Part 2 — Chapter III. (These four articles abrogated by the four articles following them, 118-122.) Article 118. The Federal Constitution may at any time be amended. (continued 89)

B. Chapman, History of Gustavus Adolphus, chapter 8.

"The emperor … sequestered the disputed territory, and a Spanish army invaded Montferrat [embraced in the dominions of the Duke of Mantua] and besieged Casale, the capital. Such was the paramount importance attached by Richelieu to his principle of opposition to the house of Austria, that he induced Louis to cross the Alps in person with 36,000 men, in order to establish the Duke of Nevers in his new possessions. The king and the cardinal forced the pass of Susa in March, 1629, in spite of the Duke of Savoy, who was another competitor for Montferrat, and so decisive was the superiority of the French arms that the duke immediately afterward signed a treaty of peace and alliance with Louis, by which he undertook to procure the abandonment of the siege of Casale and the retreat of the Spaniards into their own territory. This engagement was fulfilled, and the Duke of Nevers took possession of his dominions without farther contest. But the triumph was too rapid and easy to be durable."

N. W. Jervis, Students' History of France, chapter 19.

"The Spaniards remained, however, in Milaness, ready to burst again upon the Duke of Mantua. The king was in a hurry to return to France, in order to finish the subjugation of the Reformers in the south, commanded by the Duke of Rohan. The cardinal placed little or no reliance upon the Duke of Savoy. … A league … was formed between France, the republic of Venice, the Duke of Mantua, and the Duke of Savoy, for the defence of Italy in case of fresh aggression on the part of the Spaniards; and the king, who had just concluded peace with England, took the road back to France. Scarcely had the cardinal joined him before Privas when an Imperialist army advanced into the Grisons and, supported by the celebrated Spanish general Spinola, laid siege to Mantua. Richelieu did not hesitate: he entered Piedmont in the month of March, 1630, to march before long on Pignerol, an important place commanding the passage of the Alps; it, as well as the citadel, was carried in a few days. … The Duke of Savoy was furious, and had the soldiers who surrendered Pignerol cut in pieces. The king [Louis XIII.] had put himself in motion to join his army. … The inhabitants of Chambéry opened their gates to him; Annecy and Montmélian succumbed after a few days' siege; Maurienne in its entirety made its submission, and the king fixed his quarters there, whilst the cardinal pushed forward to Casale [the siege of which had been resumed by Spinola] with the main body of the army. Rejoicings were still going on for a success gained before Veillane over the troops of the Duke of Savoy, when news arrived of the capture of Mantua by the Imperialists. This was the finishing blow to the ambitious and restless spirit of the Duke of Savoy. He saw Mantua in the hands of the Spaniards, 'who never give back aught of what falls into their power' … ; it was all hope lost of an exchange which might have given him back Savoy; he took to his bed and died on the 26th of July, 1630, telling his son that peace must be made on any terms whatever." A truce was arranged, followed by negotiations at Ratisbon, and Casale was evacuated by both parties—the Spaniards having had possession of the city, while the citadel was held by the French. "It was only in the month of September, 1631, that the states of Savoy and Mantua were finally evacuated by the hostile troops. Pignerol had been given up to the new Duke of Savoy, but a secret agreement had been entered into between that prince and France: French soldiers remained concealed in Pignerol; and they retook possession of the place in the name of the king, who had purchased the town and its territory, to secure himself a passage into Italy. … The affairs of the emperor in Germany were in too bad a state for him to rekindle war, and France kept Pignerol."

F. P. Guizot, Popular History of France, chapter 41.

"The peace left all parties very nearly in the condition in which they were when the war began; the chief loser was the emperor, who was now compelled to acknowledge De Nevers as Duke of Mantua and Montserrat; and the chief gainer was the Duke of Savoy, whose territories were enlarged by the addition of Alba, Trino, and some portions of the territory of Montserrat which lay nearest to his Piedmontese dominions. France; too, made some permanent acquisitions to compensate her for the cost of the war. She eluded the stipulation which bound her to evacuate Casal, and Victor Amedée subsequently suffered her to retain both that fortress and Pignerol, such permission, as was generally believed, … having furnished the secret reason which influenced Richelieu to consent to the duke's obtaining the portion of Montserrat already mentioned, the cardinal thus making the Duke of Mantua furnish the equivalent for the acquisitions made by Louis."

C. D. Yonge, History of France under the Bourbons, chapter 7 (volume 1).

ITALY: A. D. 1631. Annexation of Urbino to the States of the Church.

See PAPACY: A. D. 1605-1700.

ITALY: A. D. 1635. Italian alliances of Richelieu against the Spaniards in Milan.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1634-1639.

ITALY: A. D. 1635-1659. Invasion of Milanese by French and Italian armies. Civil war and foreign war in Savoy and Piedmont. The extraordinary siege of Turin. Treaty of the Pyrenees. Restoration of territory to Savoy.

"Richelieu … having obtained the alliance of the Dukes of Savoy, Parma, and Mantua, and having secured the neutrality of the Republics of Venice and Genoa, now bent all his efforts to expel the Spaniards from Milan, which was at that time but weakly defended. … In 1635, a French army of 15,000 men was accordingly assembled in Dauphiny, and placed under the command of Mareschal Crequi. Having crossed the Alps, it formed a junction with 8,000 troops under the Duke of Parma, and 12,000 under the Duke of Savoy, to whom the supreme command of this formidable army of 35,000 men was entrusted. {1846} Such a force, if properly employed, ought to have proved sufficient to overwhelm the Dutchy of Milan, in its present unprotected condition. … But the confederates were long detained by idle disputes among themselves, their licentiousness and love of plunder." When they did advance into Milanese, their campaign was ineffective, and they finally "separated with mutual disgust," but "kept the field, ravaging the open and fertile plains of Milan. They likewise took possession of several towns, particularly Bremi, on the Po. … On hearing of the distress of Milan, the King of Spain took immediate steps for the relief of that bulwark of his Italian power. In 1636 he appointed to its government Diego Guzman, Marques of Leganez, who was a near relative of Olivarez. … He had not long entered on the government intrusted to him when he succeeded in expelling the enemy from every spot in Milan, with exception of Bremi, which they still retained. Milan having been thus delivered, Leganez transferred the theatre of war to the States of the Duke of Parma, and completely desolated those fertile regions," compelling the Duke to renounce his French alliance (1637). "The Duke of Savoy, Victor Amadeus, did not long survive these events; and it was strongly suspected, both in Spain and Italy, though probably on no just grounds, that he had been poisoned. … The demise of the Duke of Mantua occurred nearly about the same period; and on the decease of these two princes, the Court of Spain used every exertion to detach their successors from the French confederacy. Its efforts succeeded, at least to a certain extent, with the Dutchess-dowager of Mantua. … But the Dutchess of Savoy, … being the sister of Louis XIII., could not easily be drawn off from the French interests. Olivarez [the Spanish minister], despairing to gain this princess, excited by his intrigues the brothers of the late Duke [Cardinal Maurice and Prince Thomas] to dispute with her the title to the regency." Leganez, now (1638) laid siege to Bremi, and Marshal Crequi, in attempting to relieve the place, was killed by a cannon shot. "By the loss of Bremi, the French were deprived of the last receptacle for their supplies or forces in the Dutchy of Milan; and in consequence of the death of Crequi, they had now no longer any chief of their own nation in Italy. The few French nobility who were still in the army returned to their own country, and the soldiery dispersed into Montferrat and Piedmont. Leganez, availing himself of this favourable posture of affairs, marched straightway into Piedmont, at the head of an army of 20,000 men. … He first laid siege to Vercelli, which, from its vicinity to Milan, had always afforded easy access for the invasion of that dutchy, by the French and Savoyards." A new French army, of 13,000 men, under Cardinal La Valette, was sent to the relief of the place, but did not save it from surrender. "After the capture of Vercelli, the light troops of Leganez ravaged the principality of Piedmont as far as the gates of Turin."

J. Dunlop, Memoirs of Spain, from 1621 to 1700, volume 1, chapter 4.

Fabert and Turenne were now sent from France to the assistance of La Valette, "and soon changed the aspect of affairs. Turenne aided powerfully in driving back Leganez and Prince Thomas from Turin, in seizing Chivasso and in organizing a decisive success." In November, 1639, the French, through want of provisions, were forced to retreat to Carignano, repelling an attack made upon them in the course of the retreat. The command was now handed over to Turenne, "with instructions to revictual the citadel of Turin, which was defended by French troops against Prince Thomas, who had gained most of the town. Turenne succeeded … in conveying food and munitions into the citadel. In the following spring d'Harcourt [resuming command] undertook to relieve Casale, which belonged to the Duke of Mantua. … The place was besieged by Leganez." The attempt succeeded, the besieging army was beaten, and the siege raised. "After the relief of Casale d'Harcourt resolved, on the advice of Turenne, to besiege Turin. The investment was made on the 10th May, 1640. This siege offered a curious spectacle; the citadel which the French held was besieged by Prince Thomas, who held the town. He himself was besieged by the French army, which in its turn was besieged in its lines of circumvallation by the Spanish army of Leganez. The place capitulated on the 17th September. … Prince Thomas surrendered; Leganez recrossed the Po; Marie Christine [the Dowager-Duchess] re-entered Turin; and d'Harcourt, being recalled to France by the cardinal, left the command of the army to Turenne."

H. M. Hozier, Turenne, chapter 2.

"The fall of Turin did not put an end to the civil war, but its main exploits were limited to the taking of Cuneo by Harcourt (September 15th, 1641), … and of Revel, which was reduced by the Piedmontese troops who fought on the French side. … In the meantime the Regent, no less than her opponents, began to grow weary of the burdensome protection of their respective allies. … Under such circumstances, a reconciliation between the hostile parties became practicable, and was indeed effected on the 24th of July, 1642. The Princes were admitted to a share of the Regent's power, and from that time they joined the French standard, and took from the Spaniards most of the places they had themselves placed in their hands. … In the meanwhile the great agitator of Europe, Richelieu, had died (1642), and had been followed by the King, Louis XIII., five months later. … The struggle between the two great rival powers, France and Spain, scarcely interrupted by the celebrated peace of Westphalia, which put an end to the Thirty Years' War in the North, in 1648, continued throughout the greatest part of this period; but the rapid decline of Spain, the factions of Alessio in Sicily and of Massaniello in Naples, as much paralysed the efforts of the Court of Madrid as the disorders of the Fronde weakened that of Paris. The warlike operations in North Italy were languid and dull. The taking of Valenza by the French (September 3rd, 1656) is the greatest event on record, and even that [was] void of results. By the treaty of the Pyrenees (November 17th, 1059) Savoy was restored to her possessions, and Vercelli was evacuated by the Spaniards. The citadel of Turin had been given up by the French two years before, owing to the influence of Mazarin, who married on that occasion his niece Olimpia Mancini to Eugene Maurice, son of Thomas, Prince of Carignano, and first cousin to Charles Emanuel II. From that union, it is well known, was born in Paris, in 1663, Prince Eugene of Savoy. {1847} The French nation were highly displeased at the loss of the Turin citadel, and never forgave the Cardinal this mere act of just and tardy restitution. Pinerola and Perosa, however, still remained in their hands, and placed the Court of Turin entirely at their discretion. During all this lapse of years, and until the latter end of the century, the history of Piedmont presents but a melancholy blank."

