Maria Carolina of Austria
Encyclopedia
Maria Carolina of Austria was Queen of Naples and Sicily as the wife of King Ferdinand IV & III
. As de facto
ruler of her husband's kingdoms, Maria Carolina oversaw the promulgation of many reforms, including the revocation of the ban on Freemasonry
, the enlargement of the navy under her favourite, John Acton, 6th Baronet
, and the expulsion of Spanish influence. She was a proponent of enlightened absolutism
until the advent of the French Revolution
, when, in order to prevent its ideas gaining currency, she made Naples a police state.
Born an Austrian archduchess, the thirteenth child of Empress Maria Theresa
and Emperor Francis I
, she married Ferdinand as part of an Austrian alliance with Spain, where Ferdinand's father
was King. Following the birth of a male heir in 1775, Maria Carolina was admitted to the Privy Council
. Thereafter, she dominated it until 1812, when she was sent back to Vienna
. Like her mother, Maria Carolina took pains to make politically advantageous marriages for her children. A patron, Maria Carolina promoted Naples as a centre of the arts, patronising painters Jacob Philipp Hackert
and Angelica Kauffman and academics Gaetano Filangieri
, Domenico Cirillo
and Giuseppe Maria Galanti
. Maria Carolina, abhorred by her sister Marie Antoinette
's treatment by the French, allied Naples with Britain and Austria during the Napoleonic
and French Revolutionary
Wars. As a result of a failed Neapolitan invasion of French-occupied Rome, she fled to Sicily with her husband in December 1798. One month later, the Parthenopean Republic was declared, which repudiated Bourbonic rule in Naples for six months. Deposed as Queen of Naples for a second time by French forces, in 1806, Maria Carolina died in Vienna in 1814, a year before her husband's restoration to Naples.
, Vienna
, Maria Carolina was the thirteenth and tenth surviving child of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
and Maria Theresa of Austria
, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia and ruler of the Habsburg dominions. She was a namesake of her elder sisters, Maria Carolina
, who died two weeks after her first birthday and Maria Carolina
, who died several hours after being baptised. Her godparents were King Louis XV of France
and his Polish-born queen, Marie Leczinska. Maria Carolina was the daughter who resembled her mother most. Maria Carolina formed a very close bond with her youngest sister, Maria Antonia
. From very early on they shared the same governess Countess Lerchenfeld
. A testament to their closeness is the fact that when one caught an illness, the other did, too. In August 1767, Maria Theresa separated the two girls, hitherto raised together under the auspices of Countess Marie von Brandis, because of their bad behaviour. Soon after, in October of the same year, Maria Carolina's sister Maria Josepha, destined to marry Ferdinand IV of Naples
as part of an alliance with Spain, died during a smallpox
epidemic. Anxious to save the Austro-Spanish alliance, Charles III of Spain
, father of Ferdinand IV, requested one of Maria Josepha's sisters as a replacement. The Empress offered the court of Madrid, negotiating on behalf of that of Naples, Maria Amalia or Maria Carolina. Because Maria Amalia was five years older than his son, Charles III opted for the latter. Maria Carolina reacted badly to her engagement, crying, entreating and saying that Neapolitan marriages were unlucky. Her objections, however, did not delay her preparation for her new role as Queen of Naples by the Countess of Lerchenfeld
. Nine months later, on 7 April 1768, Maria Carolina married Ferdinand IV of Naples by proxy, her brother Ferdinand representing the bride-groom.
The sixteen-year-old Queen of Naples journeyed at leisure from Vienna to Naples, making stops at Mantua
, Bologna
, Florence
and Rome on the way. She entered the Kingdom of Naples
on 12 May 1768, disembarking at Terracina
, where she took leave of her native attendants. From Terracina, she and her remaining suite, comprising her brother the Grand Duke of Tuscany
and his wife Maria Luisa of Spain
, ventured to Poztella, where she met her husband, whom she found "very ugly". To the Countess of Lerchenfeld, she wrote, "I love him only out of duty...." Ferdinand, too, was not taken with her, declaring, after their first night together, "She sleeps like the dead and sweats like a pig."
Maria Carolina's dislike of her husband, however, did not get in the way of her bearing children, as her most important wifely duty was to perpetuate the dynasty. In total, Maria Carolina bore Ferdinand eighteen children, of whom seven survived to adulthood including his successor, Francis I
, the last Holy Roman Empress, a Grand Duchess of Tuscany, the last Queen of the French and a Princess of Asturias.
Ferdinand, having received a lacklustre education from the Prince of San Nicandro, lacked the ability to rule, relying completely on his father Charles III of Spain's counsel, communicated by Bernardo Tanucci
. Pursuant to Empress Maria Theresa's instructions, Maria Carolina gained Ferdinand's trust by feigning interest in his favourite activiy—hunting. With it, she obtained a back-door to the administration of the state, only to be fully realised by the birth of an heir in 1775, with her admission to the Privy Council. Until then, Maria Carolina presided over the rejuvenation of Neapolitan court life, largely neglected since the advent of her husband's regency. Academics Gaetano Filangieri
, Domenico Cirillo
and Giuseppe Maria Galanti
frequented her salon, among others.
Tanucci's fall from grace came about over an argument with Maria Carolina regarding Freemasonry
, of which she was an adherent. Acting on orders from Charles III, Tanucci revived a law from 1751 banning Freemasonry in response to the discovery of a masonic lodge among the royal regiment. Angered, the Queen expressed to Charles III her opinion that Tanucci was ruining the country through the medium of a letter written by her husband, thus making it look as if it was his idea. Resigned to the Queen's wishes, Ferdinand dismissed Tanucci in October 1776, causing a rift with his father. The appointment of Tanucci's successor, the Marquis of Sambuca, Maria Carolina's powerless puppet, represented the end of Spanish influence in Naples, hitherto virtually a province of that country. Maria Carolina proceeded to alienate large swaths of the nobility by substituting the influence of Spain for that of Austria. Her unpopularity among the nobility was increased by her attempts to curb their prerogative.
