Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies

Ferdinand was born in Naples and grew up amidst many of the monuments erected there by his father which can be seen today; the Palaces of Portici, Caserta and Capodimonte. Ferdinand was his parents' third son; his elder brother Charles was expected to inherit Naples and Sicily. When his father ascended the Spanish throne in 1759, he abdicated the thrones of Naples and Sicily in Ferdinand's favour in accordance with the treaties forbidding the union of the two crowns. A regency council presided over by the Tuscan Bernardo Tanucci was set up. Tanucci, an able, ambitious man, wishing to keep the government as much as possible in his own hands, purposely neglected the young king's education, and encouraged him in his love of pleasure, his idleness and his excessive devotion to outdoor sports. ==Reign==

Ferdinand's minority ended in 1767, and his first act was the expulsion of the Jesuits. The following year he married Archduchess Maria Carolina, daughter of Empress Maria Theresa. By the marriage contract, the queen was to have a voice in the council of state after the birth of her first son, and she was not slow to avail herself of this means of political influence. Tanucci, who attempted to thwart her, was dismissed in 1777. The Englishman Sir John Acton, who in 1779 was appointed director of marine, won Maria Carolina's favour by supporting her scheme to free Naples from Spanish influence, securing rapprochement with the Archduchy of Austria and the Kingdom of Great Britain. He became practically and afterward actually prime minister. Although not a mere grasping adventurer, he was largely responsible for reducing the internal administration of the country to a system of espionage, corruption and cruelty. ==French occupation and the Parthenopaean Republic==

Although peace was made with France in 1796, the demands of the French Directory, whose troops occupied Rome, alarmed Ferdinand once more. At his wife's instigation, he took advantage of Napoleon's absence in the French campaign in Egypt and Syria and of Horatio Nelson's victories to go to war. Ferdinand marched with his army against the French and entered Rome (29 November). On the defeat of some of his columns, Ferdinand hurried back to Naples. On the approach of the French, Ferdinand fled on 23 December 1798 aboard Nelson's ship to Palermo, leaving his capital in a state of anarchy. The French entered the city despite the fierce resistance of the lazzaroni, and with the aid of the nobles and bourgeoisie, established the Parthenopean Republic in January 1799. A few weeks later, when the French troops were recalled to northern Italy, Ferdinand sent a hastily assembled force under Fabrizio Cardinal Ruffo to reconquer the mainland kingdom. Ruffo, with the support of British artillery, the Church, and the pro-Bourbon aristocracy, succeeded in reaching Naples in May 1799, and the Parthenopean Republic collapsed. After some months, King Ferdinand returned to the throne. The king and the queen were anxious that no mercy should be shown to the rebels, and Maria Carolina (a sister of the executed Marie Antoinette) made use of Lady Hamilton to induce Nelson to carry out her vengeance. ==Third Coalition==

The king returned to Naples soon afterwards, and ordered the execution of several hundred French collaborators. This stopped only when the French successes forced him to agree to a treaty which included amnesty for members of the French party. When the War of the Third Coalition broke out between France and the Austrian Empire in 1805, Ferdinand signed a treaty of neutrality with the former. A few days later, Ferdinand allied himself with Austria and allowed an Anglo-Russian force to land at Naples. of Ferdinand IV of Naples, dated 1805 The French victory at the Battle of Austerlitz on 2 December enabled Napoleon to launch an invasion of the Kingdom of Naples. Ferdinand fled to Palermo on 23 January 1806, followed soon after by his wife and son, and on 14 February 1806 the French again entered Naples. Napoleon declared that the Bourbon dynasty had forfeited the crown, and proclaimed his brother Joseph King of Naples and Sicily. But Ferdinand continued to reign over the latter kingdom (becoming the first King of Sicily in centuries to actually reside there) under British protection. Parliamentary institutions of a feudal type had long existed on the island, and Lord William Bentinck, the British minister, insisted on a reform of the constitution on English and French lines. The king indeed practically abdicated his power, appointing his son Francis as regent, and the queen, at Bentinck's insistence, was exiled to Austria, where she died in 1814. ==Restoration==

'' by Vincenzo Camuccini, 1818-1819 After the fall of Napoleon, Joachim Murat, who had succeeded Joseph Bonaparte as king of Naples in 1808, was dethroned in the Neapolitan War in 1815, and Ferdinand returned to Naples. By a secret treaty he had bound himself not to advance further in a constitutional direction than Austria should at any time approve; but, though on the whole he acted in accordance with Metternich's policy of preserving the status quo, and maintained with but slight change Murat's laws and administrative system. Ferdinand took advantage of the situation to abolish the Sicilian constitution, in violation of his oath, and to proclaim the union of the two states into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (12 December 1816). Ferdinand was now completely subservient to Austria; an Austrian, Count Nugent, being even made commander-in-chief of the army. For the next four years, Ferdinand reigned as an absolute monarch within his domain, granting no constitutional reforms. ==1820 revolution==

The suppression of liberal opinion caused an alarming spread of the influence and activity of the secret society of the Carbonari, which in time affected a large part of the army. and were defeated at Battle of Rieti (7 March 1821). The Austrians entered Naples. ==Later years==

Following the Austrian victory, the Parliament was dismissed and Ferdinand suppressed the Liberals and Carbonari. The victory was used by Austria to force its grasp over Naples' domestic and foreign policies. Count Charles-Louis de Ficquelmont was appointed as the Austrian ambassador to Naples, practically administering the country as well as managing the occupation and strengthening Austrian influence over Neapolitan elites. Ferdinand died in Naples on 4 January 1825. He was the last surviving child of Charles III. ==Cultural depictions==

• That Hamilton Woman (1941) directed by Alexander Korda, played by Luis Alberni • Ferdinando and Carolina (1999) directed by Lina Wertmüller, played by Sergio Assisi, Adriano Pantaleo, and Mario Scaccia at different ages • Luisa Sanfelice (2004) directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, played by Emilio Solfrizzi ==Issue==

File:Greater Coat of Arms of Ferdinand IV of Naples.svg|Coat of arms as King of Naples(1759–1799 / 1799–1806 /1814–1816) File:Coat of Arms of Ferdinand III of Sicily.svg|Coat of arms as King of Sicily(1759–1816) File:Great Royal Coat of Arms of theTwo Sicilies.svg|Coat of arms as King of the Two Sicilies(1816–1825) ==References==