An Ausonian Tale: the Kingdom of Naples in the XIX century

[Yanez de Gomera]

Is Italian the official language of Naples in this scenario? Or the Neapolitan language?

The official language is the Italian language, as it has been since the late XVIth century.
French is often spoken at court, but all laws and official documents are in Italian.
Neapolitan and the other southern Italian languages are spoken by the vast majority of the population and often (but unofficially) also in the administration.

 

[ramones1986]

Neapolitan and the other southern Italian languages are spoken by the vast majority of the population and often (but unofficially) also in the administration.

I see...
How about the Arbëshë and Italo-Greeks? What's their situation in Naples, especially when it comes to their religion?

 

[B_Munro]

Of course, standard Italian (based, IIRC, on a Florentine dialect) wasn't perfectly standardized in terms of pronunciation at a time before radio, TV, or telephones, and the way it was spoke in Milan was audibly different from Rome, which was in turn different from how they'd speak it in Naples. Not sure to what extent it complicated face-to-face communications.

 

[Falecius]

In particular it was deemed necessary to:

• Improve the roads all over the Kingdom and to keep them safe with numerous post stations and frequent police patrols.
• Build new ports and expand the existing ones, as the coastal shipping is too often forced to use natural unprotected bays.
• Make basic sanitation works in the towns where they are lacking and study a project for a sewage system in Naples.
• Establish at least a basic school in each municipality to fight illiteracy.
• Improve the agricultural methods, to increase yields and achieve independence from foodstuff imports. In perspective, favour commercial cultivations like oil, wine, almonds, cotton and tobacco.
• Augment the existing manufactories and implant new ones, especially in the area of Naples in order to have the lazzari(iv) do some productive work and in perspective become less dependent from imports of manufactured goods from foreign countries.

There were many able administrators and intellectuals promoting such reforms and supporting the modernization efforts: the problem was to find the financial resources to turn those projects and policies into reality.

​

Hell, yes, this sounds terribly expensive.

 

[Falecius]

Of course, standard Italian (based, IIRC, on a Florentine dialect) wasn't perfectly standardized in terms of pronunciation at a time before radio, TV, or telephones, and the way it was spoke in Milan was audibly different from Rome, which was in turn different from how they'd speak it in Naples. Not sure to what extent it complicated face-to-face communications.

Actually not much. The regional pronunciation differences exist (much reduced) to this day, but the language is generally recognizable and I assume that it was the case in the past as well.
There is only occasional reference in written sources to this phenomenon and cultivated people seeemed to have no problem whatsoever in moving and communicating across the peninsula.
At this time, there was no notion of a standard Neapolitan language in the sense it si defined by modern linguists (as a dialect continuum spanning most of Southern Italy), although the city variety already had a respectable literary tradition, and other dialects had some literature as well.
It may be possible to "artificially" create such a language IF there's a desire to create a Neapolitan (probably won't be called such) national identity, but it would be a complicated task and I don't see anybody in the Muratian court with much interest in such a project.

 

[Yanez de Gomera]

Actually not much. The regional pronunciation differences exist (much reduced) to this day, but the language is generally recognizable and I assume that it was the case in the past as well.
There is only occasional reference in written sources to this phenomenon and cultivated people seeemed to have no problem whatsoever in moving and communicating across the peninsula.
At this time, there was no notion of a standard Neapolitan language in the sense it si defined by modern linguists (as a dialect continuum spanning most of Southern Italy), although the city variety already had a respectable literary tradition, and other dialects had some literature as well.
It may be possible to "artificially" create such a language IF there's a desire to create a Neapolitan (probably won't be called such) national identity, but it would be a complicated task and I don't see anybody in the Muratian court with much interest in such a project.

Exactly. The dialects are mutaually intelligible with a bit of effort, and in any case people who may make rises to other parts of Italy are likely literate and speak Italian. There won't be a policy of creating an artificial "Ausonian" language, on the contrary as in OTL the standard italian will slowly make gains, but the vernaculars will certainly not disappear for a very long time, and then more modern sensibilities will act to preserve them. There will be less forced homogenity than in OTL, I hope.

Hell, yes, this sounds terribly expensive.

Indeed it is, there are not nearly funds, nor skilled personell enough for all this, but those are more to be seen as long term guidelines. The first priorities are improved ways of communication, to create an internal market, and modernized agriculture.

I see...
How about the Arbëshë and Italo-Greeks? What's their situation in Naples, especially when it comes to their religion?

