Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies
King of the Two Sicilies, deposed twice and restored.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies was born on 12 January 1751 in Naples and died on 4 January 1825. He ruled as King of the Two Sicilies from 1816 onward, but before that he had been King of Naples (as Ferdinand IV) and King of Sicily (as Ferdinand III) since 1759. Twice he lost the Neapolitan throne: first for six months in 1799 to the Parthenopean Republic, and again in 1806 to a French invasion. He was restored in 1815, after the Napoleonic Wars ended. He founded the cadet branch of the Bourbon family known as the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.
Ferdinand was the third son of King Charles VII of Naples and Queen Maria Amalia. When his father became King Charles III of Spain in August 1759, treaty rules prevented him from holding all three crowns. On 6 October 1759, he gave up the Neapolitan and Sicilian thrones to Ferdinand, his third son. The eldest son, Philip, was excluded because of intellectual disability, and the second son, Charles, was the heir to Spain. A regency council led by the Tuscan Bernardo Tanucci was set up. Tanucci, ambitious and keen to keep power, deliberately neglected Ferdinand’s education and encouraged his love of pleasure, idleness, and outdoor sports.
Ferdinand’s minority ended in 1767, and his first official act was to expel the Jesuits. The next year he married Archduchess Maria Carolina, daughter of Empress Maria Theresa. Their marriage contract gave the queen a seat on the council of state after she bore her first son, and she quickly used this influence. Tanucci, who tried to block her, was dismissed in 1777. The Englishman Sir John Acton, appointed director of marine in 1779, won Maria Carolina’s support by backing her plan to break free from Spanish influence and draw closer to Austria and Britain. He became the effective prime minister. Though not a mere opportunist, he was largely responsible for turning the internal administration into a system of espionage, corruption, and cruelty.
Peace with France came in 1796, but when French troops occupied Rome, Ferdinand grew alarmed. At his wife’s urging, he exploited Napoleon’s absence in Egypt and Horatio Nelson’s victories to go to war. He marched on Rome and entered it on 29 November. After some of his columns were defeated, he rushed back to Naples. On 23 December 1798, with the French approaching, he fled aboard Nelson’s ship HMS Vanguard to Palermo, leaving the capital i
- born
- 12 January 1751
- died
- 4 January 1825
- field
- Monarchy
- nationality
- Neapolitan/Sicilian
- known_for
- King of the Two Sicilies; deposed twice; restored after Napoleonic Wars
Lore & Background
Ferdinand was born in Naples as the third son of King Charles VII and Queen Maria Amalia. In August 1759, Charles succeeded his half-brother Ferdinand VI of Spain as King Charles III, but treaty provisions made him ineligible to hold all three crowns. On 6 October, he abdicated his Neapolitan and Sicilian titles in favour of his third son, Ferdinand, because his eldest son Philip had been excluded from succession due to intellectual disability and his second son Charles was heir-apparent to the Spanish throne. A regency council presided over by the Tuscan Bernardo Tanucci was set up. Tanucci purposely neglected the young king's education, and encouraged him in his love of pleasure, his idleness and his excessive devotion to outdoor sports. 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.
Reader's Guide
Ferdinand I's significance lies in his role as a monarch who navigated the turbulent period of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, experiencing two depositions and restorations. His reign saw the establishment and collapse of the Parthenopean Republic, the French occupation under Joseph Bonaparte and later Joachim Murat, and his eventual restoration in 1815. He then unified Naples and Sicily into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1816, abolishing the Sicilian constitution. His later years were marked by subservience to Austria, suppression of liberal movements, and the 1820 revolution that forced him to sign a constitution, which he later repudiated. His legacy includes the founding of the cadet House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and a reign characterized by shifting alliances, foreign intervention, and absolutist rule.
Did You Know?
- Ferdinand was the last surviving child of King Charles III of Spain.
- He was deposed twice from the throne of Naples: once by the Parthenopean Republic in 1799 and again by a French invasion in 1806.
- His 6-year-old younger son Prince Alberto died of exhaustion during the voyage to Palermo in 1798, in the arms of Emma, Lady Hamilton.
- He founded the cadet House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.
More in European Monarchs & Consorts 1-24
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