Rhomania’s General Crisis, part 9.0-Fish, an Egg, and a Revolution:
While Romans and Persians massacre each other, again, in the sands of Mesopotamia, the volcanoes begin going off to the west. Although the period is called the Little Ice Age, that terminology describes general climatic trends. In local terms the reality translates to more extreme weather [1] and the summer of 1661 throughout the Mediterranean basin is hot and bone dry. Harvests are expected to be bad and reserves are already depleted.
On July 16, the civic government of Naples orders the bakers of the city to decrease the size of the standard loaf of bread by 25%, although the cost stays the same. This transparent effort to hide an increase in the price of bread fools no one and an angry bread riot breaks out the next day. The situation gets rough, shots are fired, and three people are killed and twenty-one injured, including three children.
The mood in the overcrowded tenements of the city is ugly. Still, the next morning, July 18, begins as normal, with the people of Naples out in throngs on the streets. In the fish market, a prosperous fishmonger named Masaniello begins haranguing the crowds, his fiery rhetoric quickly gathering audience from the shoppers. There is clearly some stage-management at work because once the crowd is gathered, a six-year-old girl is produced. She would’ve been a beautiful child, and was one yesterday, before she was mutilated by slashing cavalry sabers in the bread riot.
The crowd erupts, and with the kindling from the events of the last two days, the fire spreads rapidly. The riot is much bigger, its sheer size paralyzing the authorities who are afraid of the backlash if they resort to force again. It is also much more sustained, with disturbances continuing to grip the city over the next several days, bringing city life to a standstill. Crowds surround important sites of authority, such as the town hall, the Castel dell’Ovo, and the customs house in the port, loudly demanding reforms, although they do not attack. That might not hold though, since the ranks of the city folk are being swelled by outsiders from the countryside.
On July 23 the civil authorities cave in and agree to several demands from Masaniello. The size of bread is restored to its normal status and the government pledges to maintain granaries at a certain level at its own expense, to ensure that there will be no more price hikes, whether covert or overt. Several other taxes on foodstuffs, such as a particularly despised one on fruit, are also abolished. Various officials are dismissed with Masaniello deciding their replacements, while the officer responsible for firing on the crowd on July 17 is to be handed over for punishment. This last clause does not happen as he goes into hiding.
The replacement of certain officials is a key provision, showing that there is more to this uprising than just anger over some taxes. Civic institutions in Naples are overwhelmingly dominated by the upper class and this change of office-holders resulted in several commoners getting positions. Also, laws are passed that civic assemblies and offices are to be evenly split between nobility and commoners. Masaniello is also appointed as ‘Captain-General and Defender of the People’ with authority to equip and command a civic guard. This is to ensure that the reforms are maintained and enforced.
It is possible things might have calmed down after these concessions, with much noise but little violence, had the civic authorities of Naples been negotiating in good faith. But they are not. That is why they’re willing to make such concessions; they view them as a temporary expedient to buy time. Frantic appeals have been sent to Messina, pleading for the dispatch of an expedition to give them overwhelmingly military superiority, at which point they will crush Masaniello and his adherents. The Despotate government agrees with the plan and begins mustering the material for the expedition.
Of course, news like this cannot be kept secret. To prevent themselves from being torn to pieces by an outraged mob, the old civic authorities and the garrison forces opposed to Masaniello and his adherents retreat to the Castel dell’Ovo, the Castel Nuovo, and the port customs house. The latter is not a castle, but is stoutly built and able to resist an attack, provided said attacker only has small arms.
This is a good tactic for staying alive, but it also has the effect of delivering the city of Naples almost entirely into the hands of the insurgents, who are once again in full rebellion. After the promised reforms, they’d been willing to work with the authorities, but their treachery pushes the Neapolitan masses back into insurrection, and this time their demands are more extreme. Now many argue for declaring the secession of Naples from the Despotate, proclaiming a Catholic republic under the sovereignty of the Pope. This happens to be the first time that the matter of religion actually enters into the debate.
But in the current situation, such dreams would likely not be translated into reality. With the old guard in control of those three key points, Naples has no seaside defense, making it extremely vulnerable to the naval expedition mustering in Messina. Masaniello has his new civic guard blockade the strong points, but they are hopelessly ill-equipped and experienced to conduct a proper siege. An effort to build a catapult (because they have no cannons) ends disastrously (or hilariously, depending on one’s perspective) when the machine smashes itself to pieces when used for the first time. It is unlikely they’ll be given enough time to improve their game.
Thus far, it has overwhelmingly just been the city of Naples that has risen. Now the countryside of Campania enters the list. On July 29, the Duke of Maddaloni, Simone Galamini, enters the city with a private army. Said army is rather small but it is well-equipped and experienced, with a heavy seasoning of veterans from the War of the Roman Succession.
Galamini’s motivations for getting involved are complex and varied. He has no interest in the taxes that were the ultimate spark; he is too wealthy to be concerned about such details. He certainly has no sympathy for the reform measures that restrict noble membership in the civic institutions of Naples, and he views the majority of the Neapolitans as rabble and Masaniello himself as a demagogue, admittedly a very persuasive one.