Without Tanucci in government, the Queen alone ruled Naples and Sicily, assisted by her French-born, English favourite, John Acton, 6th Baronet
, from 1778 onwards. Acting on her brother the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II's
advice, Maria Carolina and Acton revamped the Neapolitan navy, hitherto neglected, opening 4 marine colleges and commissioning 150 ships of various sizes. The merchant navy, too, was augmented by trade pacts with Russia
and Genoa
. Charles III
, having declared war on Great Britain
in alliance with America, was angered by Acton's appointment to the Ministry of War and of Marine because he felt his Spanish candidate, Don Antonio Otero, was more worthy of such a high government post by virtue of the fact he wasn't English. Maria Carolina once again replied using a letter written by the King, expounding to Charles III that Acton, the son of a French woman, was not English and that he was appointed before Spanish hostilities with Britain broke out. Charles's attacks against Acton only served to endear the latter more to the Queen, who proceeded to appoint him Field-Marshal. Acton's reforms were not restricted to the expansion of the navy; at the same time, he cut the expenditure of his department by 500,000 ducats and invited foreign drill-sergeants and officers to fill vacancies in the army. Acton and Maria Carolina were seen to have become so close by 1782 that, according to the Sardinian ambassador in Naples, people falsely believed they were lovers. That the rumour was untrue was not known to the King, who tried several times to "surprise you together" and threatened to kill them both in a rage. In response, Maria Carolina set spies on her husband, but a reconciliation was soon achieved. As part of this rapprochment, Acton went to live in Castellamare
, but returned to Naples three times a week to see the Queen.
Maria Carolina patronised German-Swiss artists, foremostly Angelica Kauffman, who famously painted the Queen's family in an informal garden setting in 1783, and gave her daughters lessons in drawing. Maria Carolina showered Kauffman with gifts, but she preferred the artistic circles in Rome to Naples. The Queen's patronage was not restricted to portrait painters: she allotted landscape painter Jacob Philipp Hackert
a wing of the palace at Francavilla. Like Kauffman, he gave lessons to the Queen's children and enjoyed her confidence. On recommendation from Hackert, the King and Queen restored the statues of Palazzo Farnese
and brought them to Naples. In 1784, the Queen established the philanthropic San Leucio
colony, a village with its own unique laws and customs whose sole object it was to weave silk.
In 1788, with the death of King Charles III, Neapolitan-Spanish relations improved. The new King, Charles IV
, was eager to be on good terms with his brother, the King of Naples, sending the Spanish fleet to salute to him. To consolidate their reconciliation, Charles IV proposed that his daughter marry the King and Queen's eldest son, the Duke of Calabria
. While the King supported the match, Maria Carolina shunned it. Like her mother, she had carefully chosen the prospective husbands and wives of her children, matches that were to cement political alliances of her choosing. The death of the Queen's nephew Crown Prince Francis of Austria's
wife, Duchess Elisabeth of Württemberg
, afforded her an opportunity to fulfil her marital ambitions. Her daughters Maria Theresa and Luisa
married Crown Prince Francis and Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany
, respectively, during the Neapolitan royal family's visit to Vienna in 1790.
Maria Carolina was anxious to improve Neapolitan-Papal relations, which had deteriorated owing to arguments with Pope Pius VI
over ecclesiastical laws and the investiture and choice of bishops. Consequently, Naples had stopped paying its annual tribute of 7,000 ducats. Therefore, Maria Carolina arranged a meeting with the Pope. To emphasise their desire to see him, the King and Queen arrived in Rome, en route to Naples from Vienna, earlier than expected, where they were greeted by Pius VI in a private audience. The Pope agreed to cede to the King the right of appointing bishops to vacant sees. Thus, because the King and Queen had not made any concessions in return, the prestige of Naples was augmented. On leaving, Maria Carolina was presented with the Golden Rose
, a great mark of Papal favour.
The return from Vienna marked a new epoch in the politics of Naples. Alarmed by developments in France, especially in regards to her favourite sister, Marie Antoinette
, Maria Carolina ended her experiment in enlightened absolutism
and started on a reactionary course. She rejected the French Revolution
and was determined to prevent its ideology gaining prevalence in Naples. She did this by sub-dividing Naples into twelve police wards, controlled by government-appointed commissioners, replacing the popularly-elected alderman system. The effectiveness of the wards was increased by the creation of a secret police force, which had in its pay spies of every class. It was through her secret police that Maria Carolina learned of her substantial decline in popularity among all classes of society.
In an attempt to please Great Britain, with a military alliance in mind, the Queen deigned to meet the wife of the English ambassador, Emma Hamilton
, in audience, despite the fact that the British Queen, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
, had not yet received her. However, they soon struck up a friendship, Emma singing duets with the King and dining privately with the royal family. The Queen, whom Emma thought "most excellent and strictly good and upright", was drawn closer to Emma by her willingness to betray Britain's diplomatic secrets.
and Queen Marie Antoinette were arrested on 10 August 1792. Hence, the Neapolitan government refused to recognise French diplomatist Baron Armand de Mackau's recently-arrived legation. Queen Maria Carolina was so horrified at what had happened at the Tuileries
that day that she almost broke off relations with France altogether. The King and Queen's prevarication of Mackau's requests to be recognised as a representative of the French Republic caused tension with that country. John Acton, now Prime Minister of Naples, allayed Maria Carolina's fervent desire to go to war with France and tried to placate Mackau until he could rely on British military support. His plan, however, back-fired when the French government intercepted a letter detailing how he sabotaged the diplomatic mission of Huguet de Sémonville
to the Ottoman Empire
. When France started making preparations for war in November to avenge this insult, the King and Queen finally capitulated and begrudged recognition to Mackau and the Republic. However, the national assembly had already sent 9 ships under Admiral La Touche to seek redress, which arrived on 17 December in Naples. La Touche stipulated that, if Acton did not apologise to him in person for the Sémonville affair, he would lay waste to Naples within an hour. The Queen's decision to accede to La Touche's demands earned her the criticism of some Neapolitan historians, like General Colletta
, who over-look the fact that Naples was unable to mount a defence at the time as the navy was not mobilised.
