Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies

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Ferdinand II
King of the Two Sicilies
Reign 8 November 1830-22 May 1859
Born 12 January 1810
Died 22 May 1859
Predecessor Francis I
Successor Francis II
Consort Maria Christina of Savoy
Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria
Issue Prince Francis
Prince Lodovico
Prince Albert Maria
Prince Alfonso
Princess Maria Annuziata
Princess Immaculata
Prince Gaetan
Prince Giuseppe Maria
Princess Maria Pia delle Grazie
Prince Vincenzo
Prince Pasquale Baylen
Princess Maria Immacolata
Prince Gennaro Maria
Royal House Bourbon
Father Francis I of the Two Sicilies
Mother Maria Isabella of Spain


Ferdinand II (Ferdinando Carlo, January 12, 1810 – May 22, 1859) was the King of the Two Sicilies (Southern Italy) from 1830 until his death.

Contents

[edit] Family

Ferdinand was born in Palermo, the son of King Francis I of the Two Sicilies and his wife and first cousin Maria Isabella of Spain.

His paternal grandparents were King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and Queen Marie Caroline of Austria. His maternal grandparents were Charles IV of Spain and Maria Luisa of Parma.

Ferdinand I and Charles IV were brothers, both sons of Charles III of Spain and Maria Amalia of Saxony.

[edit] Early reign

In his early years he was fairly popular. Progressives credited with Liberal ideas and in addition, his free and easy manners endeared him to the so-called lazzaroni, the lower classes of Neapolitan society.

On succeeding to the throne in 1830, he published an edict in which he promised to give his most anxious attention to the impartial administration of justice, to reform the finances, and to use every effort to heal the wounds which had afflicted the Kingdom for so many years. His goal, he said, was to govern his Kingdom in a way that would bring the greatest happiness to the greatest number of his subjects while respecting the rights of his fellow monarchs and those of the Roman Catholic Church.

The early years of his reign were comparatively peaceful: he cut taxes and expenditures, had the first railway in Italy built (between Naples and the royal palace at Portici), his fleet had the first steamship in the Italian Peninsula, and he had telegraphic connections established between Naples and Palermo (Sicily).

However, in 1837 he suppressed violentl Sicilian demonstrators demanding a constitution and maintained strict police sureveillance in his domains. Progressive intellectuals, who were motivated by visions of a new society founded upon a modern constitution, continued to demand for the King to grant a constitution and to liberalize his rule.

[edit] Revolutions of 1848

In September 1847, violent riots inspired by Liberals broke out in Reggio Calabria and in Messina and were put down by the military. On January 12, 1848 a rising in Palermo, Sicily, spread throughout the island and served as a spark for the Revolutions of 1848 all over Europe.

After similar revolutionary outbursts in Salerno, south of Naples, and in the Cilento region which were backed by the majority of the intelligentsia of the Kingdom, on January 29, 1848 King Ferdinand was forced to grant a constitution patterned on the Charter of 1830.

A dispute, however, arose as to the nature of the oath which should be taken by the members of the chamber of deputies. As an agreement could not be reached and the King refused to compromise, riots continued in the streets. Eventually, the King ordered the army to break them and dissolved the national parliament on March 13, 1849. Although the constitution was never formally abrogated, the King returned to reigning as an absolute monarch.

During this period, Ferdinand showed his attachment to Pope Pius IX by granting him assylum at Gaeta. The Holy Father had been temporarily forced to flee from Rome following similar revolutionary disturbances. (see Roman Republic (19th century), Giuseppe Mazzini.

Meantime Sicily proclaimed its independence under the leadership of Ruggeru Sèttimu, who on April 13, 1848 declared the King deposed. In response, the King assembled an army of 20,000 under the command of General Carlo Filangieri and dispatched it to Sicily to subdue the Liberals and restore his authority. A naval flotilla sent to Sicilian waters shelled the city of Messina with "savage barbarity" for eight hours after its defenders had already surrendered, killing many civilians and earning the King the nickname "Re` Bomba" ("King Bomb").

After a campaign lasting close to nine months, Sicily's Liberal regime was completely subdued on May 15, 1849.

[edit] Later reign

Between 1848 and 1851, the policies of King Ferdinand caused many to go into exile. Meanwhile, an estimated 15,000 to 40,000 suspected revolutionaries or dissidents were jailed, most in appalling conditions.

In 1851, spurred by his friend Anthony Panizzi, future Prime Minister of the United Kingdom William Ewart Gladstone visited the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies to investigate the treatment of political prisoners. Unable to convince the Neapolitan authorities to take action, he reported the matter to the Prime Minister, George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen. Gladstone suggested that the British Government place diplomatic pressure upon the Kingdom. He indignantly dubbed the King's policies "the negation of God".

The British Government, which had been the ally and protector of the Bourbon dynasty during the Napoleonic Wars, had additional reasons to put pressure on Ferdinand II. The British Government posessed extensive business interests in Sicily and relied on Sicilian sulfur for certain industries. The King had endevoured to limit British influence, which had been beginning to cause tension. As Ferdinand ignored the advice of the British and the French governments, those powers recalled their ambassadors in 1856.

A soldier attempted to assassinate Ferdinand in 1856 and many believe that the infection he received from the soldier's bayonet led to his ultimate demise. He died on May 22, 1859, shortly after the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Sardinia had declared war against the Austrian Empire. This would later lead to the invasion of his Kingdom by Giuseppe Garibaldi and Italian unification in 1861.

[edit] Marriages and children

King Ferdinand was married the first time on November 21, 1832 to Maria Christina of Savoy, daughter of King Victor Emmanuel I of Savoy. She died on January 21, 1836. Their only child, Francesco, succeeded his father as king.

He was married the second time on January 9, 1837to Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria, daughter of Archduke Charles of Austria, Duke of Teschen, son the Leopold II, and his protestant wife Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg. They were the parents of twelve children together:

Preceded by
Francis I		 King of the Two Sicilies
1830–1859		 Succeeded by
Francis II

[edit] See also

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