Naples, kingdom of

Naples, kingdom of,

In the 11th and 12th cent. the Normans under Robert GuiscardRobert Guiscard
, c.1015–1085, Norman conqueror of S Italy, a son of Tancred de Hauteville (see Normans). Robert joined (c.1046) his brothers in S Italy and fought with them to expel the Byzantines.
..... Click the link for more information.  and his successors seized S Italy from the Byzantines. The popes, however, claimed suzerainty over S Italy and were to play an important part in the history of Naples. In 1139 Roger IIRoger II,
c.1095–1154, count (1101–30) and first king (1130–54) of Sicily, son and successor of Roger I. He conquered (1127) Apulia and Salerno and sided with the antipope Anacletus II against Pope Innocent II. In 1130, Anacletus crowned Roger king.
..... Click the link for more information. , Guiscard's nephew, was invested by Innocent II with the kingdom of SicilySicily
, Ital. Sicilia, region (1991 pop. 4,966,386), 9,925 sq mi (25,706 sq km), S Italy, mainly situated on the island of Sicily, which is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the west and south, by the Ionian Sea on the east, and by the Tyrrhenian Sea on the north, and
..... Click the link for more information. , including the Norman lands in S Italy. The last Norman king designated Constance, wife of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI, as his heir and the kingdom passed successively to Frederick IIFrederick II,
1194–1250, Holy Roman emperor (1220–50) and German king (1212–20), king of Sicily (1197–1250), and king of Jerusalem (1229–50), son of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI and of Constance, heiress of Sicily.
..... Click the link for more information. , Conrad IVConrad IV,
1228–54, German king (1237–54), king of Sicily and of Jerusalem (1250–54), son of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. He was elected (1237) king of the Romans at his father's instigation after Frederick had deposed Conrad's older brother Henry in
..... Click the link for more information. , ManfredManfred
, c.1232–1266, king of Sicily (1258–66), the last Hohenstaufen on that throne. An illegitimate son of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, Manfred was regent in Sicily for his brother Conrad IV.
..... Click the link for more information. , and ConradinConradin
, 1252–68, duke of Swabia, titular king of Jerusalem and Sicily, the last legitimate Hohenstaufen, son of Holy Roman Emperor Conrad IV. While Conradin was still a child in Germany, his uncle Manfred made himself (1258) king of Sicily.
..... Click the link for more information.  of Hohenstaufen. Under them S Italy flowered, but in 1266 Charles ICharles I
(Charles of Anjou), 1227–85, king of Naples and Sicily (1266–85), count of Anjou and Provence, youngest brother of King Louis IX of France. He took part in Louis's crusades to Egypt (1248) and Tunisia (1270).
..... Click the link for more information.  (Charles of Anjou), founder of the AngevinAngevin
[Fr.,=of Anjou], name of two medieval dynasties originating in France. The first ruled over parts of France and over Jerusalem and England; the second ruled over parts of France and over Naples, Hungary, and Poland, with a claim to Jerusalem.
..... Click the link for more information.  dynasty, was invested with the crown by Pope Clement IV, who wished to drive the Hohenstaufen family from Italy. Charles lost Sicily in 1282 but retained his territories on the mainland, which came to be known as the kingdom of Naples. Refusing to give up their claim to Sicily, Charles and his successors warred with the house of Aragón, which held the island, until in 1373 Queen Joanna IJoanna I,
1326–82, queen of Naples (1343–81), countess of Provence. She was the granddaughter of King Robert of Naples, whom she succeeded with her husband, Andrew of Hungary.
..... Click the link for more information.  of Naples formally renounced her claim.