Maria Carolina's preventatives against Jacobinism were rendered useless in the face of the subversive actives of La Touche's fleet, which was obliged to return to Naples shortly after leaving by a storm. The French sailors, "republican agents", were allowed to land on this occasion, inculcating their anti-monarchical sentiments in the Neapolitans. Upon La Touche's departure, on 29 January 1793, Maria Carolina launched an ineffective offensive against Neapolitan radicals, allowing the most dangerous schemers to escape justice. Why the offensive failed can be explained by the fact that her chief of police, Luigi de' Medici
, was secretly a radical himself. Concurrently, Maria Carolina arranged a treaty of alliance with Great Britain, on whom France had latterly declared war. By this treaty, Naples was to contribute four men-of-war, four frigates and four smaller ships, along with six thousand soldiers, to protect commerce in the Mediterranean. In August 1793, following the Siege of Toulon, Naples joined the First Coalition
, comprising Great Britain, Russia, Austria
, Prussia
, Spain, Portugal and Savoy-Sardinia
, against France.
The cessation of Franco-Spanish hostilities in the summer of 1795 gave Napoleon Bonaparte, a Corsican general in the French army, the opportunity to focus on France's Italian Campaign. Bonaparte's successes in Northern Italy compelled Maria Carolina to sue for peace, under which Naples had to pay to France a war indemnity of 8 million francs. However, neither country intended to observe this treaty in the long-term. The marriage of her eldest son, the Duke of Calabria
, to Archduchess Maria Clementina of Austria
in 1797 offered Maria Carolina a brief respite from the affairs of war, which had taken a toll on her health. Maria Carolina entered a secret defensive alliance with Austria on 20 May 1798, in response to France's occupation of the Papal States
, which shared a border with Naples. After assisting in the British victory at the Battle of the Nile
, the Queen decided to join the Second Coalition against France; Austria sent General Mack
to take command. War council meetings, comprising the Queen, the King, Mack, Sir William Hamilton, the English ambassador, and Admiral Nelson, the victor of the Nile, were held in the Palace of Caserta. They decided to invade the Roman Republic
, a French puppet state.
succeeded it rapidly, and in January 1799 he occupied Naples and forced the royal family to escape to Sicily. In the Sicilian exile Maria Carolina continue his politics towards Naples.
On 24 January 1799 was proclaimed in Naples the Parthenopean Republic by the French troops led by General Championnet. The chosen name (after Parthenope, an ancient Greek colony who existed on the site of the future city of Naples) was an intent of the Frenchs to obtain the beneplacit of the Neapolitan people. During the republican period, a government was installed with Ercole D'Agnese as elected President, the press freedom was proclaimed, and were prepare future reforms. However, after only 6 months, the young republic ended when the Sanfedisti, the army leaded by Cardinal Fabrizio Ruffo
, attacked and invaded Naples (21 June 1799). The collapse of the republic was largely due to the English fleet, which had supplied the royal army with weapons. Again, was Admiral Nelson who successfully defeated the Frenchs in the summer of 1799 from Naples and Sicily and to secure the throne for the Royal couple.
In June 1800 Maria Carolina traveled with her three unmarried daughters, her younger son Leopoldo
, and accompanied by William and Emma Hamilton and Nelson over Livorno
, Florence
, Trieste
and Laibach
to Vienna
, where she arrived two months later. Maria Carolina stayed two years in her homeland, where she arranged for her children advantageous marriages. In the family circle, she spent most time with her favorite grandchild, Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria
, who later became in the wife of her arch-enemy Napoleon.
(2 December 1805).
Napoleon didn't hesitate now to conquer Naples and at first his brother Joseph Bonaparte, and four years later his brother Joachim Murat were sit on the throne of Naples. The royal family was forced to flee in February 1806 to Sicily. The refugees counted in their exile with the help of England, but after the death of Admiral Nelson in the Battle of Trafalgar
(21 October 1805), they developed more and more aversion to Maria Carolina, and finally in 1813, when her husband essentially (but not officially) abdicated, appointing their son Francis
regent, which deprived her of any political influence, the Queen was forced to leave Sicily and return to Vienna.
Still on the journey she received the news of Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Leipzig
on 19 October 1813. After a long journey through Constantinople
, Odessa
, Lviv
and Budapest
, Maria Carolina finally arrived in Vienna in January 1814, where she began negotiations with Prince Metternich and her nephew Emperor Francis I of Austria with the purpose of her restoration in the Neapolitan throne. However, this never happened: Maria Carolina died on 8 September at the consequence of a stroke, without seeing the final exile of Napoleon in the Island of St. Helena and the restoration of her husband in the Congress of Vienna
. Her maid found the Queen in a sea of letters lying dead on the floor.
Maria Carolina was buried in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna; her parents are also buried there.
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Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies
Ferdinand I reigned variously over Naples, Sicily, and the Two Sicilies from 1759 until his death. He was the third son of King Charles III of Spain by his wife Maria Amalia of Saxony. On 10 August 1759, Charles succeeded his elder brother, Ferdinand VI, as King Charles III of Spain...