A. Gallenga, History of Piedmont, volume 3, chapter 2.

ITALY: A. D. 1646-1654. French hostility to the Pope. Siege of Orbitello. Masaniello's revolt at Naples. French intrigue and failures.

"The war [of France and Spain] in Italy had for some years languished, but hostility to the Pope [on the election of Innocent X., which Cardinal Mazarin, then supreme in France, had opposed] stirred it again into life. New vessels were fitted out for the navy, and large preparations were made for the invasion of Italy. … On April 26, 1646, the expedition set sail, and on the 9th of May it cast anchor off the important city of Orbitello. The fleet consisted of 156 sail, and was expected to land 10,000 men, and Mazarin wrote that all Italy was in terror. The ships were commanded by the Duke of Brézé, and no more skilful or gallant leader could have been found. … The command of the land forces was, however, entrusted to a leader whose deficiencies more than counterbalanced Brézé's skill. Mazarin desired an Italian prince to lead his expedition, and Prince Thomas of Savoy had been chosen for the command. … Fearing that disease would come with the hot weather, Mazarin urged Prince Thomas to press forward with the siege. But the most simple advances seemed beyond his skill. … A severe misfortune to the navy made the situation worse. In a sharp and successful engagement with the Spanish fleet, a cannon ball struck and killed the Duke of Brézé. His death was more disastrous than would have been the loss of 20 sail. The French fleet retired to Provence and left the sea open to the Spanish. Sickness was fast reducing the army on land, and on July 18th Prince Thomas raised the siege, which was no further advanced than when it was begun, and led back the remains of his command to Piedmont. … So mortifying an end to this expensive venture only strengthened Mazarin's resolution to make his power felt in Italy. The battered ships and fever-wasted soldiers were scarcely back in Provence, when the minister began to prepare a second expedition for the same end. … By September a fleet of 200 sail, with an army of 8,000 men commanded by the Marshals of La Meilleraie and Du Plessis, was under way. The expedition was conducted with skill and success. Orbitello was not again attacked, but Porto Longone, on the island of Elba, and Piombino, on the mainland, both places of much strategic importance, were captured after brief sieges. With this result came at once the change in the feelings of Innocent X. for which Mazarin had hoped," and certain objects of the latter's desire—including a cardinal's hat for his brother Michael—were brought within his reach. His attention was now turned to the more southerly portion of the peninsula. "During the expedition to Orbitello in 1646, Mazarin had closely watched Naples, whose coming revolution he foresaw. The ill-suppressed discontents of the city now showed themselves in disturbances, sudden and erratic as the eruptions of Vesuvius, and they offered to France an opportunity for seizing the richest of the remaining possessions of Spain. After the vicissitudes of centuries, Naples and Sicily were now subject to the Spanish crown. They were governed by a viceroy, and were subjected to the drain of men and money which was the result of Spain's necessities and the characteristic of her rule. Burdened with taxation, they complained that their viceroy, the Duke of Arcos, was sending to Spain money raised solely for their own defence. The imposition of a duty on fruits, in a country where fruit formed a cheap article of diet for the poor, and where almost all were poor, kindled the long smouldering discontent. Under the leadership of a fisherman [Tommaso Aniello], nicknamed Masaniello, the people of Naples in 1647 rose in revolt. Springing from utter obscurity, this young man of twenty-seven, poor and illiterate, became powerful almost in a day. While the Duke of Arcos hid himself away from the revolt, Masaniello was made Captain-General of Naples. So sudden a change turned his head. At first he had been bold, popular, and judicious. He sought only, he said, to deliver the people from their taxes, and when that was done, he would return again to selling soles and red mullets. But political delirium seized him when he reached an elevation which, for him, was as dizzy as the throne of the Roman emperors, and like some who reached that terrible eminence, his brain was crazed by the bewilderment and ecstasy of power. He made wild and incoherent speeches. He tore his garments, crying out against popular ingratitude, attacking groups of passers-by, riding his horse wildly through the multitude, and striking with his lance to the right and left. The populace wearied of its darling. Exalted to power on July 7th, he was murdered on the 16th, with the approval of those who had worshipped him a week before. But the revolution did not perish with him. Successive chiefs were chosen and deposed by a fickle people. When the insurrection was active, the representatives of Spain promised untaxed fruits and the privileges allowed by Charles V., and they revoked their promises when it appeared to subside. In the meantime, Mazarin watched the movement, uncertain as to the course he should pursue. … While the minister hesitated, the chance was seized by one who was never accused of too great caution." This was the Duke of Guise—the fifth Henry of that Dukedom—a wild, madcap young nobleman, who accepted an invitation from the Neapolitan insurgents to become their chief. Guise landed at Naples on the 15th of November, 1647, with half a dozen attendants, and a month later he was followed by a French fleet. But the latter did nothing, and Guise was helplessly without means. "The truth was that Mazarin, even if desirous of crippling the Spaniards, was very averse to assisting Guise. He believed that the duke either desired to form a republic, of which he should be chief, or a monarchy, of which he should be king, and neither plan was agreeable to the cardinal." At the end of a fortnight the fleet sailed away. Guise held his ground as the leader of the revolt until the following April, when certain of the Neapolitan patriots, corrupted by the enemy, betrayed the city into the hands of the Spaniards. {1848} "Guise endeavored, with a handful of followers, to escape towards Capua, but they were captured by a detachment of Spaniards. … By the petition of powerful friends, and by the avowal of France, Guise was saved from the public execution which some of his enemies demanded, but he was presently taken to Spain, and there was kept a prisoner during four years." Meantime, Mazarin had prepared another expedition, which appeared before Naples in the summer of 1648, but only to discover that the opportunity for deriving any advantage from the popular discontent in that city was past. "Receiving no popular aid, the expedition, after some ineffective endeavors, was abandoned." Six years afterwards, in 1654, Mazarin sent a third expedition to Naples, and entrusted it to the command of the Duke of Guise, who had lately been released from his captivity in Spain. "Guise hoped that the Neapolitans would rise in revolt when it was known that their former leader was so near, but not a person in the city showed any desire to start a movement in behalf of the Duke of Guise. The Spanish met him with superior forces." After some slight encounters the expedition sailed back to France.

J. B. Perkins, France under Mazarin, chapter 8 (volume 1), and chapter 16 (volume 2).

ALSO IN: A. De Reumont, The Carafas of Maddaloni: Naples under Spanish Dominion, book 3.

F. Midon, Rise and Fall of Masaniello.

Mrs. H. R. St. John, Masaniello of Naples.

H. G. Smith, Romance of History, chapter 1.

ITALY: A. D. 1648. The Peace of Westphalia.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1648.

ITALY: A. D. 1701-1713. Savoy and Piedmont. The War of the Spanish Succession. The Peace of Utrecht.

"Compelled to take part, with one of the contending parties [in the War of the Spanish Succession—see SPAIN: A. D. 1698-1700, and 1701-1702], Victor [Duke of Savoy] would have been prompted by his interest to an alliance with Austria; but he was beset on all sides by the combined forces of France and Spain, and was all the more at their mercy as Louis XIV. had (April 5th, 1701) obtained from Ferdinand Gonzaga of Mantua permission to garrison his capital, in those days already one of the strongest places in Italy. The Duke of Savoy had already, in 1697, married his daughter, Adelaide, to one of Louis's grandsons, the Duke of Burgundy; he now gave his younger daughter, Mary Louise, to Burgundy's brother, the new King of Spain (September 11th, 1701), and took the field as French commander-in-chief. He was opposed by his own cousin, Prince Eugene, at the head of the Imperial armies. The war in Lombardy was carried on with some remissness, partly owing to the natural repugnance or irresolution of the Duke of Savoy, partly to the suspicion with which, on that very account, he was looked upon by Catinat and Vaudemont, the French and Spanish commanders under him. The King, in an evil hour, removed his able marshal, Catinat, and substituted for him Villeroi, a carpet knight and court warrior, who committed one fault after another, allowed himself to be beaten by Eugene at Chiari (September 1st), and to be surprised and taken prisoner at Cremona (1702, January 21st), to the infinite relief of his troops. Vendôme restored the fortunes of the French, and a very brilliant but undecisive action was fought at Luzzara (August 15th), after which Prince Eugene was driven from the neighbourhood of Mantua, and fell back towards the mountains of Tyrol. With the success of the French their arrogance increased, and with their arrogance the disgust and ill-will of Victor Amadeus." The Duke withdrew from the camp and began to listen to overtures from the Powers in the Grand Alliance. "Report of the secret intercourse of the Duke with Austrian agents reached Louis XIV., who sent immediate orders to Vendôme to secure and disarm the Piedmontese soldiers (3,800 to 6,000 in number) who were fighting under French standards at Mantua. This was achieved by treachery, at San Benedetto, on the 29th of September, 1703. An attempt to seize the Duke himself, whilst hunting near Turin, miscarried. Savoy retaliated by the arrest of the French and Spanish ambassadors, and war was declared (October 5th). The moment was ill·chosen. Victor had barely 4,000 men under his orders. The whole of Savoy was instantly overrun; and in Piedmont Vercelli, Ivrea, Verrua, as well as Susa, Bard, and Pinerolo, and even Chivasso, fell into the enemy's hands during the campaigns of 1704 and 1705. In the ensuing year the tide of invasion reached Nice and Villafranca; nothing was left to Victor Amadeus but Cuneo and Turin, and the victorious French armies appeared at last under the very walls of the capital (March, 1706). The war had, however, been waged with different results beyond the Alps, where the allies had crushed the French at Blenheim (1704) and at Ramillies (1705). One of the heroes of those great achievements, Prince Eugene, now hastened to the rescue of his cousin. He met with a severe check at Cassano (August 16th, 1705), and again at Calcinato (April 19th, 1706); but his skilful antagonist, Vendôme, was called away to Flanders, and Prince Eugene so out-manœuvred his successors as to be able to join Victor at Turin. The French had begun the siege of this place on the 13th of May, 1706. They had between 50,000 and 60,000 men, and 170 pieces of artillery with them." When Prince Eugene, early in September, reached the neighborhood of Turin, he concerted with Victor Amadeus an attack on the investing army which destroyed it completely. "Its relics withdrew in awful disorder towards Pinerolo, pursued not only by the victorious troops but also by the peasantry, who, besides attachment to their princes, obeyed in this instance an instinct of revenge against the French, who had barbarously used them. Out of 50,000 or 60,000 men who had sat down before Turin in March, hardly 20,000 recrossed the Alps in September. Three of the French generals lay dead on the field; … 6,000 prisoners were marched through the streets of the liberated town, and 55 French banners graced the main altar of the cathedral. In the following year, Victor and Eugene, greatly against their inclination, were induced by the allies to undertake an expedition against Toulon, which, like all previous invasions of Provence, led to utter discomfiture, and the loss of 10,000 combatants (1707, July 1st to September 1st). An attack upon Briançon, equally undertaken against the sound judgment of the Duke of Savoy, in 1708, led to no better results; but Savoy won back Exilles, Perosa, Fenestrelles, and, one by one, all the redoubts with which during those wars the Alps were bristling. {1849} The war slackened in Italy, and the fates of Europe were decided in the Netherlands. … By the Peace of Utrecht [A. D. 1713] France renounced to Savoy all the invaded territories, and, besides, the valleys of Oulx, Cesanne, Bardonneche, and Castel Delfino, ancient possessions of Dauphiny, east of the Alps, from the 12th century, whilst, for her own part, Savoy gave up the western valley of Barcellonette; thus the limits between the two nations (with the exception of Savoy and Nice) were at last fixed on the mountain-crest, at 'the parting of the waters.' By virtue of an agreement signed with Austria, November 8th, 1703, the whole of Montferrat, as well as Alessandria, Valenza, Lomellina, and Val Sesia, dependencies of the duchy of Milan, and the imperial fiefs in the Langhe (province of Alba), were ceded to Savoy."

