The reversal of dynasties during the Bourbon era in the Kingdom of Naples

The Bourbons, with the crowing of Philip V of Spain, inherited the strongest claim to the Spanish throne. The Treaty of Utrecht of 1713 formalized in fact the strict separation of the French and Spanish thrones, and similar arrangements later kept the Spanish throne separate from those of the Two Sicilies and Parma. The Bourbons of Spain constitute the current royal house of the Kingdom of Spain. They have ruled for more than 300 years but have been overthrown and restored several times. After Spain's victory over the Austrians at the battle of Bitonto, it proved inopportune to reunite Naples and Sicily to Spain, so as a compromise Charles became King of Naples, as Charles IV and VII of Sicily. The Neapolitan branch of the House of Bourbon ruled from 1734 until 1861 (the year of Italy ‘s unification) save for a few months (the short-lived of Neapolitan Republic) and from 1806 to 1815 (the Napoleonic tutelage). Following Charles' accession to the Spanish throne in 1759 he was required, by the Treaty of Naples of 3 October 1759, to renounce Naples and Sicily in favour of his third son, Ferdinand IV. The history of the Neapolitan Bourbons has been described as a contradictory but rich era, too hastily dismissed as obscurantist, an era that must be revaluated in its integrity by looking at the Kingdom and its past as a positive. This chapter presents the history of the Neapolitan branch of the Bourbons showing how the balance of power and alliances changed within the House. So in 1734, Elizabeth Farnese was successful, although fortuitously and adventurously, bringing back Southern Italy into the orbit of Spanish influence, at the expense of the Habsburg Empire. In 1768, history seemed completely reversed: with the marriage of King of Ferdinand IV with Maria Carolina Habsburg-Lorraine, the Bourbon’s identity was significantly affected by a strong rapprochement to the court of Vienna.