. As de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
ruler of her husband's kingdoms, Maria Carolina oversaw the promulgation of many reforms, including the revocation of the ban on Freemasonry
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
, the enlargement of the navy under her favourite, John Acton, 6th Baronet
Sir John Acton, 6th Baronet
Sir John Francis Edward Acton, 6th Baronet was commander of the naval forces of Grand Duchy of Tuscany and prime minister of Naples under Ferdinand IV....
, and the expulsion of Spanish influence. She was a proponent of enlightened absolutism
Enlightened absolutism
Enlightened absolutism is a form of absolute monarchy or despotism in which rulers were influenced by the Enlightenment. Enlightened monarchs embraced the principles of the Enlightenment, especially its emphasis upon rationality, and applied them to their territories...
until the advent of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, when, in order to prevent its ideas gaining currency, she made Naples a police state.
Born an Austrian archduchess, the thirteenth child of Empress Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...
and Emperor Francis I
Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis I was Holy Roman Emperor and Grand Duke of Tuscany, though his wife effectively executed the real power of those positions. With his wife, Maria Theresa, he was the founder of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty...
, she married Ferdinand as part of an Austrian alliance with Spain, where Ferdinand's father
Charles III of Spain
Charles III was the King of Spain and the Spanish Indies from 1759 to 1788. He was the eldest son of Philip V of Spain and his second wife, the Princess Elisabeth Farnese...
was King. Following the birth of a male heir in 1775, Maria Carolina was admitted to the Privy Council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
. Thereafter, she dominated it until 1812, when she was sent back to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. Like her mother, Maria Carolina took pains to make politically advantageous marriages for her children. A patron, Maria Carolina promoted Naples as a centre of the arts, patronising painters Jacob Philipp Hackert
Jacob Philipp Hackert
Jacob Philipp Hackert was a landscape painter from Brandenburg, who did most of his work in Italy....
and Angelica Kauffman and academics Gaetano Filangieri
Gaetano Filangieri
Gaetano Filangieri , Italian jurist and philosopher, was born in San Sebastiano al Vesuvio, a country near Naples....
, Domenico Cirillo
Domenico Cirillo
Domenico Cirillo , Italian physician and patriot, was born at Grumo Nevano in the kingdom of Naples....
and Giuseppe Maria Galanti
Giuseppe Maria Galanti
-Life:Galanti was born in Santa Croce del Sannio, Molise. He was a follower of Pietro Giannone and studied under Antonio Genovesi. While young he was influenced by independent-minded priests and came to hate feudalism; moving as a boy to Naples, he came to know the ideas of Gaetano Filangieri as...
. Maria Carolina, abhorred by her sister Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
's treatment by the French, allied Naples with Britain and Austria during the Napoleonic
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
and French Revolutionary
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
Wars. As a result of a failed Neapolitan invasion of French-occupied Rome, she fled to Sicily with her husband in December 1798. One month later, the Parthenopean Republic was declared, which repudiated Bourbonic rule in Naples for six months. Deposed as Queen of Naples for a second time by French forces, in 1806, Maria Carolina died in Vienna in 1814, a year before her husband's restoration to Naples.
Early life
Born on 13 August 1752 at the Schönbrunn PalaceSchönbrunn Palace
Schönbrunn Palace is a former imperial 1,441-room Rococo summer residence in Vienna, Austria. One of the most important cultural monuments in the country, since the 1960s it has been one of the major tourist attractions in Vienna...
, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Maria Carolina was the thirteenth and tenth surviving child of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis I was Holy Roman Emperor and Grand Duke of Tuscany, though his wife effectively executed the real power of those positions. With his wife, Maria Theresa, he was the founder of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty...
and Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...
, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia and ruler of the Habsburg dominions. She was a namesake of her elder sisters, Maria Carolina
Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria (1740–1741)
Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria was the third child and daughter of Maria Theresa, later Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, and Duke Francis of Lorraine, later Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor.-Life:Maria Carolina was born on 5 February 1737 at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna...
, who died two weeks after her first birthday and Maria Carolina
Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria (1748)
Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria was the ninth child and daughter of Maria Theresa, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, and Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor.-Life:...
, who died several hours after being baptised. Her godparents were King Louis XV of France
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
and his Polish-born queen, Marie Leczinska. Maria Carolina was the daughter who resembled her mother most. Maria Carolina formed a very close bond with her youngest sister, Maria Antonia
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
. From very early on they shared the same governess Countess Lerchenfeld
Countess Lerchenfeld
Marie Walburge Gräfin Lerchenfeld, also known as Countess Lerchenfeld or Madame de Lerchenfeld, served Maria Theresa in Vienna as the governess of several of her children. Marie Antoinette, future queen of France, was among her charges. She is mentioned in the book Marie Antoinette: Princess of...
. A testament to their closeness is the fact that when one caught an illness, the other did, too. In August 1767, Maria Theresa separated the two girls, hitherto raised together under the auspices of Countess Marie von Brandis, because of their bad behaviour. Soon after, in October of the same year, Maria Carolina's sister Maria Josepha, destined to marry Ferdinand IV of Naples
Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies
Ferdinand I reigned variously over Naples, Sicily, and the Two Sicilies from 1759 until his death. He was the third son of King Charles III of Spain by his wife Maria Amalia of Saxony. On 10 August 1759, Charles succeeded his elder brother, Ferdinand VI, as King Charles III of Spain...
as part of an alliance with Spain, died during a smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
epidemic. Anxious to save the Austro-Spanish alliance, Charles III of Spain
Charles III of Spain
Charles III was the King of Spain and the Spanish Indies from 1759 to 1788. He was the eldest son of Philip V of Spain and his second wife, the Princess Elisabeth Farnese...