A. Gallenga, History of Piedmont, volume 3, chapter 2.

ALSO IN: Colonel G. B. Malleson, Prince Eugene of Savoy, chapters 5, and 7-9.

H. Martin, History of France: Age of Louis XIV., volume 2, chapters 5-6.

W. Coxe, History of the House of Austria, chapters 68, 69, 73-75, 77 (volume 2-3).

See, also, UTRECHT: A. D. 1712-1714.

ITALY: A. D. 1713-1714. Milan, Naples and Sardinia ceded to the House of Austria and Sicily to the Duke of Savoy.

See UTRECHT: A. D. 1712-1714.

ITALY: A. D. 1715-1735. Ambitions of Elizabeth Farnese, the Spanish queen. The Austro-Spanish conflict. The Quadruple Alliance. Acquisition of Naples by the Spanish Bourbons.

By the provisions of the Treaty of Utrecht, Philip V. of Spain was left with no dominions in Italy, the Italian possessions of the Spanish monarchy having been transferred to Austria. Philip might have accepted this arrangement without demur. Not so his wife—"Elizabeth Farnese, a lady of the Italian family for whom the Duchy of Parma had been created by the Pope. The crown of Spain was settled on her step-son. For her own child the ambitious queen desired the honours of a crown. Cardinal Alberoni, a reckless and ambitious ecclesiastic, was the minister of the Spanish court. Under his advice and instigated by the queen, Philip claimed the possessions in Italy, which in the days of his grandfather had belonged to the Spanish crown. When his title to that crown was admitted, he denied the right of the other powers of Europe to alienate from it its possessions. This was not all: in right of his queen he claimed the duchies of Parma and of Tuscany. She determined to recover for him all the Italian possessions of the Spanish crown, and to add to them the duchies of Parma and Tuscany. The Duke of Parma was old and childless. The extinction of the reigning line of the Medici was near. Cosmo di Medici, the reigning sovereign, was old. His only son, Jean Gaston, was not likely to leave heirs. To Parma Elizabeth advanced her claims as heiress of the family of Farnese; to Tuscany she asserted a more questionable title in right of a descent from the family of Medici. These duchies she demanded for her son, Don Carlos, in whose behalf she was ready to waive her own claims. The success of these demands would have given to the Spanish monarchy even greater power than it had before enjoyed. To Naples, Sicily, and Milan, would have been added the territories of Parma and Tuscany. All Europe denounced the ambitious projects of Alberoni as entirely inconsistent with that balance of power which it had then become a political superstition to uphold. Philip's French relatives were determined in opposition to his claims; and to resist them the quadruple alliance was formed between Holland, England, France and the emperor. The parties to this alliance offered to the Spanish Bourbons that the emperor should settle on Don Carlos the reversion to the duchies of Parma and Tuscany on their lapsing to him by the failure of the reigning families without heirs. These proposals were rejected, and it was not until the Spanish court found the combination of four powerful monarchs too strong for them, that they reluctantly acceded to the terms of the Quadruple Alliance, and accepted for Don Carlos the promised reversion of Parma and Tuscany. To induce the emperor to accede to this arrangement the Duke of Savoy was compelled to surrender to him his newly-acquired kingdom of Sicily, receiving instead the island of Sardinia with its kingly title. It is as kings of Sardinia that the princes of Savoy have since been known in European history. The treaty of the quadruple alliance was thus the second by which at this period the European powers attempted to arrange the affairs of Italy. This treaty left the house of Austria in possession of Sicily and Naples. It was assented to by Spain in 1720. European complications unconnected with Italy produced new wars and a new treaty; and the treaty of Seville in 1724, followed by one entered into at Vienna two years later, confirmed Don Carlos in the duchy of Parma, of which, on the death of the last of the Farnese in 1734, he entered into possession. A dispute as to the election of a king of Poland gave the Spanish court an opportunity of once more attempting the resumption of the Neapolitan dominions. Don Carlos, the second son of Philip and Elizabeth, was now just grown to man's estate. His father placed in his hand the sword which he himself had received from Louis XIV. Don Carlos was but seventeen years old when he took possession of his sovereignty of Parma. In the same year [1734] he was called from it to invade the Sicilian dominions of Austria. He conquered in succession the continental territories, and the island of Sicily; and on the 15th of June, 1734, he was proclaimed as King of the Two Sicilies. The war of the Polish Succession was ended in the following year by a peace, the preliminaries of which were signed at Vienna. In this treaty an entirely new arrangement of Italian affairs was introduced. The rights of Don Carlos to the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily were recognised. Parma was surrendered to the emperor; and, lastly, the duchy of Tuscany was disposed of to a new claimant [Francis of Lorraine] for the honours of an Italian prince."

I. Butt, History of Italy, volume 1, chapter 5.

ALSO IN: E. Armstrong, Elisabeth Farnese, chapters 2-10.

P. Colletta, History of the Kingdom of Naples, 1734-1856, book 1, chapter 1-2.

See, also, SPAIN: A. D. 1713-1725; and FRANCE: A. D. 1733-1735.

ITALY: A. D. 1719. The Emperor and the Duke of Savoy exchange Sardinia for Sicily.

See SPAIN: A. D. 1713-1725.

ITALY: A. D. 1733-1735. Franco-Austrian War. Invasion of the Milanese by the French. Naples and Sicily occupied by the Spaniards and erected into a kingdom for Don Carlos.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1733-1735.

{1850}

ITALY: A. D. 1741-1743. The War of the Austrian Succession: Ambitious undertakings of Spain.

"The struggle between England and Spain had altogether merged in the great European war, and the chief efforts of the Spaniards were directed against the Austrian dominions in Italy.

See ENGLAND: A. D. 1739-1741.

The kingdom of Naples, which had passed under Austrian rule during the war of the [Spanish] Succession, had, as we have seen, been restored to the Spanish line in the war which ended in 1740, and Don Carlos, who ruled it, was altogether subservient to Spanish policy. The Duke of Lorraine, the husband of Maria Theresa, was sovereign of Tuscany; and the Austrian possessions consisted of the Duchy of Milan, and the provinces of Mantua and Placentia. They were garrisoned at the opening of the war by only 15,000 men, and their most dangerous enemy was the King of Sardinia, who had gradually extended his dominions into Lombardy, and whose army was, probably, the largest and most efficient in Italy. 'The Milanese,' his father is reported to have said, 'is like an artichoke, to be eaten leaf by leaf,' and the skill and perseverance with which for many generations the House of Savoy pursued that policy, have in our own day had their reward. Spanish troops had landed at Naples as early as November 1741. The King of Sardinia, the Prince of Modena, and the Republic of Genoa were on the same side. Venice was completely neutral, Tuscany was compelled to declare herself so, and a French army was soon to cross the Alps. The King of Sardinia, however, at this critical moment, was alarmed by the ambitious projects openly avowed by the Spaniards, and he was induced by English influence to change sides. He obtained the promise of certain territorial concessions from Austria, and of an annual subsidy of £200,000 from England; and on these conditions he suddenly marched with an army of 30,000 men to the support of the Austrians. An the plans of the confederates were disconcerted by this defection. The Spaniards went into winter quarters near Bologna in October, fought an unsuccessful battle at Campo Santo in the following February [1743], and then retired to Rimini, leaving Lombardy in complete tranquillity. The British fleet in the Mediterranean had been largely strengthened by Carteret, and it did good service to the cause. It burnt a Spanish squadron in the French port of St. Tropez, compelled the King of Naples, by the threat of bombardment, to withdraw his troops from the Spanish army, and sign an engagement of neutrality, destroyed large provisions of corn collected by the Genoese for the Spanish army, and cut off that army from all communications by sea."

W. E. H. Lecky, History of England, 18th Century, chapter 3 (volume 1).

ALSO IN: W. Coxe, History of the House of Austria, chapter 102 (volume 3).

ITALY: A. D. 1743. The War of the Austrian Succession: Treaty of Worms.