During her reign began the struggle for succession between Charles of Durazzo (later Charles IIICharles III
(Charles of Durazzo), 1345–86, king of Naples (1381–86) and, as Charles II, of Hungary (1385–86); great-grandson of Charles II of Naples. Adopted as a child by Joanna I of Naples, he later lived at the court of Louis I of Hungary.
..... Click the link for more information.  of Naples) and Louis of Anjou (Louis ILouis I,
1339–84, king of Naples (1382–84; rival claimant to Charles III), duke of Anjou, count of Provence, second son of John II of France. He founded the second Angevin line in Naples. As a regent for his nephew, Charles VI of France, he was noted for his rapacity.
..... Click the link for more information.  of Naples). The struggle was continued by their heirs. Charles's descendants, LancelotLancelot
or Ladislaus
, c.1376–1414, king of Naples (1386–1414), son and successor of Charles III. Almost his entire reign was consumed by his struggle with the Angevin rival king of Naples, Louis II, and with Louis's ally, the antipope John XXIII (see
..... Click the link for more information.  and Joanna IIJoanna II,
1371–1435, queen of Naples (1414–35), sister and successor of Lancelot. The intrigues of her favorites kept her court in turmoil. Her second husband, James of Bourbon, tried to seize power but was imprisoned in 1416.
..... Click the link for more information. , successfully defended their thrones despite papal support of their French rivals, but Joanna successively adopted as her heir Alfonso VAlfonso V
(Alfonso the Magnanimous), 1396–1458, king of Aragón and Sicily (1416–58) and of Naples (1443–58), count of Barcelona. He was the son of Ferdinand I, whom he succeeded in Aragón and Sicily.
..... Click the link for more information.  of Aragón and Louis III and RenéRené
, 1409–80, king of Naples (1435–80; rival claimant to Alfonso V of Aragón and Ferdinand I of Naples), duke of Anjou, Bar, and Lorraine, count of Provence. He was also called René of Anjou and Good King René.
..... Click the link for more information.  of Anjou, and the dynastic struggle was prolonged. Alfonso defeated René and in 1442 was invested with Naples by the pope. His successor in Naples, Ferdinand IFerdinand I
or Ferrante
, 1423–94, king of Naples (1458–94), illegitimate son and successor (in Naples) of Alfonso V of Aragón. His succession was challenged by Pope Calixtus III, but Pope Pius II made peace with him.
..... Click the link for more information.  (Ferrante), suppressed (1485) a conspiracy of the powerful feudal lords. Meanwhile the Angevin claim to Naples had passed to the French crown with the death (1486) of René's nephew, Charles of Maine. Charles VIIICharles VIII,
1470–98, king of France (1483–98), son and successor of Louis XI. He first reigned under the regency of his sister Anne de Beaujeu. After his marriage (1491) to Anne of Brittany, he freed himself from the influence of the regency and prepared to conquer
..... Click the link for more information.  of France pressed the claim and in 1495 briefly seized Naples, thus starting the Italian WarsItalian Wars,
1494–1559, series of regional wars brought on by the efforts of the great European powers to control the small independent states of Italy. Renaissance Italy was split into numerous rival states, most of which sought foreign alliances to increase their
..... Click the link for more information.  between France and Spain. Louis XII, Charles's successor, temporarily joined forces with Spain and dethroned Frederick (1501), the last Aragonese king of Naples, but fell out with his allies, who defeated him.

The Treaties of Blois (1504–5) gave Naples and Sicily to Spain, which for two centuries ruled the two kingdoms through viceroys—one at Palermo, one at Naples. Gonzalo Fernández de CórdobaFernández de Córdoba, Gonzalo
, 1453–1515, Spanish general, called the Great Captain. He fought in the civil wars preceding and following the accession of Isabella I and in the conquest of Granada.
..... Click the link for more information.  was the first viceroy of Naples. Under Spain, S Italy became one of the most backward and exploited areas in Europe. Heavy taxation (from which the nobility and clergy were exempt) filled the Spanish treasury; agriculture suffered from the accumulation of huge estates by quarreling Italian and Spanish nobles and the church; famines were almost chronic; disease, superstition, and ignorance flourished. A popular revolt against these conditions, led by MasanielloMasaniello
, 1620?–1647, Neapolitan revolutionist, whose original name was Tommaso Aniello. A fisherman, he led a revolt of the lower classes, burdened by high taxes, against the Spanish rulers of Naples.
..... Click the link for more information. , was crushed in 1648. In the War of the Spanish Succession the kingdom was occupied (1707) by Austria, which kept it by the terms of the Peace of Utrecht (1713; see Utrecht, Peace ofUtrecht, Peace of,
series of treaties that concluded the War of the Spanish Succession. It put an end to French expansion and signaled the rise of the British Empire. By the treaty between England and France (Apr.
..... Click the link for more information. ). During the War of the Polish SuccessionPolish Succession, War of the,
1733–35. On the death (1733) of Augustus II of Poland, Stanislaus I sought to reascend the Polish throne. He was supported by his son-in-law, Louis XV of France.
..... Click the link for more information. , however, Don Carlos of Bourbon (later Charles IIICharles III,
1716–88, king of Spain (1759–88) and of Naples and Sicily (1735–59), son of Philip V and Elizabeth Farnese. Recognized as duke of Parma and Piacenza in 1731, he relinquished the duchies to Austria after Spain reconquered (1734) Naples and Sicily in
..... Click the link for more information.  of Spain) reconquered Naples and Sicily. The Treaty of Vienna (1738) confirmed the conquest, and the two kingdoms became subsidiary to the Spanish crown, ruled in personal union by a cadet branch of the Spanish line of BourbonBourbon
, European royal family, originally of France; a cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty (see Capetians). One branch of the Bourbons occupies the modern Spanish throne, and other branches ruled the Two Sicilies and Parma.
..... Click the link for more information. . Naples then had its own dynasty, but conditions improved little.