, father of Ferdinand IV, requested one of Maria Josepha's sisters as a replacement. The Empress offered the court of Madrid, negotiating on behalf of that of Naples, Maria Amalia or Maria Carolina. Because Maria Amalia was five years older than his son, Charles III opted for the latter. Maria Carolina reacted badly to her engagement, crying, entreating and saying that Neapolitan marriages were unlucky. Her objections, however, did not delay her preparation for her new role as Queen of Naples by the Countess of Lerchenfeld
Countess Lerchenfeld
Marie Walburge Gräfin Lerchenfeld, also known as Countess Lerchenfeld or Madame de Lerchenfeld, served Maria Theresa in Vienna as the governess of several of her children. Marie Antoinette, future queen of France, was among her charges. She is mentioned in the book Marie Antoinette: Princess of...
. Nine months later, on 7 April 1768, Maria Carolina married Ferdinand IV of Naples by proxy, her brother Ferdinand representing the bride-groom.
Fall of Tanucci
Mantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
, Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
and Rome on the way. She entered the Kingdom of Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
on 12 May 1768, disembarking at Terracina
Terracina
Terracina is a town and comune of the province of Latina - , Italy, 76 km SE of Rome by rail .-Ancient times:...
, where she took leave of her native attendants. From Terracina, she and her remaining suite, comprising her brother the Grand Duke of Tuscany
Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor
Leopold II , born Peter Leopold Joseph Anton Joachim Pius Gotthard, was Holy Roman Emperor and King of Hungary and Bohemia from 1790 to 1792, Archduke of Austria and Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1765 to 1790. He was a son of Emperor Francis I and his wife, Empress Maria Theresa...
and his wife Maria Luisa of Spain
Maria Luisa of Spain
Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain was Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Queen of Bohemia and Hungary as the spouse of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor.-Names:...
, ventured to Poztella, where she met her husband, whom she found "very ugly". To the Countess of Lerchenfeld, she wrote, "I love him only out of duty...." Ferdinand, too, was not taken with her, declaring, after their first night together, "She sleeps like the dead and sweats like a pig."
Maria Carolina's dislike of her husband, however, did not get in the way of her bearing children, as her most important wifely duty was to perpetuate the dynasty. In total, Maria Carolina bore Ferdinand eighteen children, of whom seven survived to adulthood including his successor, Francis I
Francis I of the Two Sicilies
-Biography:Francis was born in Naples, the son of Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and his wife Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria. He was also the nephew of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI the last King and Queen of France before the first French Republic....
, the last Holy Roman Empress, a Grand Duchess of Tuscany, the last Queen of the French and a Princess of Asturias.
Ferdinand, having received a lacklustre education from the Prince of San Nicandro, lacked the ability to rule, relying completely on his father Charles III of Spain's counsel, communicated by Bernardo Tanucci
Bernardo Tanucci
Bernardo Tanucci was an Italian statesman, who brought enlightened government to the backward Kingdom of the Two Sicilies for Charles III and his son Ferdinand IV.-Biography:...
. Pursuant to Empress Maria Theresa's instructions, Maria Carolina gained Ferdinand's trust by feigning interest in his favourite activiy—hunting. With it, she obtained a back-door to the administration of the state, only to be fully realised by the birth of an heir in 1775, with her admission to the Privy Council. Until then, Maria Carolina presided over the rejuvenation of Neapolitan court life, largely neglected since the advent of her husband's regency. Academics Gaetano Filangieri
Gaetano Filangieri
Gaetano Filangieri , Italian jurist and philosopher, was born in San Sebastiano al Vesuvio, a country near Naples....
, Domenico Cirillo
Domenico Cirillo
Domenico Cirillo , Italian physician and patriot, was born at Grumo Nevano in the kingdom of Naples....
and Giuseppe Maria Galanti
Giuseppe Maria Galanti
-Life:Galanti was born in Santa Croce del Sannio, Molise. He was a follower of Pietro Giannone and studied under Antonio Genovesi. While young he was influenced by independent-minded priests and came to hate feudalism; moving as a boy to Naples, he came to know the ideas of Gaetano Filangieri as...
frequented her salon, among others.
Tanucci's fall from grace came about over an argument with Maria Carolina regarding Freemasonry
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
, of which she was an adherent. Acting on orders from Charles III, Tanucci revived a law from 1751 banning Freemasonry in response to the discovery of a masonic lodge among the royal regiment. Angered, the Queen expressed to Charles III her opinion that Tanucci was ruining the country through the medium of a letter written by her husband, thus making it look as if it was his idea. Resigned to the Queen's wishes, Ferdinand dismissed Tanucci in October 1776, causing a rift with his father. The appointment of Tanucci's successor, the Marquis of Sambuca, Maria Carolina's powerless puppet, represented the end of Spanish influence in Naples, hitherto virtually a province of that country. Maria Carolina proceeded to alienate large swaths of the nobility by substituting the influence of Spain for that of Austria. Her unpopularity among the nobility was increased by her attempts to curb their prerogative.
Acton and the military
Sir John Acton, 6th Baronet
Sir John Francis Edward Acton, 6th Baronet was commander of the naval forces of Grand Duchy of Tuscany and prime minister of Naples under Ferdinand IV....
, from 1778 onwards. Acting on her brother the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II's
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...
advice, Maria Carolina and Acton revamped the Neapolitan navy, hitherto neglected, opening 4 marine colleges and commissioning 150 ships of various sizes. The merchant navy, too, was augmented by trade pacts with Russia
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
and Genoa
Republic of Genoa
The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....
. Charles III
Charles III of Spain
Charles III was the King of Spain and the Spanish Indies from 1759 to 1788. He was the eldest son of Philip V of Spain and his second wife, the Princess Elisabeth Farnese...