"By a treaty between Great Britain, the Queen of Hungary, and the King of Sardinia, signed at Worms September 23rd, 1743, Charles Emanuel renounced his pretensions to Milan; the Queen of Hungary ceding to him the Vigevanesco, that part of the duchy of Pavia between the Po and the Tessino, the town and part of the duchy of Piacenza, and a portion of the district of Anghiera. Also whatever rights she might have to the marquisate of Finale hoping that the Republic of Genoa would facilitate this agreement, in order that the King of Sardinia might have a communication with the sea. The Queen of Hungary promised to increase her army in Italy to 30,000 men as soon as the affairs of Germany would permit; while the King of Great Britain engaged to keep a strong fleet in the Mediterranean, and to pay Charles Emanuel annually £200,000, so long as the war lasted, he keeping in the field an army of 45,000 men."

T. H. Dyer, History of Modern Europe, book 6, chapter 4 (volume 3).

ITALY: A. D. 1743. The Bourbon Family Compact (France and Spain) for establishing Spanish claims.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1743 (OCTOBER).

ITALY: A. D. 1744. The War of the Austrian Succession: Indecisive campaigns.

"In Italy, the discordant views and mutual jealousies of Maria Theresa and the king of Sardinia prevented the good effects which might have been derived from their recent union. The king was anxious to secure his own dominions on the side of France, and to conquer the marquisate of Finale; while Maria Theresa was desirous to direct her principal force against Naples, and recover possession of the two Sicilies. Hence, instead of co-operating for one great object, their forces were divided; and, after an arduous and active campaign, the Austrians were nearly in the same situation as at the commencement of the year. Prince Lobcowitz being reinforced, compelled the Spaniards to retreat successively from Pesara and Senegallia, attacked them at Loretto and Reconati, and drove them beyond the Fronto, the boundary of the kingdom of Naples. Alarmed by the advance of the Austrians, the king of Naples broke his neutrality, quitted his capital at the head of 15,000 men, and hastened to join the Spaniards. But Prince Lobcowitz … turned towards Rome, with the hope of penetrating into Naples on that side; and, in the commencement of June, reached the neighbourhood of Albano. His views were anticipated by the king of Naples, who, dividing the Spanish and Neapolitan troops into three columns, which were led by himself, the duke of Modena, and the count de Gages, passed through Anagm, Valmonte, and Monte Tortino, and reunited his forces at Veletri, in the Campagna di Roma. In this situation, the two hostile armies, separated only by a deep valley, harassed each other with continual skirmishes. At length prince Lobcowitz, in imitation of prince Eugene at Cremona, formed the project of surprising the head-quarters of the king of Naples. In the night of August 10th, a corps of Austrians, led by count Brown, penetrated into the town of Veletri, killed all who resisted, and would have surprised the king and the duke of Modena in their beds, had they not been alarmed by the French ambassador, and escaped to the camp. The Austrian troops, giving way to pillage, were vigorously attacked by a corps of Spaniards and Neapolitans, despatched from the camp, and driven from the town with great slaughter, and the capture of the second in command, the marquis de Novati. In this contest, however, the Spanish army lost no less than 3,000 men. This daring exploit was the last offensive attempt of the Austrian forces. Prince Lobcowitz perceiving his troops rapidly decrease by the effects of the climate, and the unwholesome air of the Pontine marshes, began his retreat in the beginning of November, and though followed by an army superior in number, returned without loss to Rimini, Pesaro, Cesano, and Immola; while the combined Spaniards and Neapolitans took up their quarters between Viterbo and Civita Vecchia. {1851} In consequence of the expedition against Naples, the king of Sardinia was left with 30,000 men, many of them new levies, and 6,000 Austrians, to oppose the combined army of French and Spaniards, who advanced on the side of Nice. After occupying that place, the united army forced the intrenched camp of the Sardinians, though defended by the king himself, made themselves masters of Montalbano and Villafranca, and prepared to penetrate into Piedmont along the sea coast. The Genoese, irritated by the transfer of Finale, were inclined to facilitate their operations; but were intimidated by the presence of an English squadron which threatened to bombard their capital. The prince of Conti, who commanded under the infant Don Philip, did not, however, relinquish the invasion of Piedmont, but formed the spirited project of leading his army over the passes of the Alps, although almost every rock was a fortress, and the obstacles of nature were assisted by all the resources of art. He led his army, with a large train of artillery, and numerous squadrons of cavalry, over precipices and along beds of torrents, carried the fort of Chateau Dauphin, forced the celebrated Barricades which were deemed impregnable, descended the valley of the Stura, took Demont after a slight resistance, and laid siege to Coni. The king of Sardinia, having in vain attempted to stop the progress of this torrent which burst the barriers of his country, indignantly retired to Saluzzo, to cover his capital. Being reinforced by 6,000 Austrians, he attempted to relieve Coni, but was repulsed after a severe engagement, though he succeeded in throwing succours into the town. This victory, however, did not produce any permanent advantage to the confederate forces; Coni continuing to hold out, the approach of winter and the losses they had sustained, amounting to 10,000 men, compelled them to raise the siege and repass the Alps, which they did not effect without extreme difficulty."

W. Coxe, History of the House of Austria, chapter 105 (volume 3).

ALSO IN: W. Russell, History of Modern Europe, part 2, chapter 28.

ITALY: A. D. 1745. The War of he Austrian Succession: Successes of the Spaniards, French and Genoese.

"The Italian campaign of 1745, in boldness of design and rapidity of execution, scarcely finds a parallel in military history, and was most unpropitious to the Queen of Hungary and King of Sardinia. The experience of preceding years had taught the Bourbon Courts that all attempts to carry their arms across the Alps would be fruitless, unless they could secure a stable footing in the dominions of some Italian state on the other side, to counteract the power of their adversary, who had the entire command of the passes between Germany and Italy, by means of which reinforcements could be continually drafted to the scene of action. Accordingly they availed themselves of the jealousy and alarm excited at Genoa, by the transfer of Finale to the King of Sardinia, to engage that republic on their side. The plan was to unite the two armies which had wintered on the distant frontiers of Naples and Provence, in the vicinity of Genoa, where they were to be joined by 10,000 auxiliaries on the part of the republic. Charles Emanuel was sensible of the terrible consequences to himself, should the Genoese declare openly for the house of Bourbon, and sent General Pallavicini, a man of address and abilities, to renounce his pretensions to Finale, while Admiral Rowley, with a British fleet, hovered on their coasts. In spite of all this, nevertheless, the treaty of Aranjuez was concluded between France, Spain, and Genoa. After surmounting amazing difficulties, and making the most arduous and astonishing marches, the army commanded by Don Philip, who was accompanied by the French General Maillebois, and that commanded by Count de Gages, effected their junction on the 14th of June, near Genoa, when their united forces, now under Don Philip, amounted to 78,000 men. All that the King of Sardinia could do under these circumstances, was to make the best dispositions to defend the Milanese, the Parmesan, and the Plaisantine; but the whole disposable force under the King and Count Schulenburg, the successor of Lobkowitz, did not amount to above 45,000 men. Count Gages with 30,000 men was to be opposed to Schulenburg, and took possession of Serravalle, on the Scrivia; then advancing towards Alessandria he obliged the Austrians to retire under the cannon of Tortona. Don Philip made himself master of Acqui, so that the King of Sardinia, with the Austrian General, Count Schulenburg, had to retreat behind the Tanaro. On the 24th of July the strong citadel of Tortona was taken by the Spaniards, which opened the way to the occupation of Parma and Placentia. The combined army of French, Spanish, Neapolitans, and Genoese being now masters of an extensive tract with all the principal towns south of the Po, they readily effected a passage near the confluence of the Ticino, and with a detachment surprised Pavia. The Austrians, fearful for the Milanese, separated accordingly from the Sardinian troops. The Bourbon force seeing this, suddenly reunited, gained the Tanaro by a rapid movement on the night of the 27th of September, forded it in three columns, although the water reached to the very necks of the soldiers, fell upon the unsuspecting and unprepared Sardinians, broke their cavalry in the first charge, and drove the enemy in dismay and confusion to Valenza. Charles Emanuel fled to Casale, where he reassembled his broken army, in order to save it from utter ruin. The confederate armies still advanced, drove the King back and took Trino and Verua, which last place lay but twenty miles from his capital: fearful now that this might be bombarded he hastened thither, withdrew his forces under its cannon, and ordered the pavement of the city to be taken up. Maillebois, on his side, penetrated into the Milanese, and by the month of October the territories of the house of Austria in Italy were wholly subdued. The whole of Lombardy being thus open, Don Philip made a triumphant entry into Milan on the 20th of December, fondly hoping that he had secured for himself an Italian kingdom, as his brother, Don Carlos, had done at Naples. The Austrian garrison, however, still maintained the citadel of Milan and the fortress of Mantua."

Sir E. Cust, Annals of the Wars of the 18th Century, volume 2, pages 75-76.

ALSO IN: A. Gallenga, History of Piedmont, volume 3, chapter 4.

{1852}

ITALY: A. D. 1746-1747. The War of the Austrian Succession: A turn of fortune. The Spaniards and French abandon North Italy. The Austrians in Genoa, and their expulsion from the city.

