Liberal Revolt in the Two Sicilies 1820-1821

The post-Napoleonic restoration of Ferdinand IV of Naples, re-crowned as Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (the merging of kingdoms of Naples and Sicily), produced substantial dissatisfaction. Liberals plotted revolution in secret societies like the Carbonari. News of the initial success of the Spanish Liberals in securing a return to the Constitution of 1812 inspired a mutiny by cavalry regiments seeking constitutional government on July 1, 1820, in the town of Nola. The rebels gained adherents quickly and sympathetic riots and revolts took place throughout Naples. The regular army refused to oppose the rebels so, after a week of growing unrest, Ferdinand I acquiesced to having a constitution based on the Spanish document.

While constitutionalism mollified Neapolitan Liberals, as the revolution spread to Sicily, a movement for autonomy or independence developed under the leadership of Sicilian nobles opposed to the constitution. By September 1820, efforts to reconcile the new Neapolitan parliament and the Sicilians broke down and an expeditionary force of seven thousand troops was dispatched to re-establish Neapolitan rule over Sicily. The Sicilian resistance was concentrated at Palermo, which was besieged and the most savage fighting of the war took place in the last week of September and the first week of October.

Meanwhile, Austria sought approval from the Holy Alliance powers for an intervention in Two Sicilies. On November 19, 1820, the Troppau Protocol warned of the possible use of military force to reestablish order. At the Congress of Laibach (now Ljubljana, Slovenia), beginning on January 26, 1821, the great powers continued deliberations to reach agreement on an intervention in Two Sicilies among other questions. In early March, Ferdinand I arrived at the congress, ostensibly he went there to prevent an intervention but, in fact, he asked for help re-establishing absolute rule; the congress proclaimed its hostility to revolutionary regimes, agreed to abolish the Neapolitan constitution, and authorized the Austrian army to restore the absolutist monarchy. An army of sixty thousand Austrian regulars massed on the border of Naples.

A Neapolitan Liberal army, led by Guglielmo Pepe, met the Austrian host at Rieti on March 7, 1821; the battle was brief and disastrous for the Neapolitan Liberals. The line broke almost immediately under Austrian fire and the panicked troops fled the field. Neapolitan resistance completely collapsed and the Austrian forces entered the city of Naples on March 23, 1821, restoring the absolutist rule of Ferdinand I over the Two Sicilies.

Notes

[1] Correlates of War (CoW) proposes 2,000 battle deaths; Richardson notes uncertainty about whether there were 1,000 battle deaths. Romani claims casualties at Rieti were no more than 54 Austrians and fewer Neapolitans and describes Palermo as the worst fighting though not providing an estimates of battle deaths.

References

Clodfelter, 284; COW502, Dixon and Sarkees, 229-31; EB - Congress of Laibach; Kohn, 326-7; Richardson, 74; Romani, 134-7, 164-8.

George T Romani. The Neapolitan Revolution of 1820-1821. Northwestern University Press. 1950.

Category

Intra-State War

Region

Western Europe

Belligerents

Neopolitan Liberals, Sicilians, Austria

Dispute

Governance

Initiation Date

July 1, 1820

Termination Date

March 23, 1821

Duration

8 months, 23 days
(266 days)

Outcome

Imposed Settlement
(Neopolitan Royalist, Austrian victory)

Fatalities

Total: 1,000^[1]

Magnitude

3.0