The Italo-Greeks are Roman Catholics as far as I know. The Arbëshë are Catholic too, but of Byzantine rite, they will not be molested.
I think those linguistic minorities will be pretty much ignored. Certainly, with time and improved communication, Italian will unfortunately affirm itself as the hegemonic and "prestige" language. However an active suppression of those language happened mostly during the fascist rule, and those events are too far in the future to tell if a similar regime will arise in Italy or (hopefully) not.

 

[Noblesse Oblige]

Probably a stupid thing to ask, and I probably should've asked 5 pages ago, but does Ausonia refer to Naples, presumably during Roman times?

 

[Yanez de Gomera]

Probably a stupid thing to ask, and I probably should've asked 5 pages ago, but does Ausonia refer to Naples, presumably during Roman times?

Ausonia is a poetical term used since Hellenistic times to refer to Italy in general, but specifically southern continental Italy.
It comes from "Ausones" that is the Greek equivalent for the Latin "Aurunci" and indicates the non samnitic populations of Campania.
I used it as a poetical reference to the classical world, the times of Campania felix...
Maybe it could also become widespred if a distinct southern Italian identity develops, maybe based on the heritage of megale Hellas. However this is by no means ensured, and doesn't necessarily means that there won't be a complete Italian unification down the line.

 

[RyuDrago]

Well, in effect I am rather suprised the Church went soft on its requests, but I guess seeing Joachim as an hammer against Muslim pirates and winning over the divorce issue the Pope probably considered himself enough satisfied.

At the same time, probably the fear of a possible Neapolitan invasion convinced Pious VII to not be further hostile...

 

[Yanez de Gomera]

Econonomy Reforms

[Here I come with a very boring update on the economy. I also needed some time to research for it and for the next update. Most of those measures are the continuation of political lines started during the OTL French period in Naples, or are inspired by measures later taken by the Bourbons. Here I think they can be anticipated and made a bit better, because the government, although autocratic, is ideologically much more committed to Enlightment and liberalism.]

Taxes and Tariffs​

The year 1817 saw the Kingdom of Naples struggling with a difficult financial situation, arising chiefly from the expenses occurred in the war and to suppress the briganti insurrection.
Things were only made worse by the worsening economical situation in the Kingdom.


It had been hoped that, with the defeat of Bonaparte and the opening of the European markets to British commerce, trade and industry, stifled by the Napoleonic Continental Bloc, would start thriving again.


This was not to be however: the English, with the strength of the Empire and of their budding rapidly increasing industrialization behind them, could flood Europe with cheap goods of good quality, easily outcompeting local productions.
This was particularly difficult for Naples, that had just begun its first steps away from self consumption towards a more modern economical structure.


Most European States saw the developing crisis and quickly started to introduce tight barriers to imports and exports, in order to protect their own industries from British competition. Protectionism, a more refined variety of the ancient Mercantilism, was adopted almost everywhere.
Some states, like Austria, introduced particularly harsh measures, even prohibiting completely some kinds of imports or exports.


In Naples the ministry of Finance was headed by the capable Count of Mesbourg, but it was clear also the influence of the Interior Minister Giuseppe Zurlo, and of members of the Council of State like Cuoco and Melchiorre Delfico. These personalities were all disciples of the Napolitan school of Economics heralded in the 18th century by Antonio Genovesi(i).


Their taxation reform projects were easily accepted and signed into law by Joachim, who was usually content with letting experts take the necessary decisions in technical matters.
First of all it was deemed necessary to continue on the path of simplification and reduction of the types of taxes and to complete the abolition of the last internal tariffs and taxation per head.
Instead the core of the fiscal revenue should come from the land ownership tax (that was significantly raised), supplanted by patent rights on trades and professions, and from a more efficient system of tariffs.


The new system of tariffs and tonnage dues was considered, more than a source of revenue, a defensive system for the internal production, aimed at achieving as much as possible a substitution of imported goods with ones that were to be produced in the Kingdom.
Some in the Council of State argued for very tight restrictions, based on the Austrian system. This proposal was however rejected, because the Kingdom was still mainly an exporter of agricultural products like wine and especially oil, and couldn’t afford to be excluded from the European markets. Besides it would have shown an excessive and politically unacceptable hostility towards the United Kingdom.


So it was decided to improve the efficiency of the system, shifting from the old tariffs based on a percentage of the value of the goods, that were easily eluded by declaring a lower value than the final selling price, to a system of fixed tariffs based on the quantity of imported goods. Also the collection of these tariffs and dues would be enforced directly by the state, without the corrupt intermediation of private contractors, using instead a quasi militarized and well paid “Real Corpo dei Doganieri”(ii).