, having declared war on Great Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
in alliance with America, was angered by Acton's appointment to the Ministry of War and of Marine because he felt his Spanish candidate, Don Antonio Otero, was more worthy of such a high government post by virtue of the fact he wasn't English. Maria Carolina once again replied using a letter written by the King, expounding to Charles III that Acton, the son of a French woman, was not English and that he was appointed before Spanish hostilities with Britain broke out. Charles's attacks against Acton only served to endear the latter more to the Queen, who proceeded to appoint him Field-Marshal. Acton's reforms were not restricted to the expansion of the navy; at the same time, he cut the expenditure of his department by 500,000 ducats and invited foreign drill-sergeants and officers to fill vacancies in the army. Acton and Maria Carolina were seen to have become so close by 1782 that, according to the Sardinian ambassador in Naples, people falsely believed they were lovers. That the rumour was untrue was not known to the King, who tried several times to "surprise you together" and threatened to kill them both in a rage. In response, Maria Carolina set spies on her husband, but a reconciliation was soon achieved. As part of this rapprochment, Acton went to live in Castellamare
Castellammare di Stabia
Castellammare di Stabia is a comune in the province of Naples, Campania region, southern Italy. It is situated on the Bay of Naples about 30 kilometers southeast of Naples, on the route to Sorrento.-History:...
, but returned to Naples three times a week to see the Queen.
Artistic patronage and the death of Charles III
Jacob Philipp Hackert
Jacob Philipp Hackert was a landscape painter from Brandenburg, who did most of his work in Italy....
a wing of the palace at Francavilla. Like Kauffman, he gave lessons to the Queen's children and enjoyed her confidence. On recommendation from Hackert, the King and Queen restored the statues of Palazzo Farnese
Palazzo Farnese, Rome
Palazzo Farnese is a High Renaissance palace in Rome, which currently houses the French embassy and the Ecole Française de Rome ....
and brought them to Naples. In 1784, the Queen established the philanthropic San Leucio
San Leucio
San Leucio is a frazione of the comune of Caserta, in the region of Campania in southern Italy. It is most notable for a resort developed around an old silk factory, included in the UNESCO World Heritage sites list in 1997....
colony, a village with its own unique laws and customs whose sole object it was to weave silk.
In 1788, with the death of King Charles III, Neapolitan-Spanish relations improved. The new King, Charles IV
Charles IV of Spain
Charles IV was King of Spain from 14 December 1788 until his abdication on 19 March 1808.-Early life:...
, was eager to be on good terms with his brother, the King of Naples, sending the Spanish fleet to salute to him. To consolidate their reconciliation, Charles IV proposed that his daughter marry the King and Queen's eldest son, the Duke of Calabria
Francis I of the Two Sicilies
-Biography:Francis was born in Naples, the son of Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and his wife Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria. He was also the nephew of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI the last King and Queen of France before the first French Republic....
. While the King supported the match, Maria Carolina shunned it. Like her mother, she had carefully chosen the prospective husbands and wives of her children, matches that were to cement political alliances of her choosing. The death of the Queen's nephew Crown Prince Francis of Austria's
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis II was the last Holy Roman Emperor, ruling from 1792 until 6 August 1806, when he dissolved the Empire after the disastrous defeat of the Third Coalition by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz...
wife, Duchess Elisabeth of Württemberg
Duchess Elisabeth of Württemberg
Elisabeth of Württemberg was by birth a Duchess of Württemberg and by marriage an Archduchess of Austria.-Family:...
, afforded her an opportunity to fulfil her marital ambitions. Her daughters Maria Theresa and Luisa
Princess Luisa of Naples and Sicily
Maria Luisa of Naples and Sicily , was a Neapolitan and Sicilian princess and the wife of the third Habsburg Grand Duke of Tuscany.-Background:...
married Crown Prince Francis and Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1790 to 1801 and, after a period of disenfranchisement, again from 1814 to 1824. He was also the Prince-elector and Grand Duke of Salzburg and Grand Duke of Würzburg .-Biography:Ferdinand was born in Florence, Tuscany, into the...
, respectively, during the Neapolitan royal family's visit to Vienna in 1790.
End of enlightened absolutism
Pope Pius VI
Pope Pius VI , born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, was Pope from 1775 to 1799.-Early years:Braschi was born in Cesena...
over ecclesiastical laws and the investiture and choice of bishops. Consequently, Naples had stopped paying its annual tribute of 7,000 ducats. Therefore, Maria Carolina arranged a meeting with the Pope. To emphasise their desire to see him, the King and Queen arrived in Rome, en route to Naples from Vienna, earlier than expected, where they were greeted by Pius VI in a private audience. The Pope agreed to cede to the King the right of appointing bishops to vacant sees. Thus, because the King and Queen had not made any concessions in return, the prestige of Naples was augmented. On leaving, Maria Carolina was presented with the Golden Rose
Golden Rose
The Golden Rose is a gold ornament, which popes of the Catholic Church have traditionally blessed annually. It is occasionally conferred as a token of reverence or affection...
, a great mark of Papal favour.
The return from Vienna marked a new epoch in the politics of Naples. Alarmed by developments in France, especially in regards to her favourite sister, Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
, Maria Carolina ended her experiment in enlightened absolutism
Enlightened absolutism
Enlightened absolutism is a form of absolute monarchy or despotism in which rulers were influenced by the Enlightenment. Enlightened monarchs embraced the principles of the Enlightenment, especially its emphasis upon rationality, and applied them to their territories...
and started on a reactionary course. She rejected the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
and was determined to prevent its ideology gaining prevalence in Naples. She did this by sub-dividing Naples into twelve police wards, controlled by government-appointed commissioners, replacing the popularly-elected alderman system. The effectiveness of the wards was increased by the creation of a secret police force, which had in its pay spies of every class. It was through her secret police that Maria Carolina learned of her substantial decline in popularity among all classes of society.