"Of all the Austrian possessions in Lombardy, little remained except the fortress of Mantua and the citadel of Milan; while the citadels of Asti and Alessandria, the keys of Piedmont, were expected to fall before the commencement of the ensuing campaign. On the return of the season for action, the struggle for the mastery of Italy was renewed, and the queen of Spain already saw in imagination the crown of Lombardy gracing the brow of her second son. On the east, the French and Spanish armies had extended themselves as far as Reggio, Placentia, and Guastalla; on the north they were masters of the whole country between the Adda and Tesino; they blockaded the passages by the lake of Como and the Lago Maggiore, and were preparing to reduce the citadel of Milan; on the west their posts extended as far as Casale and Asti, though of the last the citadel was still held by the Sardinians. The main body of the French secured the communication with Genoa and the country south of the Po; a strong body at Reggio, Parma, and Placentia, covered their conquests on the east; and the Spaniards commanded the district between the Po and the mountains of Tyrol. The Sardinians were collected into the neighbourhood of Trino; while the Austrians fell back into the Novarrese to effect a junction with the reinforcements which were daily expected from Germany. In this situation, a sudden revolution took place in the fortune of the war. The empress queen [Maria Theresa], by the conclusion of a peace with Prussia, was at liberty to reinforce her army in Italy, and before the end of February 30,000 men had already descended from the Trentine Alps, and spread themselves as far as the Po." This change of situation caused the French court to make overtures to the king of Sardinia, which gave great offense to Spain. The wily Sardinian gained time by his negotiations with the French, until he found an opportunity, by suddenly ending the armistice, to capture the French garrison in Asti, to relieve the citadel of Alessandria and to lay siege to Valenza. "These disasters compelled Maillebois [the French general] to abandon his distant posts and concentrate his forces between Novi and Voghera, in order to maintain the communication with Genoa. Nor were the Spaniards beyond the Po in a less critical situation. A column of 10,000 Austrians under Berenclau having captured Codogno, and advanced to Lodi, the Spanish general was compelled to withdraw his troops from the passes towards the lakes, to send his artillery to Pavia and draw towards the Po. The infant had scarcely quitted Milan before a party of Austrian hussars entered the place." Meantime, the Spanish general Castelar, blockaded in Parma by the Austrians, broke through their lines and gained the eastern Riviera, with the loss of half his force. In June, the Spaniards and French, concentrated at Placentia, made a powerful attack on the Austrians, to arrest their progress, but were repulsed with heavy loss. The Sardinians soon afterwards formed a junction with the Austrians, which compelled the Spaniards and French to evacuate Placentia and retreat to Genoa, abandoning stores and artillery and losing many men. In the midst of these disasters, the Spanish king, Philip V., died, and his widowed queen, Elizabeth Farnese —the "Spanish termagant," Carlyle calls her—who had been the moving spirit of the struggle for Italy, lost the reins of government. His son (by his first wife, Maria Louisa of Savoy) who succeeded him, had no ambitions and no passions to interest him in the war, and resolved to escape from it. The marquis Las Minas, whom he sent to take command of the retreating army, speedily announced his intention to abandon Italy. "Thus deserted, the situation of the French and Genoese became desperate. … Maillebois, after exhorting the Genoese to defend their territory to the last extremity, was obliged to follow the example of Las Minas in withdrawing towards Provence. Abandoned to their fate, the Genoese could not withstand the combined attacks of the Austro-Sardinians, assisted by the British fleet. The city surrendered almost at discretion; the garrison were made prisoners of war; the stores, arms and artillery were to be delivered; the doge and six senators to repair to Vienna and implore forgiveness. The marquis of Botta, who had replaced Lichtenstein in the command, took possession of the place with 15,000 men, while the king of Sardinia occupied Finale and reduced Savona. In consequence of this success the Austrian court meditated the re-conquest of Naples and Sicily, which had been drained of troops to support the war in Lombardy." But this project was overruled by the British government, and the allied army crossed the Var, to carry the war into the southeastern provinces of France. "Their progress was, however, instantly arrested by an insurrection at Genoa, occasioned by the exactions and oppressions of the Austrian commanders. The garrison was expelled by the tumultuary efforts of the populace; and the army, to obviate the mischiefs of this unexpected reverse, hastily measured back its steps. Instead of completing the disasters of the Bourbon troops, the Austro-Sardinians employed the whole winter in the investment of Genoa." The siege was protracted but unsuccessful, and the allies were forced to abandon it the following summer, on the approach of the Bourbon forces, which resumed the offensive under Marshal Belleisle. After delivering Genoa, the latter sent a detachment of his army into Piedmont, where it met with disaster. No further operations of importance were undertaken before the conclusion of the peace, which was then being negotiated at Aix-la-Chapelle.

W. Coxe, Memoirs of the Bourbon Kings of Spain, chapters 46-48 (volumes 3-4).

ALSO IN: J. T. Bent, Genoa, chapter 16.

ITALY: A. D. 1749-1792. Peace in the Peninsula.

The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle "left nothing to Austria in Italy except the duchies of Milan and Mantua. Although the grand-duchy of Tuscany was settled on the family of Hapsburg-Lorraine, every precaution was taken to prevent that province from being united with the German possessions of their house. The arrangements of the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle continued up to the period of the French revolution undisturbed. Those arrangements, although the result of a compromise of the interests and ambitions of rival statesmen, were not, considering the previous state of Italy, unfavourable to the cause of Italian independence. {1853} Piedmont, already recognised as the protector of Italian nationality, gained not only in rank, but in substantial territory, by the acquisition of the island of Sardinia, still more by that of the High Novarese, and by extending her frontier to the Ticino. Naples and Sicily were released from the tyranny of viceroys, and placed under a resident king, with a stipulation to secure their future independence, that they should never be united to the Spanish crown. … In the 45 [?] years which elapsed between the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle and the French revolution, Italy enjoyed a perfect and uninterrupted peace. In some, at least, of its principalities, its progress in prosperity and in legislation was rapid. Naples and Sicily, under the government of Charles III., and subsequently under the regency of his minister, Tanucci, were ruled with energy and prudence. Tuscany prospered under the sway of the princes of Lorraine, Milan and Mantua were mildly governed by the Austrian court; and Lombardy rose from the misery to which the exactions of Spanish viceroys had reduced even the great resources of that rich and fertile province. In the other Italian States at least no change had taken place for the worse. Industry everywhere flourished under the presence of the most essential of all blessings,—peace."

I. Butt, History of Italy, volume 1, chapter 5.

ITALY: A. D. 1792-1793. Annexation of Savoy and Nice to the French Republic. Sardinia and the Two Sicilies in the coalition against France.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1792 (SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER); and 1793 (MARCH-SEPTEMBER).

ITALY: A. D. 1794-1795. Passes of the Maritime Alps secured by the French. The coalition abandoned by the Grand Duke of Tuscany. French successes at Loano.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1794-1795 (OCTOBER-MAY); and 1795 (JUNE-DECEMBER).

ITALY: A. D. 1796-1797. French invasion. Bonaparte's first campaigns. His victories and his pillage. Expulsion of the Austrians. French treaties with Genoa and Naples. The Cispadane and Cisalpine Republics. Surrender of Papal territories. Peace preliminaries of Leoben.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1796 (APRIL-OCTOBER), and (OCTOBER); and 1796-1797 (OCTOBER-APRIL).

ITALY: A. D. 1797 (MAY-OCTOBER). Creation of the Ligurian and Cisalpine Republics. The Peace of Campo-Formio. Lombardy relinquished by Austria. Venice and Venetian territory made over to her.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1797 (MAY-OCTOBER).

ITALY: A. D. 1797-1798 (December-May). French occupation of Rome. Formation of the Roman Republic. Removal of the Pope.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1797-1798 (DECEMBER-MAY).

ITALY: A. D. 1798-1799. Overthrow of the Neapolitan Kingdom. Creation of the Parthenopeian Republic. Relinquishment of Piedmont by the king of Sardinia. French reverses.

See FRANCE: A. D.1798-1799 (AUGUST-APRIL).

ITALY: A. D. 1799 (APRIL-AUGUST). Successful Austro-Russian campaign. Suwarrow's victories. French evacuation of Lombardy, Piedmont and Naples.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1799 (APRIL-SEPTEMBER).

ITALY: A. D. 1799 (AUGUST-DECEMBER). Austrian successes. Expulsion of the French. Fall of the Parthenopeian and Roman Republics.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1799 (AUGUST-DECEMBER).

ITALY: A. D. 1800. Bonaparte's Marengo campaign. Northern Italy recovered by the French. Siege and capture of Genoa by the Austrians.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1800-1801 (MAY-FEBRUARY).

ITALY: A. D. 1800-1801 (JUNE-FEBRUARY). The king of Naples spared by Napoleon. Restoration of Papal authority at Rome.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1800-1801 (JUNE-FEBRUARY).

ITALY: A. D. 1802. Name of the Cisalpine Republic changed to Italian Republic. Bonaparte president. Annexation of part of Piedmont, with Parma and Elba, to France.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1801-1803, and 1802 (AUGUST-SEPTEMBER).

ITALY: A. D. 1805. Transformation of the Italian Republic into the Kingdom of Italy. Election and coronation of Napoleon. Annexation of Genoa to France.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1804-1805.

ITALY: A. D. 1805. Cession of Venetian territory by Austria to the Kingdom of Italy.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1805-1806.

ITALY: A. D. 1805-1806. Napoleon's dethronement of the dynasty of Naples. Joseph Bonaparte made king of the Two Sicilies.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1805-1806 (DECEMBER-SEPTEMBER).

ITALY: A. D. 1807-1808. Napoleon's visit. His arbitrary changes in the constitution. His public works. His despotism. His annexation of Tuscany to France, and seizure of the Papal States.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1807-1808 (NOVEMBER-FEBRUARY).

ITALY: A. D. 1808 (JULY). The crown of Naples resigned by Joseph Bonaparte (now king of Spain) and conferred on Joachim Murat.

See SPAIN: A. D. 1808 (MAY-SEPTEMBER).

ITALY: (Southern): A. D. 1808-1809. Beginning of the reign of Murat at Naples. Expulsion of the English from Capri. Insolence of Murat's soldiery. Popular discontent and hatred. Rise of the Carbonari. Civil war in Calabria.

