sign a treaty with France which included, besides various concessions, a general amnesty to polit ical offenders, and a clause allowing French troops to occupy his dominions. In 1805, at
the instigation of Queen Caroline, he joined the Third Coalition, and permitted' 13,000 Russian and English troops to disembark at Naples. Na poleon won the victory of Austerlitz, and a French army forced the King and Queen of Naples to take refuge in Sicily. Naples was handed over to Joseph Bonaparte, and later to Murat (1808), and it was not until 1S15 that Ferdinand was restored. He had ruled over Sicily, however, under the title of Ferdinand III., until 1812, when he resigned his authority to his son Francis, under pressure from Eng land, after granting the Sicilians a liberal con stitution. After his restoration Ferdinand united the kingdoms of Sicily and Naples, and assumed the title by which he is generally known—For. dinand I., King of the Two Sicilies. Although he granted the Neapolitans a constitution as a condition of his recall, he speedily abolished it when firmly established. His tyrannical policy brought on the revolution of 1820, and he was forced to relinquish his authority to his son, who was named Viceroy. and to swear to ob serve the liberties of the people. At the Con gress of !Alb:tell, in the following year, however, he succeeded in securing .kustrian aid. and en tered Naples in triumph in 1821. with an Aus trian force a) his back. Aided by his unscrupu lous minister. Ca nosn. Ferdinand took a erne] vengeance on his subjects. The system of espi onage and arrest was continued under Canosn's successor. Medici. becoming worse each day. Fer dinand died suddenly January 4, 1825, and was succeeded by his son, Francis 1. For a good ac count of Ferdinand's reign, consult: Colletta, Muria del recline di Napoli Jul I7-t4 Nino if 181:), Eng. translation (Edinburgh, 1858) ; Lanzilatti, Jlemorie storiche di Perdinando I. (Naples, 1827) ; Jeaffreason, The Queen of Naples and Lord Nelson (London, 1889) ; I'robyn, Italy, 1815-78 (London, 1884).