Overall the tariff policy was protectionist, but flexible enough, so that heavy duties were imposed on the imports of luxury items (like silk clothes or porcelain), textiles and in general goods that were or could be produced in the Kingdom, while the tariffs on manufactured tools, that were needed for agriculture, were lower, in the hope of encouraging local manufacture without depriving agricultures of much needed modern tools.
The tariffs on the import of raw materials, especially those that couldn’t be obtained in the Kingdom, were low or absent, again to foster the development of manufacturing.


This policy would cause the crisis and virtual extinguishment of the cotton production that in the years of the continental bloc had started developing in Naples, but on the other hand it helped the textile industry to obtain cheap raw materials and start growing.
It was also decided against a tariff on grain imports, by reasoning that it would have had the negative effect of raising the prices of basic foods (bread, pasta) and therefore disproportionately hitting the poor.
Such a tariff, while preventing the imports of cheaop Russian grains, would also encourage the growth of grain in unsuitable terrains at the expense of more valuable cultivations like olives, oranges or almonds.
The country would still remain a grain producer however, and it was hoped that by improving the cultivation methods independence from food imports could be achieved without the impositions of heavy tariffs and without a big expansion of grain cultivated areas.


As a final measure the government decided that the new system would enter in force in 1818, after the details had been polished by a legislative commission, and that the extent of the tariffs would have been checked yearly to make the adjustments eventually necessary because of changed conditions. Each five years the system would undergo a complete reassessment. (iii)

Agriculture

​

The former Commissione Feudale, now renamed Commissione Fondiaria, had completed the task of liquidating the estates of the barons who had sided with the Bourbons in 1815 and was given from Giuseppe Zurlo the task of starting a program of allotments of state owned lands (mostly former church land expropriated between 1806 and 1815), with the aim of creating a class of independent small landowners, that would become the backbone of the State, as was in the time of the ancient Romans.


A more aggressive program of land reform, that would include further expropriation was proposed, but soon discarded, as the powerful landowners and barons would not accept it, after being already hit by the increase of the land ownership tax.



The statistical survey of the Kingdom that had begun in 1811 (iv) and was just being completed showed a rather desolating picture of the state of Neapolitan agriculture: most lands were being worked with archaic methods and in some more isolated parts of the country only bare subsistence farming was in place.


To try to shake up this sleepy situation it was decided to create “Società Agrarie” (v) in each of the country’s provinces. These societies would be partially financed mostly by the state, but partially also by the farmers and landowners who would become their members.
The capitals would be used to buy agricultural tools and to build infrastructures like mills and canals. The members’ estates would receive advice and be periodically monitored by experts from the Società Agraria to control their adherence to modern agricultural systems (colture rotation, seed selection and proper storing…).

In exchange for submitting to this controls the members of the societies would receive very significant discounts on the land ownership tax.


To raise the poorest of the small farmers from their almost primitive situation and to avoid that they would become victims of usury and lose their lands, thus leading to the formation of latifundia, the government decided to subsidize the formation of “Casse Rurali”, mutualistic banks, organized by the municipalities and backed by a statal fund, that would give seeds to poor farmers at the time of the sowing and receive them back with a small interest at the time of the harvest.
In time they would expand their functions also to small monetary loans. (vi)

Infrastructure

​

The construction of new carriage roads and ports was deemed too expensive for the moment.
However it was decided to build some lighthouses in the most dangerous points of the coast. Also fiscal reliefs were promised to the municipalities who built roads in their territories.



To make more secure the movements between the Thyrrenian and the Adriatic sides of the Kingdom, Murat decided to deploy strong garrisons on the Appenninic passes, so that robbers and briganti would be discouraged.
This was especially effective in making safe the once infamous Vallo di Bovino pass (vii), and making relatively easy the land communications between Apulia and Naples.


Finally funds were allocated for the building of public fountains in Naples, Bari, Catanzaro and Reggio, in order to improve the water supply of the urban population and for the improving and expansion of the ancient and partially decayed sewage system in Naples.


Notes:
i-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Genovesi
ii-“Royal Custom Officers Corp”
iii-I based this on the otl policies enacted by Luigi de’ Medici for the Bourbon government in 1823. Here there is no tariff on cotton, that arguably stifled the growth of textile industries in otl. A problem in otl was the fact that those tariffs were not changed for more than twenty years, outliving their usefulness and ending up creating an artificial economy in the Kingdom of Two Sicilies; here the systeme will be hopefully more flexible, especially once a more constitutional/parliamentarian system comes.
iv- in otl it was never completed.
v- Agrarian societies. These are an original idea of mine, I don’t know if they would work, maybe they are to big an intrusion into private property, but after all participation is voluntary and brings significant economical advantages to the landowners.
vi- this represents a development of the ancient “monti frumentari” that had been developed, usually under Church supervision during the XVI and XVII centuries.
vii- In otl it was said that you had better already written your last wills before trying a voyage between Foggia and Naples through the Vallo di Bovino!