During the War of the Roman Succession, the Duke served with distinction, his cavalry troop capturing two Lombard batteries in one engagement. In another his right hand was badly mangled and he has never managed to regain full use of it. But he feels ill-rewarded for his pains and resents it. He had expected to be granted the title and associated estates of Prince of Squillace but those had gone to another candidate.
That candidate had served in the war as well, but his military exploits were less impressive than Maddaloni’s. However, he was Orthodox, while Maddaloni was a devout Catholic, from a family with a long history of faithful Catholicism and a willingness to show it in public bequests. The Duke credits his loss to religious discrimination, which is unproven but a reasonable suspicion. Orthodox and Catholics are supposed to not be favored or disfavored vis-à-vis each other for offices, but the spirit of religious egalitarianism that prevailed at the end of the Time of Troubles, after the common struggle against rapacious Lombard domination, has faded. The Despotic court is Orthodox, and while not openly discriminating against Catholics, does have a bias.
It is possible that Galamini is seeking revenge for his perceived slights, or deciding to cause enough of a mess to get compensation to make him back down. It is also possible that at this point his ambitions are already higher. If he can’t be Prince of Squillace, reviving the title ‘King of Naples’ would more than make up for it. This talk of a Republic would cramp that, especially if it continues this unpalatable trend of limiting the nobility in favor of commoners. But even so, ‘Lord Protector of Naples and Champion of the Pope’ does have a nice ring to it.
Masaniello, for his part, is also wary of Galamini. The fishmonger has condemned rapacious and cruel grandees and landlords, much to the delight of the urban masses of Naples who have suffered repeatedly at their hands. And Galamini is the greatest of Campania’s rural grandees. But right now, both also recognize that they need each other.
The key task is to gain complete control of Naples. Galamini brings his men up against the Castel dell’Ovo first. While he has some artillery and men with siege experience, his forces here are still limited, but he has his military reputation. The castle commandant is well aware of that reputation, having served with Galamini in Tuscany during the war, and the Duke is able to bluff the commandant that the Duke is far better armed than he really is. The castle surrenders.
Now the Duke turns to the customs house, which is an easier sell. The structure is proof against musketry, but not against even light artillery. The defenders surrender.
That leaves only the Castel Nuovo, where the old town leadership is ensconced. The initial demands for surrender are refused and Galamini replies with a bombardment, his guns reinforced by guns from the Castel dell’Ovo. The following artillery duel leaves much of the neighborhood as a wreck, lasting for a week.
After that week, the occupants of the castle are getting nervous. There is no sign of the expedition and no indication of when it will arrive. Unbeknownst to them, the expedition put out from Messina but storms drove it in the direction of Sardinia. The fleet regrouped in Palermo but contrary winds have stalled its progress towards Naples.
The castle occupants send envoys to Galamini and offer to surrender if no relief arrives within another week. The Duke isn’t enamored of the offer. He is worried that the expedition will arrive within that window, in which case the Sicilians will have a lodgment in Naples. He has damaged the castle enough that a storming might succeed, but he doesn’t trust the rabble of Naples to have the stomach for such brutal work. He would have to use his own men, who would likely take heavy losses, weakening the Duke’s position. Furthermore, he’d like to not wreck the Castel Nuovo any more than he already has; he needs it for the coastal defense of Naples.
Galamini agrees to the terms, and it turns out he need not have worried about the fleet spoiling things. On the deadline of August 16, there is still no sign of it. The Castel is surrendered as promised, the occupants being taken into custody by Galamini. This is a tremendous victory for the Neapolitans, but also a source of strife. Many of Masaniello’s followers want to make an example of the occupants but Galamini has given his word to protect them. Angry and loud words are exchanged, but fortunately for everyone involved, nothing more at this point.
On August 24, the Sicilian fleet finally arrives. It is in poor shape. The expedition had not been heavily supplied originally, due to the desire to expedite the launch, and the long delays have eaten up most of the victuals. (The enforced layover in Palermo did not allow for much replenishment, as the city’s own stores were low.) Confinement on board crowded troop ships has led to disease outbreaks on several vessels as well.
Furthermore, the officers of the fleet had expected to find the port of Naples to still be open to them, as they had expected the Neapolitans to be unable to force the castles. The addition of Galamini to the rebel cause and the loss of the port demoralizes them. Thus, the attack on Naples is pressed only half-heartedly, with the battered and only partly-repaired seaside defenses of Naples beating them off after a few hours, although the fleet takes little material damage.
The Sicilian fleet retires, regrouping around some of the islands in the Bay of Naples, which are still under Despotic control, imposing a loose blockade. Meanwhile Naples runs wild in celebration, with the animosity of Masaniello’s and Galamini’s factions temporarily occulted by the glow of victory. And the news of these events spreads.
[1] OTL.