"Joachim Murat, the new King of Naples, announced his accession to the nation [July, 1808]. 'The august Napoleon,' he said, 'had given him the kingdom of the two Sicilies. Gratitude to the donor, and a desire to benefit his subjects, would divide his heart.' … The commencement of Murat's reign was felicitous; the English, however, occupied the island of Capri, which, being placed at the opening of the gulf, is the key of the bay of Naples. Their presence stimulated all who were averse to the new government, intimidated its adherents, and impeded the freedom of navigation, to the manifest injury of commerce; besides, it was considered disgraceful, that one of the Napoleonides should suffer an enemy so near, and that enemy the English, who were at once so hated and so despised. The indolence of Joseph had patiently suffered the disgrace; but Joachim, a spirited soldier, was indignant at it, and he thought it necessary to commence his reign by some important enterprise. He armed therefore against Capri: Sir Hudson Lowe was there in garrison with two regiments collected from all the nations of Europe, and which were called the Royal Corsican and the Royal Maltese. … A body of French and Neapolitans were sent from Naples and Salerno, under the command of General Lamarque, to reduce the island; and they effected a landing, by means of ladders hung to the rocks by iron hooks, and thus possessed themselves of Anacarpi, though not without great difficulty, as the English resolutely defended themselves. … {1854} The siege proceeded but slowly—succours of men and ammunition reached the besieged from Sicily; but fortune favoured the enemy, as an adverse wind drove the English out to sea. The King, who superintended the operations from the shore of Massa, having waited at the point of Campanella, seizing the propitious moment, sent fresh squadrons in aid of Lamarque, and the English, being already broken, and the forts dismantled, now yielded to the conqueror. The Neapolitans were highly gratified by the acquisition of Capri, and from that event augured well of the new government. The kingdom of Naples contained three classes of people—barons, republicans, and populace. The barons willingly joined the party of the new king, because they were pleased by the honours granted to them, and they were not without hopes of recovering their ancient privileges, or at least of acquiring new ones. … The republicans were, on the contrary, inimical to Joachim, not because he was a king, for they easily accommodated themselves to royalty; but because his conduct in Tuscany, where he had driven them forth or bound them in chains like malefactors, had rendered him personally obnoxious to them. They were moreover disgusted by his incredible vanity, which led him to court and caress with the most zealous adulation every bearer of a feudal title. … The populace, who cared no more for Joachim than they had done for Joseph, would easily have contented themselves with the new government, if it had protected them from the oppressions of the barons, and had procured for them quiet and abundance. But Joachim, wholly intent on courting the nobles, neglected the people, who, oppressed by the barons and soldiery, became alienated from him. … The spirit of discontent was further increased by his introduction of the conscription laws of France. … Joachim, a soldier himself, permitted every thing to his soldiery; and an insupportable military license was the result. Hence, also, they became the sole support of his power, and it took no root in the affections of the people. The insolence of the troops continually augmented not only every desire, but every caprice of the head of a regiment, nay, even of the inferior officers, was to be complied with, as if they were the laws of the realm; and whosoever even lamented his subjection to their will was ill-treated and incurred some risk of being declared an enemy to the King. … The discontents produced by the enormities committed by the troops of Murat gave hopes to the court of Palermo that its fortunes might be re-established in the kingdom beyond the Faro. Meanwhile, the civil war raged in Calabria; nor were the Abruzzi tranquil. In these disturbances there were various factions in arms, and various objects were pursued: some of those who fought against Joachim, and had fought against Joseph, were adherents of Ferdinand,—others were the partisans of a republican constitution. … The sect of the Carbonari arose at this period."

C. Botta, Italy during the Consulate and Empire of Napoleon, chapter 5.

"The most famous, the most widely disseminated, and the most powerful of all the secret societies which sprang up in Italy was that of the Carbonari, or Charcoal-makers. … The Carbonari first began to attract attention in the Kingdom of Naples about the year 1808. A Genoese named Maghella, who burned with hatred of the French, is said to have initiated several Neapolitans into a secret order whose purpose it was to goad their countrymen into rebellion. They quitted Naples, where Murat's vigilant policy kept too strict a watch on conspirators, and retired to the Abruzzi, where in order to disarm suspicion they pretended to be engaged in charcoal-burning. As their numbers increased, agents were sent to establish lodges in the principal towns. The Bourbon king, shut up in Sicily, soon heard of them, and as he had not hesitated at letting loose with English aid galley-prisoners, or at encouraging brigands, to harass Murat, so he eagerly connived with these conspirators in the hope of recovering his throne. Murat, having striven for several years to suppress the Carbonari, at last, when he found his power slipping from him, reversed his policy towards them, and strove to conciliate them. But it was too late: neither he nor they could prevent the restoration of the Bourbons under the protection of Austria. The sectaries who had hitherto foolishly expected that, if the French could be expelled, Ferdinand would grant them a Liberal government, were soon cured of their delusion, and they now plotted against him as sedulously as they had plotted against his predecessor. Their membership increased to myriads; their lodges, starting up in every village in the Kingdom of Naples, had relations with branch-societies in all parts of the Peninsula: to the anxious ears of European despots the name Carbonaro soon meant all that was lawless and terrible; it meant anarchy, chaos, assassination. But when we read the catechism, or confession of faith, of the Carbonari we are surprised by the reasonableness of their aims and tenets. The duties of the individual Carbonaro were, 'to render to the Almighty the worship due to Him; to serve the fatherland with zeal; to reverence religion and laws; to fulfil the obligations of nature and friendship; to be faithful to promises; to observe silence, discretion, and charity; to cause harmony and good morals to prevail; to conquer the passions and submit the will; and to abhor the seven deadly sins.' The scope of the Society was to disseminate instruction; to unite the different classes of society under the bond of love; to impress a national character on the people, and to interest them in the preservation and defense of the fatherland and of religion; to destroy by moral culture the source of crimes due to the general depravity of mankind; to protect the weak and to raise up the unfortunate. … It went still farther and asserted the un-Catholic doctrine of liberty of conscience: 'to every Carbonaro,' so reads one of its articles, 'belongs the natural and unalterable right to worship the Almighty according to his own intuition and understanding.' We must not be misled, however, by these enlightened professions, into a wrong notion of the real purposes of Carbonarism. Politics, in spite of a rule forbidding political discussion, were the main business, and ethics but the incidental concern of the conspirators. They organized their Order under republican forms as if to prefigure the ideal towards which they aspired. The Republic was subdivided into provinces, each of which was controlled by a grand lodge, that of Salerno being the 'parent.' There were also four 'Tribes,' each having a council and holding an annual diet. {1855} Each tribe had a Senate, which advised a House of Representatives, and this framed the laws which a magistracy executed. There were courts of the first instance, of appeal, and of cessation, and no Carbonaro might bring suit in the civil courts against a fellow member, unless he had first failed to get redress in one of these. … The Carbonari borrowed some of their rites from the Freemasons, with whom indeed they were commonly reported to be in such close relations that Freemasons who joined the 'Carbonic Republic' were spared the formality of initiation; other parts of their ceremonial they copied from the New Testament, with such additions as the special objects of the order called for."

W. R. Thayer, The Dawn of Italian Independence, book 2, chapter 4 (volume 1).

ALSO IN: P. Colletta, History of the Kingdom of Naples, book 7 (volume 2).

T. Frost, Secret Societies of the European Revolution, volume 1, chapter 5.

General Sir H. Bunbury, The Great War with France, page 343, and after.

The Chevalier O'Clery, History of the Italian Revolution chapter 3.

ITALY: A. D. 1809 (APRIL-MAY). Renewed war of Austria with France. Austrian advance and retreat.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1809 (JANUARY-JUNE).

ITALY: A. D. 1809 (MAY-JULY). Annexation of the Papal States to the French Empire. Removal of the Pope to Savona. Rome declared to be a free and imperial city.

See PAPACY: A. D. 1808-1814.

ITALY: A. D. 1812. Removal of the captive Pope to Fontainebleau.

See PAPACY: A. D. 1808-1814.

ITALY: A. D. 1812. Participation in Napoleon's disastrous Russian campaign.

See RUSSIA: A. D. 1812 (JUNE-SEPTEMBER), and after.

ITALY: A. D. 1813. Participation in the war in Germany.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1813 (APRIL-MAY).

ITALY: A. D. 1814. Desertion of Napoleon by Murat. His treaty with the Allies. Expulsion of the French from the Peninsula.

Murat, king of Naples, "foreseeing the downfall of the Emperor, had attempted to procure from Napoleon, as the price of his fidelity, the union under his own sceptre of all Italy south of the Po; but, failing in this, he prepared to abandon the cause of his benefactor. On the 11th January, 1814, he concluded a treaty with the Allies, by which he was guaranteed possession of Naples; and forthwith advancing on Rome with 20,000 men, occupied the second city in his brother-in-law's empire (January 19); having previously published a flaming proclamation, in which the perfidy and violence of the imperial government were denounced in terms which came strangely from a chief of the Revolution. … At the end of December, 1813, Eugene had withdrawn to the Adige with 36,000 men, before Bellegarde and 50,000 Austrians; and he was already taking measures for a further retreat, when the proclamation of Murat, and his hostile advance, rendered such a movement inevitable. He had accordingly fallen back to the Mincio, when, finding himself threatened on the flank by a British expedition from Sicily under Lord William Bentinck, he determined on again advancing against Bellegarde, so as to rid himself of one enemy before he encountered another. The two armies, however, thus mutually acting on the offensive, passed each other, and an irregular action at last ensued on the Mincio (February 8), in which the advantage was rather with the French, who made 1,500 prisoners, and drove Bellegarde shortly after over the Mincio, about 3,000 being killed and wounded on each side. But, in other quarters, affairs were going rapidly to wreck. Verona surrendered to the Austrians on the 14th, and Ancona to Murat on the 16th; and the desertion of the Italians, unequal to the fatigues of a winter campaign, was so great that the Viceroy was compelled to fall back to the Po. Fouché, meanwhile, as governor of Rome, had concluded a convention (February 20) with the Neapolitan generals for the evacuation of Pisa, Leghorn, Florence, and other garrisons of the French empire in Italy. A proclamation, however, by the hereditary prince of Sicily, who had accompanied Bentinck from Sicily, gave Murat such umbrage that he separated his troops from the British, and commenced operations, with little success, against Eugene on the Po, in which the remainder of March passed away. Bentinck, having at length received reinforcements from Catalonia, moved forward with 12,000 men, and occupied Spezia on the 29th of March, and, driving the French (April 8) from their position at Sestri, forced his way through the mountains, and appeared on the 16th in front of Genoa. On the 17th the forts and positions before the city were stormed; and the garrison, seeing preparations made for a bombardment, capitulated on the 18th, on condition of being allowed to march out with the honours of war. Murat had by this time recommenced vigorous operations, and after driving the French (April 13) from the Taro, had forced the passage of the Stura; but the news of Napoleon's fall put an end to hostilities. By a convention with the Austrians, Venice, Palma-Nuova, and the other fortresses still held by the French, were surrendered; the whole of Lombardy was occupied by the Germans; and in the first week of May the French troops finally repassed the Alps."

Epitome of Alison's History of Europe, sections 775, and 807-808.

ITALY: A. D. 1814-1815. Return of the Despots. Restoration of Austrian tyranny in the North. The Pope in Rome again.