[The next update will be about education, then we will reach 1819 and the calls for a constitution will begin to become difficult to ignore anymore]

 

[Yanez de Gomera]

more on the economy

[I thought to add something to the economical part and show the beginnings of the industrial sector]

​

Manufacturing
​

The Kingdom of Naples had developed some manufacturing capacities, although not at the levels found in Lombardy or in more advanced European countries like France, Belgium or England.
There were some iron mines in Calabria and the raw material was transformed in the Mongiana and Fieramosca ironworks. Those were however hampered by the lack of coal, that had to be imported at great costs.
The recently acquired Aeolian islands held interesting mineral resources, in particular sulphur, alum and pumice stone. For the moment however there was no extractive industry in place.


The State owned shipyard in Castellammare di Stabia was probably the biggest in Italy and provided the ships for the Real Marina and built civilian ships too.
Another important center for shipbuilding was the Gulf of Gaeta, were most of the small coastal shipping of the Kingdom was built. There it was decided to build some warehouses for the materials and for the boats in construction, as till now most of the work had been done on open air on the beach, with risks of severe damages in case of storms.


The light industry produced many different goods, but was overwhelming artisanal in nature, often conducted by peasants during the times when agricultural work was scarce, and mostly aimed at self consumption.
There were however some interesting exceptions, that were being helped in various ways by the State, in the hope of creating some industrial districts.
In particular notable were the paper mills along the Liri river valley, among the most important in Italy.

Another promising industrial district was the textile manufacturing center in Piedimonte Matese, where some Swiss families, chiefly the Egg family(i), had established some cotton mills in areas formerly belonging to a convent and were introducing modern machinery like the spinning jenny.


Finally another remarkable manufactory was that of the silk works in San Leucio, near the Reggia di Caserta, that had been established by Ferdinand IV in 1789 and had very modern machinery and skilled (mostly female(ii) ) workers. The San Leucio Royal Manufactory was also notable for his statute, written by Ferdinand himself and not changed by Murat, that although paternalistic, could be seen as influenced by the ideas of utopian socialism(iii).

Il Real Albergo dei Poveri

​

The government, also to fight the increasing criminality in the overcrowded city of Naples, decided to cancel the project for a huge public hall in front of the Palazzo Reale (iv) and use those funds and other money to complete the construction of the Real Albergo dei Poveri (Royal Paupers’ hospice) in Naples.


It was designed in 1749 by the architect Fernando Fuga and construction began in 1751. The initial project was very ambitious, having the aim of housing “all the paupers and vagrants of the Kingdom” and providing to them work and instruction. Five stories high, the building should have had a 600 mt. long façade and 135mt. wide, with five internal courtyards and a central star shaped church. (v)

However due to a progressive weakening of Royal interest and chronic lack of funds the building stood still only half completed and already partially decaying.


It was thus decided to complete it, but with a slightly changed project. The housing spaces, originally projected for 8.000 people were slightly reduced, so that the competed structure would house about 5.000 people, but in less cramped conditions as originally thought. The remaining space would be dedicated to classrooms, handwork laboratories and a big textile manufactory, to be furnished with “the most recent British machinery”.



The institution would be thus transformed, from a merely charitable one to an important, and in time economically self sufficient center of production. The “guests” would have to be mostly young or children, mostly orphans or immigrants from the campaigns, that would be taken away from the dissolution of the streets and given housing, food literacy and knowledge of some basic but useful trade.
After a couple of years, if they were judged of good character and passed an exam, they could leave the hospice with a small sum of money (their meager earnings from working at the manufactory were in fact to be held by the administration until the ”graduation”) and a certificate that attested their capacities as skilled workers, or they could remain at the hospice working as instructors or supervisors.
[FONT=&quot]
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[FONT=&quot]The Albergo dei Poveri became partially operational in 1820, but it was finally completed only in 1838.
It can be overall judged a success, even if its administration was often, and not completely without grounds, accused of mistreatments of the “guests”, of corrupt management and of making it very hard to get the final certificate of skills and leave the Albergo. In any case it employed and gave a basic education to tens of thousands of young Neapolitans of both sexes, that would have otherwise lived lives of prostitution and criminality. And after the first years of terrible losses, covered at great expense by the State, it became the most productive manufactory and one of the most flourishing economical enterprises in the city of Naples.
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Notes:
i-this is otl
ii-it was said that Ferdinand treated those female workers almost as a harem, but this is most probably not true, the manufactory was really a pet project of his, and the King appeared really concerned by the welfare of his workers, and in love with mechanics and modern machines.
iii-more likely a sort of social Catholicism, it included social housing, free and obligatory kindergartens and elementary schools, “perfect equality” also in things like clothing, health care…
iv-the project for a huge hall for public assemblies in front of the royal palace was made by Murat in otl, but then the Restauration came and Ferdinand built there the huge Church of St. Francis di Paola, as an ex-voto for his safe return to the throne.
v-this is otl, however the project was then reduced, and today the building has a 354 mt. façade and three courtyards. It is now in as sorry state of neglect after being damaged by the 1980 earthquake.