In an attempt to please Great Britain, with a military alliance in mind, the Queen deigned to meet the wife of the English ambassador, Emma Hamilton
Emma, Lady Hamilton
Emma, Lady Hamilton is best remembered as the mistress of Lord Nelson and as the muse of George Romney. She was born Amy Lyon in Ness near Neston, Cheshire, England, the daughter of a blacksmith, Henry Lyon, who died when she was two months old...
, in audience, despite the fact that the British Queen, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was the Queen consort of the United Kingdom as the wife of King George III...
, had not yet received her. However, they soon struck up a friendship, Emma singing duets with the King and dining privately with the royal family. The Queen, whom Emma thought "most excellent and strictly good and upright", was drawn closer to Emma by her willingness to betray Britain's diplomatic secrets.
The Sémonville affair and the First Coalition
King Louis XVI of FranceLouis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
and Queen Marie Antoinette were arrested on 10 August 1792. Hence, the Neapolitan government refused to recognise French diplomatist Baron Armand de Mackau's recently-arrived legation. Queen Maria Carolina was so horrified at what had happened at the Tuileries
Tuileries Palace
The Tuileries Palace was a royal palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine until 1871, when it was destroyed in the upheaval during the suppression of the Paris Commune...
that day that she almost broke off relations with France altogether. The King and Queen's prevarication of Mackau's requests to be recognised as a representative of the French Republic caused tension with that country. John Acton, now Prime Minister of Naples, allayed Maria Carolina's fervent desire to go to war with France and tried to placate Mackau until he could rely on British military support. His plan, however, back-fired when the French government intercepted a letter detailing how he sabotaged the diplomatic mission of Huguet de Sémonville
Charles Louis Huguet, marquis de Sémonville
Charles Louis Huguet, marquis de Sémonville was a French diplomat and politician. He was made a count of the First French Empire in 1808, and marquis in 1819.-Biography:...
to the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. When France started making preparations for war in November to avenge this insult, the King and Queen finally capitulated and begrudged recognition to Mackau and the Republic. However, the national assembly had already sent 9 ships under Admiral La Touche to seek redress, which arrived on 17 December in Naples. La Touche stipulated that, if Acton did not apologise to him in person for the Sémonville affair, he would lay waste to Naples within an hour. The Queen's decision to accede to La Touche's demands earned her the criticism of some Neapolitan historians, like General Colletta
Pietro Colletta
Pietro Colletta was a Neapolitan general and historian, entered the Neapolitan artillery in 1796 and took part in the campaign against the French in 1798.-Biography:Colletta was born in Naples...
, who over-look the fact that Naples was unable to mount a defence at the time as the navy was not mobilised.
Maria Carolina's preventatives against Jacobinism were rendered useless in the face of the subversive actives of La Touche's fleet, which was obliged to return to Naples shortly after leaving by a storm. The French sailors, "republican agents", were allowed to land on this occasion, inculcating their anti-monarchical sentiments in the Neapolitans. Upon La Touche's departure, on 29 January 1793, Maria Carolina launched an ineffective offensive against Neapolitan radicals, allowing the most dangerous schemers to escape justice. Why the offensive failed can be explained by the fact that her chief of police, Luigi de' Medici
Luigi de' Medici
Luigi de' Medici was an Italian jurist, politician and prime minister of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies....
, was secretly a radical himself. Concurrently, Maria Carolina arranged a treaty of alliance with Great Britain, on whom France had latterly declared war. By this treaty, Naples was to contribute four men-of-war, four frigates and four smaller ships, along with six thousand soldiers, to protect commerce in the Mediterranean. In August 1793, following the Siege of Toulon, Naples joined the First Coalition
First Coalition
The War of the First Coalition was the first major effort of multiple European monarchies to contain Revolutionary France. France declared war on the Habsburg monarchy of Austria on 20 April 1792, and the Kingdom of Prussia joined the Austrian side a few weeks later.These powers initiated a series...
, comprising Great Britain, Russia, Austria
Archduchy of Austria
The Archduchy of Austria , one of the most important states within the Holy Roman Empire, was the nucleus of the Habsburg Monarchy and the predecessor of the Austrian Empire...
, Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
, Spain, Portugal and Savoy-Sardinia
Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia consisted of the island of Sardinia first as a part of the Crown of Aragon and subsequently the Spanish Empire , and second as a part of the composite state of the House of Savoy . Its capital was originally Cagliari, in the south of the island, and later Turin, on the...
, against France.
Italian campaign
The execution of Marie Antoinette in October 1793 breathed a new lease of life into the Queen's counter-revolution. Maria Carolina was so horrified by that event that she refused to speak French, "that monstrous language", and banned the "inflammatory" philosophical works of Galanti and Filangeri, who had hitherto enjoyed the Queen's patronage. In 1794, following the discovery of a Jacobin plot to overthrow the government, Maria Carolina ordered Medici to suppress the Freemasons, of which she was once an adherent, believing they were partaking in treasonable activities with the French. The army was kept perpetually mobilised in case of sudden attack, occasioning a huge increase in taxation. Fearing for the safety of her family, Maria Carolina employed food-testers and switched the royal families' apartments on a daily basis. What compelled Maria Carolina to do this was the general terror reigning throughout the city, in which "nobody was safe".The cessation of Franco-Spanish hostilities in the summer of 1795 gave Napoleon Bonaparte, a Corsican general in the French army, the opportunity to focus on France's Italian Campaign. Bonaparte's successes in Northern Italy compelled Maria Carolina to sue for peace, under which Naples had to pay to France a war indemnity of 8 million francs. However, neither country intended to observe this treaty in the long-term. The marriage of her eldest son, the Duke of Calabria
Francis I of the Two Sicilies
-Biography:Francis was born in Naples, the son of Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and his wife Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria. He was also the nephew of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI the last King and Queen of France before the first French Republic....