In 1798 Ferdinand IV and his queen, Marie CarolineMarie Caroline,
1752–1814, queen of Naples, consort of Ferdinand IV (later Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies), daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Francis I and Maria Theresa, and sister of Queen Marie Antoinette of France.
..... Click the link for more information. , fled from the French Revolutionary army. The Parthenopean RepublicParthenopean Republic
[from Parthenope, an ancient name of Naples], state set up in Naples in Jan., 1799, by the French Revolutionary army under General Championnet and by liberal Neapolitans after the flight of King Ferdinand IV (later Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies).
..... Click the link for more information.  was set up (1799), but the Bourbons returned the same year with the help of the English under Lord NelsonNelson, Horatio Nelson, Viscount,
1758–1805, British admiral. The most famous of Britain's naval heroes, he is commemorated by the celebrated Nelson Column in Trafalgar Square, London.
..... Click the link for more information. . Reprisals were severe; Sir John ActonActon, Sir John Francis Edward,
1736?–1811, Neapolitan statesman of British origin, b. Besançon, France. Called upon by Queen Marie Caroline and King Ferdinand IV of Naples (later Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies) to reform the Neapolitan army and navy in 1779, Acton
..... Click the link for more information. , the queen's favorite, once more was supreme. In 1806 the French again drove out the royal couple, who fled to Sicily. Joseph Bonaparte (see under BonaparteBonaparte
, Ital. Buonaparte , family name of Napoleon I, emperor of the French. Parentage

Napoleon's father, Carlo Buonaparte, 1746–85, a petty Corsican nobleman, was a lawyer in Ajaccio.
..... Click the link for more information. , made king of Naples by Napoleon I, was replaced in 1808 by Joachim MuratMurat, Joachim
, 1767–1815, marshal of France, king of Naples (1808–15). He left his theological studies to enter the army and fought in Egypt under Napoleon, whom he helped (1799) in the coup of 18 Brumaire.
..... Click the link for more information. . Murat's beneficent reforms were revoked after his fall and execution (1815) by Ferdinand, who was restored to the throne (Marie Caroline had died in 1814). In 1816 Ferdinand merged Sicily and Naples and styled himself Ferdinand IFerdinand I,
1751–1825, king of the Two Sicilies (1816–25). He had previously been king of Naples (1759–99, 1799–1805, 1815–16) as Ferdinand IV and king of Sicily (1759–1816) as Ferdinand III.
..... Click the link for more information. , king of the Two Sicilies.

For the remaining history of Naples, annexed to Sardinia in 1860, see Two Sicilies, kingdom of theTwo Sicilies, kingdom of the.
The name Two Sicilies was used in the Middle Ages to mean the kingdoms of Sicily and of Naples (see Sicily and Naples, kingdom of). Alfonso V of Aragón, who in 1442 reunited the two kingdoms under his rule, styled himself king of the Two
..... Click the link for more information. .

Bibliography

See H. Acton, The Bourbons of Naples (1734–1825) (1956) and The Last Bourbons of Naples 1825–61 (1961); B.Croce, History of the Kingdom of Naples (1925, tr. 1970).

Naples, Kingdom of