 

[LordKalvan]

Looks like Murat (or better his key advisers) are on a roll: up to now they have not made a wrong move (with the only possible doubt on a constitution having not yet been granted).
The future is still less than clear, though.
The targets are reasonable but not easy at all. Will the Rotschilds be involved ITTL to provide financing and debt restructuring for the kingdom of Naples?

 

[Yanez de Gomera]

Looks like Murat (or better his key advisers) are on a roll: up to now they have not made a wrong move (with the only possible doubt on a constitution having not yet been granted).
The future is still less than clear, though.
The targets are reasonable but not easy at all. Will the Rotschilds be involved ITTL to provide financing and debt restructuring for the kingdom of Naples?

Well they can scarcely afford a major blunder at the moment, especially in the diplomatic sphere. It's clear that I want them to turn out better than otl Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, but I also want to preserve plausibility, so they will certainly make mistakes, as people often do in the real world. As to the administrative/economics part, it seemed to me that they were pretty capable during otl's Murat's reign and I have them basically continuing on that reformist track.
Re: Rothschilds if I am not mistaken Carl Rothschild started its activities in Naples in the wake of the Austrian invasion of 1821 (which also left the kingdom with a rather big debt, as the bourbons had to pay the upkeep of the Austrian troops that crushed the Constitutionalists).
As you might imagine I want to avoid such an invasion and that might butterfly away the arrival of Carl Rothschild as his family was fairly near to the Austrian government. On the other hand Naples is still one of the biggest cities in Europe, so it may still attract them, maybe at a slightly layer date.

 

[RyuDrago]

Interesting economical survey of the period, well done!

But I am more interested over the migratory fluxes towards Naples: it is likely probable various OTL European and Italian characters will seek refuge in South Italy to escape the reactionary clutch... Let's see if Naples will become a beacon of attraction like Frederician Prussia, and take advantage of it.

 

[LordKalvan]

Well they can scarcely afford a major blunder at the moment, especially in the diplomatic sphere. It's clear that I want them to turn out better than otl Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, but I also want to preserve plausibility, so they will certainly make mistakes, as people often do in the real world. As to the administrative/economics part, it seemed to me that they were pretty capable during otl's Murat's reign and I have them basically continuing on that reformist track.
Re: Rothschilds if I am not mistaken Carl Rothschild started its activities in Naples in the wake of the Austrian invasion of 1821 (which also left the kingdom with a rather big debt, as the bourbons had to pay the upkeep of the Austrian troops that crushed the Constitutionalists).
As you might imagine I want to avoid such an invasion and that might butterfly away the arrival of Carl Rothschild as his family was fairly near to the Austrian government. On the other hand Naples is still one of the biggest cities in Europe, so it may still attract them, maybe at a slightly layer date.

It was not a criticism, honestly: at worst a friendly banter on the benefits of a 20/20 hindsight

Let's assume that Naples is not invaded during the crisis of 1821 ITTL (maybe if the Muratians play a good game Naples will not even be directly involved), so there is no expenses to reimburse to Austria.
Naples will still need capitals to pursue its economic goals. The most obvious solution is to sell government debt abroad, possibly guaranteed by government properties (with or without a cartolarization). The Rotschild might be useful. I would not be worried by the fact that some branch of the family was close to Vienna, another one to London or a third one to Paris.

Your comment on the fact that Naples is a big city cannot be faulted, but I wonder if Naples is not too big for the kingdom of Naples. It is draining resources (both economical and intellectual) from the provinces which is not a good thing.

 

[Yanez de Gomera]

It was not a criticism, honestly: at worst a friendly banter on the benefits of a 20/20 hindsight

Let's assume that Naples is not invaded during the crisis of 1821 ITTL (maybe if the Muratians play a good game Naples will not even be directly involved), so there is no expenses to reimburse to Austria.
Naples will still need capitals to pursue its economic goals. The most obvious solution is to sell government debt abroad, possibly guaranteed by government properties (with or without a cartolarization). The Rotschild might be useful. I would not be worried by the fact that some branch of the family was close to Vienna, another one to London or a third one to Paris.