"With little resistance, Northern Italy was taken from the French. Had it been otherwise, had Murat and Beauharnais joined their forces, they might have long held the Austrians in check, perhaps even have made a descent on Vienna; and although this might not have hindered the ultimate overthrow of Napoleon, yet it must have compelled the Allies, at the day of settlement, to respect the wishes of the Italians. But disunited, and deluded into the belief that they were partners in a war of liberation, the Italians woke up to find that they had escaped from the talons of the French eagle, only to be caught in the clutch of the two-headed monstrosity of Austria. They were to be used, in the language of Joseph De Maistre, like coins, wherewith the Allies paid their debts. This was plain enough when the people of the just-destroyed Kingdom of Italy prepared to choose a ruler for themselves: one party favored Beauharnais, another wished an Austrian prince, a third an Italian, but all agreed in demanding independence. Austria quickly informed them that they were her subjects, and that their affairs would be decided at Vienna. Thus, almost without striking a blow, and without a suspicion of the lot awaiting them, the Northern Italians fell back under the domination of Austria. In the spring and early summer of 1814 the exiled princelings returned: Victor Emanuel I. from his savage refuge in Sardinia to Turin; Ferdinand III. from Würzburg to Florence; Pius VII. from his confinement at Fontainebleau and Savona to Rome.

See PAPACY: A. D. 1808-1814;

{1856}

Francis IV. to Modena. Other aspirants anxiously waited for the Congress of Vienna to bestow upon them the remaining provinces. The Congress … dragged on into the spring of the following year. … In Lombardy and Venetia, Metternich soon organized a thoroughly Austrian administration. The government of the two provinces was separate, that of Lombardy being centred at Milan, that of Venetia at Venice; but over all was placed an Austrian archduke as Viceroy. Each district had its civil and military tribunals, but the men who composed these being appointees of the viceroy or his deputies, their subservience could usually be reckoned upon. The trials were secret, a provision which, especially in political cases, made convictions easy. … Feudal privileges, which had been abolished by the French, could be recovered by doing homage to the Emperor and by paying specific taxes. In some respects there was an improvement in the general administration, but in others the deterioration was manifest. … Art, science, and literature were patronized, and they throve as potted plants thrive under the care of a gardener who cuts off every new shoot at a certain height. … We may liken the people of the Austro-Italian provinces to those Florentine revelers who, at the time of the plague, tried to drive away their terror by telling each other the merry stories reported by Boccaccio. The plague which penetrated every corner of Lombardy and Venetia was the Austrian police. Stealthy, but sure, its unseen presence was dreaded in palace and hovel, in church, tribunal, and closet. … Every police-office was crammed with records of the daily habits of each citizen, of his visitors, his relatives, his casual conversations,—even his style of dress and diet were set down. … Such was the Metternichian system of police and espionage that counteracted every mild law and every attempt to lessen the repugnance of the Italians. They were not to be deceived by blandishments: Lombardy was a prison, Venetia was a prison, and they were all captives, although they seemed to move about unshackled to their work or pleasure."

W. R. Thayer, The Dawn of Italian Independence, book 2, chapter 2 (volume 1).

See, also, VIENNA, THE CONGRESS OF; AUSTRIA: A. D. 1815-1846; and HOLY ALLIANCE.

ITALY: (Southern): A. D. 1815. Murat's attempt to head a national movement. His failure, downfall and death. Restoration of the Bourbons at Naples.

"Wild as was the attempt in which, after Napoleon's return from Elba, the King of Naples lost his crown, we must yet judge of it both by his own character and the circumstances in which he was placed. … In the autumn of 1813 communications took place at Milan between Murat and the leaders of the secret societies which were then attempting to organise Italian patriotism in arms. In 1814, when the restoration of Austrian rule in Lombardy so cruelly disappointed the national hopes, these communications were renewed. The King of Naples was assured that he needed but to raise the standard of Italian independence to rally round him thousands and tens of thousands of volunteers. … These calculations … were readily adopted by the rash and vain-glorious monarch to whom they were presented. … His proud spirit chafed and fretted under the consciousness that he had turned upon Napoleon, and the mortification of finding himself deserted by those in reliance upon whose faith this sacrifice had been made. The events in France had taken him by surprise. In joining the alliance against Napoleon he had not calculated on the deposition of the emperor, still less had he dreamed of the destruction of the empire. … He bitterly reproached his own conduct for having lent himself to such results. … When his mind was agitated with these mingled feelings, the intelligence reached him that Napoleon had actually left Elba, on that enterprise in which he staked everything upon regaining the imperial throne of France. It came to him direct from Napoleon. … He foresaw that the armies of the allied powers would be engaged in a gigantic struggle with the efforts which Napoleon would be sure to make. Under such circumstances, he fancied Italy an easy conquest; once master of this he became a power with whom, in the conflict of nations, any of the contending parties could only be too happy to treat. He determined to place himself at the head of Italian nationality, and strike one daring blow for the chieftainship of the nation. … His ministers, his friends, the French generals, even his queen, Napoleon's sister, dissuaded him from such a course. … But with an obstinacy by which the vacillating appear sometimes to attempt to atone for habitual indecision, he persevered in spite of all advice. … He issued a proclamation and ordered his troops to cross the Papal frontier. … The Pope appointed a regency and retired, accompanied by most of the cardinals, to Florence. … On the 30th of March his [Murat's] troops attacked the Austrian forces at Cesena. The Germans were driven, without offering much resistance, from the town. On the evening of that day he issued from Rimini his proclamation to the Italian people, which was against Austria a declaration of war. … A declaration of war on the part of Austria immediately followed. … The whole of the Italian army of Austria was ordered at once to march upon Naples; and a treaty was concluded with Ferdinand, by which Austria engaged to use all her endeavours to recover for him his Neapolitan dominions. … The army which Murat led northward, instead of numbering 80,000 as he represented in his proclamation, certainly never exceeded 34,000. … Nearly 60,000 Austrians defended the banks of the Po. … On the 10th of April, the troops of Murat, under the command of General Pepe, were driven back by the Austrians, who now in their turn advanced. … A retreat to the frontiers of Naples was unanimously resolved on. This retreat was one that had all the disasters without any of the redeeming glories of war. … At last, as they approached the confines of the Neapolitan kingdom, an engagement which took place between Macerata and Tolentino, on the 4th of May, ended in a total and ignominious rout. … At Macerata most of the troops broke up into a disorganised rabble, and with difficulty Murat led to Capua a small remnant of an army, that could hardly be said to be defeated, because they were worsted without anything that deserves to be called a fight. {1857} From Capua, on the 12th of May, the king sent to Naples a proclamation granting a free constitution. To conceal the fact that this was wrung from him only in distress, he resorted to the miserable subterfuge of ante-dating it from Rimini, on the 30th of March." On the evening of the 18th of May, Murat entered Naples quietly on foot, and had his last interview with his queen and children. A British squadron was already in the harbor. The next night he slipped away to the island of Ischia, and thence to Frejus, while Queen Caroline remained to discharge the last duties of sovereignty. On the 20th Naples was surrendered to the Austrians, and the ex-queen took refuge on an English vessel to escape from a threatening mob of the lazzaroni. She was conveyed to Trieste, where the Austrian emperor had offered her an asylum. The restored Bourbon king, Ferdinand, made his entry into the capital on the 17th of June. Meantime, Murat, in France, had offered his services to Napoleon and they had been declined. After Waterloo, he escaped to Corsica, whence, in the following October, he made a foolhardy attempt to recover his kingdom, landing with a few followers at Pizzo, on the Neapolitan coast, expecting a rising of the people to welcome his return. But the rising that occurred was hostile instead of friendly. The party was quickly overpowered, Murat taken prisoner and delivered to Ferdinand's officers. He was summarily tried by court martial and shot, October 13, 1815.

I. Butt, History of Italy, volume 2, chapters 10-11.

ALSO IN: P. Colletta, History of Naples, book 7, chapter 5, and book 8, chapter 1 (volume 2).

ITALY: A. D. 1820-1821. Revolutionary insurrections in Naples and Sicily. Perjury and duplicity of the king. The revolt crushed by Austrian troops. Abortive insurrection in Piedmont. Its end at Novara. Abdication of Victor Emmanuel I. Accession of Charles Felix.

