Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 07.djvu/590

* FERDINAND VII. 538 FERDINAND I. married his fourth wife, Maria Christina of Na- ples, and in 1830 abolished by a Pragmatic Sanc- tion the Salic law as regarded female succession to the Spanish throne. This deprived his brother, Don Carlos, of the succession, by making the In- fanta Isabella (born 1830) eligible to the throne, and led to the formation of the Carlist party in Spain. Through the influence oi Calomarde (q.v.), Ferdinand was induced to revoke the Prag- matic Sanction of 1830, but soon after recalled bis action and reaffirmed the succession of Isa- bella. In 1833 Isabella was proclaimed Princess of Asturias and heiress to the throne. Three months later (September 29, 1833) Ferdinand died at Madrid, leaving his Queen, Maria Chris- tina, regent. His reign was a most disastrous one for Spain, which lost almost all its possessions in North and South America, and passed through vicissitudes and misfortunes that drained it of its best citizens and from which it has never re- covered. Consult: Seignobos, Political History of Europe Since 181J), translated by Macvane (New York, 1900) ; also Espana del siglo XIX., by various authors (Madrid, 1886-87) ; Bauni- garten, Geschichte Spaniens von 17S9 (Leipzig, 1865-71). See Spain. FERDINAND I. (c. 1423-94). King of Naples from 1458 to 1494. He was an illegitimate son of Alfonso V. of Aragon. He succeeded his father on the throne of Naples in 1458, but found an enemy in Pope Calixtus III., who fa- vored John of Anjou. The latter invaded the kingdom and defeated Ferdinand. Pius II., the successor of Calixtus, supported him, however, and. with the assistance of Scanderbeg. the fa- mous Albanian chief, John was defeated with great loss in August,' 1462. In 1480 the Turks captured Otranto and slaughtered most of the inhabitants, but in the next year they were driv- en out. In 1485 a number of nobles revolted. Ferdinand held out the promise of a general amnesty if they would make submission, and then treacherously murdered them. .He died j.usi ;is Charles VIII. of France was about to invade his dominions. Though tyrannical, cruel, and treacherous, Ferdinand fostered industry and commerce, and invited" many humanists to his Court, establishing a printing-press a1 Naples in 1474. FERDINAND II. (1469-96). King of Na- ples from 1495 to 1496. He was the grandson of Ferdinand I., and son of Alfonso II., who abdi- cated in his favor in 1495. The kingdom m- invaded by Charles VIII. of France, and Ferdi nand tied. With the aid. however, of Gonsalvo de Cordova, the great general of Ferdinand V. of Spain, he drove out the. French invaders a short time before his death. FERDINAND III. King of Naples. See Febdis i> V. OF < ' ST1I.K. FERDINAND I. (1345-83). King of I'ort u reign was spenl in fighting to obtain Castile EOT himself, and later for John of Lancaster, to the 1 li oi Portugal. Ferdinand died in 1383, and in 1385 an illegitimate son of Pedro I.. John, foun dynasty of Aviz. was | laimed King. FERDINAND I. (1751-1825). King of the iliea from 1759 to 1826. Be was the third son of Charles III. of Spain, and «> born at Naples, January 12, 1751. When Charles ascended the Spanish throne, in 1759, Ferdinand succeeded him in Naples and Sicily under a re- gency of which the progressive minister Tanucci was the head. Many reforms were inaugurated, and in 1767 the Jesuits were expelled from the kingdom. In 1768, after attaining his majority, the young King married Carolina Maria, a daugh- ter of Maria Theresa of Austria, who was given a voice in the royal council after the birth of an heir, and soon undermined the influence of Tanucci, who was dismissed in 1777. An Enc- lishman, Sir John Acton, succeeded him in favor, and became virtually Prime Minister. Ferdi- nand was led to join England and Austria against France in 1793, but was glad to make peace with the Directory in 1796. In 1798, how- ever, he joined the secret alliance of Russia, Austria, and England, and his army occupied Rome. Ferdinand was no warrior and sadly lacked personal courage, for as soon as the French appeared and attacked his forces he fled to Na- ples, and, embarking in an English man-of-war, escaped to Palermo. Naples was entered by the French, who, aided by a party of the nobles and citizens, established the short-lived Partheno- pean Republic. The lower classes, who had fiercely opposed the French, were hostile to the new regime, and this, combined with reverses in northern Italy, led the French army to with- draw. The Republic collapsed before Cardinal Kudo's Calabrian forces, and Ferdinand was re- stored. A reign of terror was immediately in- augurated, and the republicans suffered greatly, but could do nothing in the presence of an English fleet under Nelson and a Royalist army. Relief came in 1801, when Ferdinand was forced to sign a treaty with France which included, besides various concessions, a general amnesty to polit- ical offenders, and a clause allowing French troops to occupy his dominions. In 1805, at the instigation of Queen Caroline, he joined the Third Coalition, and permitted' 13,000 Russian and English troops to disembark at Naples. Na- poleon won the victory of Austerlitz, and a French army forced the King and Queen of Naples to take refuge in Sicily. Naples was handed over to Joseph Bonaparte, and later to Murat (1808), and it was not until 1815 that Ferdinand was restored. He had ruled over Sicily, however, under the title of Ferdinand III., until 1812, when he resigned his authority to his son Francis, under pressvire from Eng- land, after granting the Sicilians a liberal con- stitution. After his rest mat inn Ferdinand united the kingdoms of Sicily and Naples, and assumed the title by which be is generally known — Fer dinand I., King of the Two Sicilies. Although he granted the Neapolitans a constitution a- a condition of his recall, he speedilj abolished it when firmly established. 1 1 is tyrannical policy brought "ii the revolution of 1820, ami he was forced to relinquish bis authority to his sen, who was named Viceroy, and in swear to ob- serve the liberties of the people. At the Con- gress of Laibach, in the following year, however, he succeeded in securing Austrian aid. and en- tered Naples in triumph in 1821, with an trian force ai his back. Aided by his unscrupu- lous minister, Canosa, Ferdinand took a cruel yei ance on his subjects. The system of e onage and arresl v n con! inued under < lano neeessnr, Medici, bee, lining worse each day. Fer-
 * al from L367 to 1383. son of Pedro I. His