Your comment on the fact that Naples is a big city cannot be faulted, but I wonder if Naples is not too big for the kingdom of Naples. It is draining resources (both economical and intellectual) from the provinces which is not a good thing.

20/20 insight van be nice
And you are perfectly right about the disadvantages of having a big metropolis in an otherwise underdeveloped country: I meant that, as Naples is a big city the Rothschild might be interested in opening a branch there, Austrians or not. As you say the proactive stance of the government will necessitate capitals and this would be another incentive for the Rothschild to establish a presence in the kingdom.

 

[Yanez de Gomera]

education

The situation of education in the Kingdom of Naples​

In 1815 the almost totality of the Neapolitan population was illiterate. No public elementary schooling existed, and only very few parish schools.
Some secondary schools had been created already under Joseph Bonaparte, but de facto higher education was accessible almost only to nobles and rich burgeoises and those often preferred to use private teachers.
The only University in the Kingdom was in Naples and in dire need of a modernization. There was however a good quality military academy, the “Nunziatella”(i) school, founded in 1787.


The French government had already shown interest in the state of the education in the Kingdom, Joseph Bonaparte declared elementary schooling to be obligatory and free. However this noble declaration remained impossible to apply because of the lack of resources and trained teachers.



Then, in 1809 Murat created a commission tasked with writing the guidelines for a reform of the education system.
Vincenzo Cuoco submitted an highly innovative report, but at the end the proposals from Giuseppe Zurlo were adopted with the Organic Decree of 1811. This divided the school system in three levels: elementary, superior and university.


Only the elementary level was free and obligatory, with a school to be installed in each Comune (ii) and at its expenses.
The secondary level consisted of Royal Colleges and Licei, at least one for each province of the Kingdom. The Licei were further differentiated in four branches, corresponding to the four secular faculties in the university of Naples and with the function of preparing for access to the University.
Finally the tertiary level consisted of the university of Naples, articulated into five faculties: Theology; Literature; Mathematical, Physical and Natural Sciences; and Law.


However, after five years it had become clear that the reform had remained mostly on paper, especially for the elementary schools, as there were not nearly enough qualified teachers and most Comuni didn’t have enough money to organize a school.
Moreover the importance of technical instruction was emerging, something that was almost absent in the 1811 reform.

The new education reform of 1817
​

Murat decided to start investing more into education after 1815, also because of the long term economic reasoning that so worried his advisors, but mainly because he had been deeply impressed by the violence of the Sanfedisti insurrection and the backwardness of the peasant masses that made up most of his Kingdom’s population and had been so quick to support the return of the Bourbons.


He reasoned that a more diffused and state controlled education would not only make his subjects “aware of the lights of Progress” and diffident of the bigotry of the Bourbon supporters, but more importantly loyal supporters of the Murat dynasty.
Schooling would teach not only the alphabet and arithmetic, but also civic duties and rights and thus it would be very important to make the relatively new establishment accepted as legitimate.


In 1817 a new education decree was signed by Joachim, with the indeed ambitious aim of making at least 50% of the population literate by 1850. Another objective of the new decree was the introduction of technical secondary schooling in the Kingdom, in the form of Agrarian and Naval Institutes.


Elementary schools would still be organized by the Comuni and supervised by provincial inspectors appointed by the central government, but the State would take over the cost of paying the teachers.


The decurioni and sindaci (iii) of those Comuni who neglected their duty of organizing adequate elementary schools would be severely punished.
A small fine was also introduced to punish families who didn’t send their children to school.
This proved however highly unpopular, because most peasant family needed their children to work in the fields, and in any case often didn’t have any money with which to pay the fine.
More useful was the relative degree of freedom left to the schools in regard to calendars and timetables, so that, at least where the school administrators were not totally incompetent, the schools’ activities tried to interphee as few as possible with agrarian works.


To obviate the lack of teachers, the method of Mutual Teaching, taken from the experiences of the English pedagogue J. Lancaster.
According to this method the teacher would organize the class not according to age, but ability, and the brightest students would be selected as teaching assistants or “Monitors” and pass on what they learned from the teacher to the other pupils.
Corporal punishment was rarely used and promotions and decorations were to be used instead to motivate the students. In this way a single teacher could effectively teach to great numbers of children of different ages.



The Curriculum included writing, reading, arithmetic, catechism (thought by the local priest) and “civic virtues”.
To at least partially fund this endeavor, the government introduced a tax on the postal service whose profits would be dedicated to the upkeep of the new elementary schools.