"In the last days of February, 1820, a revolution broke out in Spain. The object of its leaders was to restore the Constitution of 1812, which had been suppressed on the return of the Bourbons to the throne. … The Revolution proved successful, and for a short time the Spaniards obtained possession of a democratic Constitution. Their success stirred up the ardour of the Liberal party in the kingdom of the two Sicilies, and before many weeks were over a revolutionary movement occurred at Naples. The insurrection originated with the army under the command of General Pepé, and it is worthy of note that the movement was not directed against the reigning dynasty, and was not, even nominally, associated with any demand for national unity. All the insurgents asked for was the establishment of a Constitution similar to that then existing in Spain. After a very brief and feeble resistance, the King yielded to the demands of the military conspirators, who were strongly supported by popular feeling. On the 1st of October, a Parliament of the Neapolitan kingdom was opened by His Majesty Francis the First, who then and there took a solemn oath to observe the Constitution, and even went out of his way to profess his profound attachment for the principles on which the new Government was based. General Pepé thereupon resigned the Dictatorship he had assumed, and constitutional liberty was deemed to have been finally established in Southern Italy by a bloodless revolution. The rising on the mainland was followed after a brief interval by a popular insurrection in Sicily. The main object, however, of the Sicilian Constitutionalists was to bring about a legislative separation between the island and the kingdom of Naples proper. … The Sicilian insurrection afforded Francis I. the pretext he had looked for, from the commencement, for overthrowing the Constitution to which he had personally plighted his faith. The Allied Sovereigns took alarm at the outbreak of the revolutionary spirit in Sicily, and a Congress of the Great Powers was convoked at Laibach [see VERONA, THE CONGRESS OF] to consider what steps required to be taken for the protection of social order in the kingdom of Naples. … By the Neapolitan Constitution the Sovereign was not at liberty to leave the kingdom without the consent of the Parliament. This consent was only given, after much hesitation, in reliance upon the reiterated assurances of the King, both publicly and privately, that his one object in attending the Congress was to avert, if possible, a foreign intervention. His Majesty also pledged himself most solemnly not to sanction any change in the Constitution to which he had sworn allegiance, and … he promised further that he would not be a party to any reprisals being inflicted upon his subjects for the part they might have taken in the establishment of Constitutional liberty. As soon, however, as Francis the First had arrived at Laibach, he yielded without a protest to the alleged necessity for a foreign occupation of his kingdom, with the avowed object of putting down the Constitution. Without any delay being given, the Austrian regiments crossed the frontier, preceded by a manifesto from the King, calling upon his faithful subjects to receive the army of occupation not as enemies, but as friends. … The national troops, under General Pepé, were defeated with ease by the Austrians, who in the course of a few weeks effected, almost without opposition, the military occupation of the whole kingdom [February-March, 1821]. Forthwith reprisals commenced in grim earnest. On the plea that the resistance offered by the Constitutionalists to the invading army constituted an act of high treason, the King declared himself absolved from all promises he had given previously to his departure. A reign of terror was set on foot. … Signor Botta thus sums up the net result of the punishments inflicted after the return of the King in the Neapolitan provinces alone. 'About a thousand persons were condemned to death, imprisoned, or exiled. Infinitely greater was the number of officers and officials who were deprived of their posts by the Commissioners of Investigation.' … The establishment of Constitutional Government in the kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and the resolution adopted at the instigation of Austria, by the Congress of Laibach, to suppress the Neapolitan Constitution by armed force, produced a profound effect throughout Italy, and especially in Sardinia. The fact that internal reforms were incompatible with the ascendency of Austria in the Peninsula was brought home to the popular mind, and, for the first time in the history of Italy, the desire for civil liberty became identified with the national aversion to foreign rule. {1858} In Piedmont there was a powerful Constitutional party, composed chiefly of professional men, and a strong military caste, aristocratic by birth and conviction, but opposed on national grounds to the domination of Austria over Italy. These two parties coalesced for a time upon the common platform of Constitutional Reform and war with Austria; and the result was the abortive rising of 1821. The insurrection, however, though directed against the established Government, had about it nothing of an anti-dynastic, or even of a revolutionary character. On the contrary, the leaders of the revolt professed, and probably with sincerity, that they were carrying out the true wishes of their Sovereign. Their theory was, that Victor Emmanuel I. was only compelled to adhere to the Holy Alliance by considerations of foreign policy, and that, if his hands were forced, he would welcome any opportunity of severing himself from all complicity with Austria. Acting on this belief, they determined to proclaim the Constitution by a sort of coup d' état, and then, after having declared war on Austria, to invade Lombardy, and thus create a diversion in favour of the Neapolitans. It is certain that Victor Emmanuel I. gave no sanction to, and was not even cognisant of, this mad enterprise. … The troubles and calamities of his early life had exhausted his energy; and his one desire was to live at peace at home and abroad. On the other hand, it is certain that Charles Albert [prince of Savoy-Carignan, heir presumptive to the throne of Sardinia] was in communication with the leaders of the insurrection, though how far he was privy to their actual designs has never yet been clearly ascertained. The insurrection broke out just about the time when the Austrian troops were approaching the Neapolitan frontiers. … The insurrection gained head rapidly, and the example of Alexandria was followed by the garrison of Turin. Pressure was brought to bear upon Victor Emmanuel I., and he was led to believe that the only means of averting civil war was to grant the Constitution. The pressure, however, overshot its mark. On the one hand, the King felt that he could not possibly withstand the demand for a Constitution at the cost of having to order the regiments which had remained loyal to fire upon the insurgents. On the other hand, he did not feel justified in granting the Constitution without the sanction of his brother and [immediate] heir. In order, therefore, to escape from this dilemma, his Majesty abdicated suddenly in favour of Charles Felix [his brother]. As, however, the new Sovereign happened to be residing at Modena, at the Court of his brother-in-law, the Prince of Savoy-Carignan was appointed Regent until such time as Charles Felix could return to the capital. Immediately upon his abdication, Victor Emmanuel quitted Turin, and Charles Albert was left in supreme authority as Regent of the State. Within twelve hours of his accession to power, the Regent proclaimed the Spanish Constitution as the fundamental law of Piedmont. … The probability is … that Charles Albert, or rather his advisers, were anxious to tie the hands of the new Sovereign. They calculated that Charles Felix, who was no longer young, and who was known to be bitterly hostile to all Liberal theories of Government, would abdicate sooner than accept the Crown of a Constitutional kingdom. This calculation proved erroneous. … As soon as his Majesty learned the news of what had occurred in his absence, he issued a manifesto [March, 1821], declaring all the reforms granted under the Regency to be null and void, describing the authors of the Constitution as rebels, and avowing his intention, in the case of necessity, of calling upon the Allied Powers to assist him in restoring the legitimate authority of the Crown. Meanwhile, he refused to accept the throne till the restoration of order had given Victor Emmanuel full freedom to reconsider the propriety of abdication. This manifesto was followed by the immediate advance of an Austrian corps d'armée to the frontier stream of the Ticino, as well as by the announcement that the Russian Government had ordered an army of 100,000 men to set out on their march towards Italy, with the avowed object of restoring order in the Peninsula. The population of Piedmont recognised at once, with their practical good sense, that any effective resistance was out of the question. … The courage of the insurgents gave way in view of the obstacles which they had to encounter, and the last blow was dealt to their cause by the sudden defection of the Prince Regent. … Unable either to face his coadjutors in the Constitutional pronunciamento, or to assume the responsibility of an open conflict with the legitimate Sovereign, the Regent left Turin secretly [March 21, 1821], without giving any notice of his intended departure, and, on arriving at Novara, formally resigned his short-lived power. The leaders, however, of the insurrection had committed themselves too deeply to follow the example of the Regent. A Provisional Government was established at Turin, and it was determined to march upon Novara, in the hope that the troops collected there would fraternise with the insurgents. As soon as it was known that the insurgents were advancing in force from Turin, the Austrians, under General Bübner, crossed the Ticino, and effected a junction with the Royal troops. When the insurgents reached Novara, they suddenly found themselves confronted, not by their own fellow-countrymen, but by an Austrian army. A panic ensued, and the insurrectionary force suffered a disastrous, though, fortunately, a comparatively bloodless, defeat. After this disaster the insurrection was virtually at an end. … The Austrians, with the consent of Charles Felix, occupied the principal fortresses of Piedmont. The old order of things was restored, and, upon Victor Emmanuel's formal refusal to withdraw his abdication, Charles Felix assumed the title of King of Sardinia. As soon as military resistance had ceased, the insurrection was put down with a strong hand."

E. Dicey, Victor Emmanuel, chapters 3-4.

"Henceforth the issue could not be misunderstood. The conflict was not simply between the Neapolitans and their Bourbon king, or between the Piedmontese and Charles Felix, but between Italian Liberalism and European Absolutism. Santarosa and Pepé cried out in their disappointment that the just cause would have won had their timid colleagues been more daring, had promises but been kept; we, however, see clearly that though the struggle might have been prolonged, the result would have been unchanged. Piedmont and Naples, had each of their citizens been a hero, could not have overcome the Holy Alliance [see HOLY ALLIANCE], which was their real antagonist. {1859} The revolutionists had not directly attacked the Holy Alliance; they had not thrown down the gauntlet to Austria; they had simply insisted that they had a right to constitutional government; and Austria, more keen-witted than they, had seen that to suffer a constitution at Naples or Turin would be to acknowledge the injustice of those principles by which the Holy Alliance had decreed that Europe should be repressed to the end of time. So when the Carbonari aimed at Ferdinand they struck Austria, and Austria struck back a deadly blow. … But Austria and the Reactionists were not content with simple victory; treating the revolution as a crime, they at once proceeded to take vengeance. … Ferdinand, the perjured Neapolitan king, tarried behind in Florence, whilst the Austrians went down into his kingdom. … But as soon as Ferdinand was assured that the Austrian regiments were masters of Naples, he sent for that Prince of Canosa whom he had been forced unwillingly to dismiss on account of his outrageous cruelty five years before, and deputed to him the task of restoring genuine Bourbon tyranny in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. A better agent of vindictive wrath than Canosa could not have been found; he was troubled by no humane compunctions, nor by doubts as to the justice of his fierce measures; to him, as to Torquemada, persecution was a compound of duty and pleasure. … The right of assembling, no matter for what purpose, being denied, the universities, schools, and lyceums had to close; proscription lists were hurriedly drawn up, and they contained not only the names of those who had been prominent in the recent rising, but also of all who had incurred suspicion for any political acts as far back as 1793. … Houses were searched without warrant; seals were broken open; some of the revelations of the confessional were not sacred. The church-bells tolled incessantly for victims led to execution. To strike deeper terror, Canosa revived the barbarous torture of scourging in public. … How many victims actually suffered during this reign of terror we cannot tell. Canosa's list of the proscribed had, it is said, more than four thousand names. The prisons were choked with persons begging for trial; the galleys of Pantelleria, Procida, and the Ponza Islands swarmed with victims condemned for life; the scaffolds, erected in the public squares of the chief towns, were daily occupied. … At length, when his deputies had terrorized the country into apparent submission, and when the Austrian regiments made it safe for him to travel, Ferdinand quitted Florence and returned to Naples. … In Sicily the revolution smouldered and spluttered for years, in spite of remorseless efforts to stamp it out; on the mainland, robberies and brigandage, and outbreaks now political and now criminal, proved how delusive was a security based on oppression and lies. Amid these conditions Ferdinand passed the later years of his infamous reign. … In Piedmont the retaliation was as effectual as in Naples, but less blood was shed there. Della Torre took command of the kingdom in the name of Charles Felix. … Seventy-three officers were condemned to death, one hundred and five to the galleys; but as nearly all of them had escaped, they were hanged in effigy; only two, Lieutenant Lanari and Captain Garelli, were executed. The property of the condemned was sequestrated, their families were tormented, and the commission, not content with sentencing those who had taken an active part in the revolution, cashiered two hundred and twenty-one officers who, while holding aloof from Santarosa, had refused to join Della Torre at Novara and fight against their countrymen. … The King … had soon reason to learn the truth of a former epigram of his, 'Austria is a bird-lime which you cannot wash off your fingers when you have once touched it'; for Austria soon showed that her motive in bolstering falling monarchs on their shaky thrones was not simply philanthropic nor disinterested. General Bubna, on taking possession of Alessandria, sent the keys of that fortress to Emperor Francis, in order, he said,—and we wonder whether there was no sarcasm in his voice,—in order to give Charles Felix 'the pleasure of receiving them back from the Emperor's hand.' 'Although I found this a very poor joke,' wrote Charles Felix to his brother, 'I dissembled.' How, indeed, could he do otherwise? … Charles Felix had in truth become but the vassal of the hereditary enemy of his line, and that not by conquest, but by his own invitation."