, to Archduchess Maria Clementina of Austria
Archduchess Maria Clementina of Austria
Maria Clementina of Austria was an Austrian archduchess and the tenth child and third daughter of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Luisa of Spain. In 1797 she married her first cousin Francis I of the Two Sicilies, then Duke of Calabria, heir of Naples and Sicily...
in 1797 offered Maria Carolina a brief respite from the affairs of war, which had taken a toll on her health. Maria Carolina entered a secret defensive alliance with Austria on 20 May 1798, in response to France's occupation of the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
, which shared a border with Naples. After assisting in the British victory at the Battle of the Nile
Battle of the Nile
The Battle of the Nile was a major naval battle fought between British and French fleets at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt from 1–3 August 1798...
, the Queen decided to join the Second Coalition against France; Austria sent General Mack
Karl Mack von Leiberich
Karl Mack von Leiberich, Freiherr was an Austrian soldier. He is best remembered as the commander of the Austrian forces that capitulated to Napoleon's Grande Armée in the Battle of Ulm in 1805. Historians of the late 20th century widely agree that he was among the poorest of the commanders of the...
to take command. War council meetings, comprising the Queen, the King, Mack, Sir William Hamilton, the English ambassador, and Admiral Nelson, the victor of the Nile, were held in the Palace of Caserta. They decided to invade the Roman Republic
Roman Republic (18th century)
The Roman Republic was proclaimed on February 15, 1798 after Louis Alexandre Berthier, a general of Napoleon, had invaded the city of Rome on February 10....
, a French puppet state.
Escape and Creation of the Parthenopean Republic
The enter of the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily to the Second Coalition was the excuse of Napoleon to act. The French General Jean Étienne ChampionnetJean Étienne Championnet
Jean Étienne Vachier, called Championnet , French general, enlisted in the army at an early age and served in the Great Siege of Gibraltar....
succeeded it rapidly, and in January 1799 he occupied Naples and forced the royal family to escape to Sicily. In the Sicilian exile Maria Carolina continue his politics towards Naples.
Fabrizio Ruffo
Fabrizio Ruffo was an Italian cardinal and politician, who led the popular anti-republican Sanfedismo movement .-Biography:...
, attacked and invaded Naples (21 June 1799). The collapse of the republic was largely due to the English fleet, which had supplied the royal army with weapons. Again, was Admiral Nelson who successfully defeated the Frenchs in the summer of 1799 from Naples and Sicily and to secure the throne for the Royal couple.
In June 1800 Maria Carolina traveled with her three unmarried daughters, her younger son Leopoldo
Leopold, Prince of Salerno
Prince Leopoldo Giovanni Giuseppe Michele of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Prince of Salerno was a member of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies and a Prince of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.-Biography:Born Leopoldo of Naples and Sicily, he was the sixth son of Ferdinand IV of Naples and wife Maria...
, and accompanied by William and Emma Hamilton and Nelson over Livorno
Livorno
Livorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :...
, Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
and Laibach
Laibach
Laibach can refer to one of the following:* German name for Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia* Laibach , Slovenian industrial musical group** Laibach , the title of the debut album by the band with this name...
to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, where she arrived two months later. Maria Carolina stayed two years in her homeland, where she arranged for her children advantageous marriages. In the family circle, she spent most time with her favorite grandchild, Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria
Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma
Marie Louise of Austria was the second wife of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French and later Duchess of Parma...
, who later became in the wife of her arch-enemy Napoleon.
Second Escape, Exile and Death
After her stay in Vienna, Maria Carolina returned to Naples on 17 August 1802. The European states were concern for Napoleon's growth of power, who reached his peak with his Imperial coronation on on 18 May 1804. By 1805 Italy was again the center of interest of the now Emperor, who was crowned with a crown with the inscription Rex totius Italiae. From then on, events came quickly and Maria Carolina was surprised by the news of the defeat of Austria in the Battle of AusterlitzBattle of Austerlitz
The Battle of Austerlitz, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of Napoleon's greatest victories, where the French Empire effectively crushed the Third Coalition...
(2 December 1805).
Napoleon didn't hesitate now to conquer Naples and at first his brother Joseph Bonaparte, and four years later his brother Joachim Murat were sit on the throne of Naples. The royal family was forced to flee in February 1806 to Sicily. The refugees counted in their exile with the help of England, but after the death of Admiral Nelson in the Battle of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
(21 October 1805), they developed more and more aversion to Maria Carolina, and finally in 1813, when her husband essentially (but not officially) abdicated, appointing their son Francis
Francis I of the Two Sicilies
-Biography:Francis was born in Naples, the son of Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and his wife Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria. He was also the nephew of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI the last King and Queen of France before the first French Republic....
regent, which deprived her of any political influence, the Queen was forced to leave Sicily and return to Vienna.
Still on the journey she received the news of Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Leipzig
Battle of Leipzig
The Battle of Leipzig or Battle of the Nations, on 16–19 October 1813, was fought by the coalition armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Sweden against the French army of Napoleon. Napoleon's army also contained Polish and Italian troops as well as Germans from the Confederation of the Rhine...
on 19 October 1813. After a long journey through Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
, Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
and Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Maria Carolina finally arrived in Vienna in January 1814, where she began negotiations with Prince Metternich and her nephew Emperor Francis I of Austria with the purpose of her restoration in the Neapolitan throne. However, this never happened: Maria Carolina died on 8 September at the consequence of a stroke, without seeing the final exile of Napoleon in the Island of St. Helena and the restoration of her husband in the Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
. Her maid found the Queen in a sea of letters lying dead on the floor.
Maria Carolina was buried in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna; her parents are also buried there.
Ancestry
External links
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