Jacobins of the Kingdom of Naples

The Jacobins of the Kingdom of Naples are the insurgents whose 1799 revolt against the Bourbon monarchy established the Neapolitan Republic. Their brief revolutionary success and the repression that followed introduce a recurring pattern in the novel: changes of regime bring not only new political claims but immediate consequences for Sicily’s sovereignty, administration, and commerce.

Revolt and the Neapolitan Republic

In 1799, the Jacobins rose against Bourbon rule and established the Neapolitan Republic. The uprising forced Ferdinand IV of Naples and Maria Carolina of Austria to take refuge in Palermo. They returned to Naples only in 1802, after the republican experiment had been crushed in fierce repression.

The revolt forms part of a larger contest over French influence and the Bourbon dynasty. In 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte proclaimed himself emperor; following his victory at Austerlitz in 1805, he declared the Bourbon dynasty ended and sent André Masséna to Naples to install Napoleon’s brother Joseph as king. Ferdinand again fled to Palermo under British protection, though he continued to reign over Sicily. Thus the Jacobins’ revolt is set within a region where royal authority could be displaced, restored, or redirected by force and foreign intervention.

Sicily under shifting administrations

The novel follows the effects of these political changes beyond the revolt itself. In 1812, an uprising in Sicily over Ferdinand IV’s income tax led to a constitution modeled on the Westminster system. It curtailed the Bourbon king’s power, prescribed the abolition of fiefdoms, and sought to reform government while modernizing Sicilian society. Its political settlement was short-lived: in 1816 the king united Naples and Sicily under the name Ferdinand I, annulled the constitution, and subjected the island to a harsh tax regime.

From December 1816, Neapolitans administered state offices and customs and held military commands. Palermo lost its power and independence; heavier taxes, restrictions, and constraints on trade compounded the city’s already severe economic difficulties. The pattern that began with the Jacobins’ challenge to Bourbon authority thus extends through later constitutional experiments and restorations: political control is repeatedly asserted through the institutions that govern taxation, customs, and commerce.

Commercial consequences and political upheaval

For the Florios, political instability is material as well as constitutional. Their stock includes spices from India obtained through the British and goods from French colonies brought by Italian sailors and traded across the Tyrrhenian Sea. Their warehouse within the Palazzo Steri property allows them to keep goods in transit and defer import tariffs until the merchandise enters Palermo. Such arrangements make commerce dependent on the rules and stability of the authorities controlling ports and customs.

That dependence recurs during later revolutions. When a provisional government is being formed, customs operations fall into disarray and outgoing ships are blocked; merchants and seamen crowd the Customs House while soldiers threaten them with rifles. In 1848, Vincenzo Florio buys rifles in England on behalf of the revolutionary committee, while the revolutionary regime requisitions a company steamer to transport troops. Later, after political power changes hands, the Bourbons contest interrupted mail distribution and seek to fine him for missed service, even though ships had been requisitioned and one sunk. The recurring disruption of transport and administration shows how revolutionary and royal governments alike reach into the Florios’ fleet, credit, and trade.

A recurring contest over sovereignty

The Jacobins’ uprising is not presented as a sustained organization with a detailed internal structure or a continuing role in the Florio family’s business. Its significance lies in the historical sequence it inaugurates: rebellion, regime change, restoration, and renewed disputes over who governs Sicily and commands its resources. Later, Vincenzo objects that Piedmontese rule is turning Sicily into a colony and that the Bourbon treasury has been taken north to pay for annexation. Political transitions repeatedly promise new arrangements, but their consequences are measured in control of customs, ships, money, and the island’s autonomy.