The new decree included then provisions for the founding of secondary education Institutes, meant to be not a preparation for the university, but for work in technical fields.
In particular, in order to start creating a professional officer corps for the merchant marine Naval Institutes were created in some of the most important coastal cities of the Kingdom (Naples, Castellammare, Gaeta, Procida, Salerno, Monteleone, Reggio, Gallipoli, Brindisi and Bari).
It was also decided that each province should have an Agrarian Institute, that would also provide the experts needed as supervisors and advisors in the newly created “Società Agrarie”.
The first institutes were created in Naples, Caserta, Salerno, Potenza, Cosenza, Bari, Foggia and Pescara.


Finally, to prepare new teachers, it was decided to create Magistral Institutes in each province.
To make it possible also for the sons of humble or impoverished families to attend those secondary schools (that would be probably shunned by the more respectable families who had higher aspirations for their children). Joachim himself devoted a significant part of his personal properties to the creation of a Fund that would cover the tuition and boarding expenses at the technical institutes for students who could prove their excellence in a public examination.


The new technical schools would be located in buildings formerly belonging to the religious orders that had been disbanded between 1806 and 1816.

As to tertiary education, it was decided to create, on the model of the French “Ecole Polytechnique”, an engineering school at university level, the Reale Scuola Politecnica in Naples.
It would be militarily organized and would provide officers for the artillery and for the “Real Corpo degli Ingegneri di Ponti e Strade” (iv) and, in due time, also civilian engineers. Also here some places were reserved, under royal patronage, to deserving students coming from poor families.


Something should also be said about female education. Elementary school was obligatory also for girls, who received lessons in “womanly arts”, basically sewing, instead of “Civic Virtues” like the males. This created a need for female teachers, and the queen Carolina took to her heart the issue of female education, creating a fund, parallel to that of her husband, to help girls maintain themselves while at the Magistral School (the only superior institute open to them).


Notes:
i-the name was taken from a nearby church

ii-Municipality
iii- members of the town council and mayors

iv-Royal Bridges and Roads Engineers Corps (created in 1808)

 

[Yanez de Gomera]

Carbonari Troubles

Carbonari Troubles
​

After his victory near Catanzaro and the defeat of the Sicilian invasion, Joachim could enjoy for a time great popularity at home. The population of Naples tributed him a triumphal welcome, and especially the intellectuals, who had feared a repeat of the bloody events of 1799, felt extremely relieved.


However the political tension in the Kingdom soon started to rise, and Joachim quickly became the target of sharp criticism from both ends of the political spectrum.
On one hand the more reactionary elements of the society, although somewhat cowed by the military defeat of the Bourbons, still refused to accept the “Jacobin regime”. Even the signature of the Concordat and the improvement of the relationship with the Church had not done enough to reconcile them with Murat.
Their influence in the country was however limited, and several opted to emigrate to Sicily.



A more serious challenge came from the ranks of the former feudal barons, who still owned most of the lands in the Kingdom of Naples and strongly opposed the works of the Commissione Fondiaria, fearing that they would lead to a comprehensive land reform.
They also resented their loss of prestige and political influence in respect to military officers and administrators who were mostly of bourgeois extraction.


On the other hand, the liberal factions were starting to feel increasing disillusion towards Murat.
The Concordat in particular had been ferociously criticized as a capitulation to the reactionary demands of the clergy, even though in hindsight it can be safely said that the Neapolitan diplomacy had obtained with it even more than it should have been expected.
Some still felt that Joachim had betrayed the Italian cause in 1814-1815, and wanted to put pressure on the King to be more involved in northern Italian affairs and take up the lead in the struggle for Italian independence.


But what caused unanimous disapproval among the various liberal groups and sects was the manner of government of the Kingdom, basically a, military dictatorship that, although basically benevolent towards some liberal ideas, was not much different than the absolutist monarchies of the legitimist powers.


The Kingdom formally had a Constitution, the Edict of Bayona of 1808, that, while concerning itself mostly with dynastic questions, also provided for a Parliament divided in five branches as per the pre-revolutionary model.
However the parliament had never been summoned by Joachim, usually citing in his defense the necessity of war.
Now that the Kingdom was safe from outside dangers, this position was becoming more and more difficult to keep, and even moderate liberals had started clamouring for a summoning of Parliament and, most importantly, the concession of a new Constitution.


The most worrying sect was the Carboneria. Similar to the freemasonry, the Carboneria was a secret society that took its name and traced its origins from the associations of coalers and woodcutters. Its political position were often vague and contradictory, but they could agree on two themes: the struggle for Italian independence and unification and the call for a constitutional government.



What made them particularly dangerous for the stability of the Kingdom of Naples was the fact that it had become rather widespread among the army officers, and even some generals like Guglielmo Pepe were suspected to have become members of the Carboneria. A military coup or pronunciamiento was thus a real danger for Joachim’s government.


The signs of discontent and possible sedition reached their peak at the beginning of 1818, aided by the negative economical conjuncture. Joachim Murat still postponed the summoning of Parliament, and appeared skeptical towards the calls for Constitution, citing the need to avoid upsetting the legitimist Powers and especially Austria with actions that risked destabilizing the Italian situation.


Finally, in March 1818, pamphlets and flyers were circulated in Bari, openly criticizing Murat for not respecting the Bayona Constitution. Joachim was incensed at what he saw as an act of ingratitude from the people he was working so hard to protect from a return to obscurantism, and ordered the incarceration of the author of the offensive pamphlets, a young typist with ties to the Carboneria called Giuseppe Favini [invented charachter] and his trial for “insubordination and diffusion of seditious writings”.


This move however backfired, causing an explosion of sympathy and support for Favini among the intellectuals and the more liberal members of the Court. Even the moderate liberal Giuseppe Zurlo, Interior Minister and informal head of the government, resigned his post after a last heated argument with the King.


In April the situation was still very tense, and the Carbonari decided to act, hoping to force the King into conceding a Constitution on the Spanish model of 1812, that was favoured by the more radical liberals.


At this point however general Guglielmo Pepe, who was the commander of the Neapolitan II infantry division and one of the most influential members of the Carboneria, urged calm to his fellow carbonari and attempted a last time mediation by directly speaking with the King.


Where the politician Zurlo had failed, the military man succeeded, and Pepe, who, although a carbonaro, was actually not especially radical, speaking with "military frankness" managed to convince Murat of the gravity of the situation and the necessity of a political solution, while presenting himself too his resignation to the King, who refused to accept them.
Instead Joachim understood that the army was not going to back him in case of a constitutionalist insurrection and decided to offer what he thought he would otherwise be anyways forced to concede.


On the 23rd of April Favini received the royal pardon, and two days after the Parliament of the Kingdom was summoned for the first time, and a Committee was formed and tasked with writing the sketches for a new Constitution, that were later to be submitted to the Parliament for elaboration and approval.
Among the members of the Committee were some of the most prominent liberal personalities of the Kingdom, like the only briefly disgraced former minister Zurlo, the old reformer, literate and economist Melchiorre Delfico, and the lawyer Giustino Fortunato.

This move, so reluctantly agreed upon by the King, took away most of the fuel for liberal discontent, and so the Carbonari inspired agitations soon fizzled out, while the elites of the country occupied themselves with lengthy and often heated discussions about the nature and details of the future Constitution and especially on the choice between the Spanish monocameral system of 1812 and the bicameral system provided for in the French Charter of 1814 and in the British inspired Sicilian Constitution of 1812.


Parliament, divided in the five Sedili [seats] of the clergy, nobility, universities, landowners and merchants, convened in Naples in September 1818, and soon started to work on the basis of the proposals elaborated by the Committee during the summer.
Although many members had been not elected but appointed by Joachim as was his right per the Constitution of Bayona, and thus the Parliament was really far from being an independent and truly representative entity, it was still of great political significance that the Constitution of the Kingdom of Naples would not graciously conceded by the monarch, but voted for by a Parliament.


[After an interruction due to real life/lack of writing skills, I am back. Soon there will be an update on the contents of the Constitution, meanwhile specultion and suggestions on it are very welcome]

 

[RyuDrago]

Interesting update. So, Joachin tried to pull a Napoleonic style-like of government, but it fired back in the end. At least, being more restricted in his prerogatives should further cool down the preoccupations around over him across Europe about sudden moves a la Napoleon.

Regardless, seems enough strange the Carbonaro movement whitered in Naples so sudden after Joachin's fold... Having strong backing from Pepe, now the members should have a valid base to spread their ideas across Italy, or at least focusing more towards the rest of Italy.

 

[Yanez de Gomera]

Interesting update. So, Joachin tried to pull a Napoleonic style-like of government, but it fired back in the end. At least, being more restricted in his prerogatives should further cool down the preoccupations around over him across Europe about sudden moves a la Napoleon.

Regardless, seems enough strange the Carbonaro movement whitered in Naples so sudden after Joachin's fold... Having strong backing from Pepe, now the members should have a valid base to spread their ideas across Italy, or at least focusing more towards the rest of Italy.

Well, it's not that the Carboneria disappeared, probably I didn't express me well, but I wanted to say that the talks of riots/coup attempt died down after a bit. I am writing Pepe as having a moderating influence on the Neapolitan Carboneria, as he his more tied to the establishment now than under the Bourbons as in OTL. However the Carboneria was not a verticistic organisation, we can be certain that they will stir up problems everywhere in Italy, especially now that there is an italian constitutional State to compare to the others.