Naples and Napoleon : Southern Italy and the European revolutions ; (1780-1860)

Naples and Napoleon rewrites the history of Italy in the age of the European revolutions from the perspective of the South. In contrast to later images of southern backwardness and immobility, Davis portrays the South as a precocious theatre for political and economic upheavals that sooner or later would challenge the survival of all the pre-Unification states. Focusing on the years of French rule from 1806 to 1815, when southern Italy became the arena for one of the most ambitious reform projects in Napoleonic Europe, Davis argues that this owed less to Napoleon than to the forces unleashed by the crisis of the Ancien Regime. However, an examination of the earlier Republic and the popular counter-revolutions of 1799, along with the later revolutions in Naples and Sicily in 1820-1, reveals that the impact of these changes was deeply contradictory. This major reinterpretation of the history of the South before Unification significantly reshapes our understanding of how the Italian states came to be unified, while Davis also shows why long after Unification not just the South but Italy as a whole would remain vulnerable to the continuing challenges of the new age In Naples and Napoleon John Davis takes the southern Italian Kingdom of the Two Sicilies as the vantage point for a sweeping reconsideration of Italy's history in the age of Napoleon and the European revolutions. The book's central themes are posed by the period of French rule from 1806 to 1815, when southern Italy was the Mediterranean frontier of Napoleon's continental empire. The tensions between Naples and Paris made this an important chapter in the history of that empire and revealed the deeper contradictions on which it was founded. But the brief interlude of Napoleonic rule later came to be seen as the critical moment when a modernizing North finally parted company from a backward South. Although these arguments still shape the ways in which Italian history is written, in most parts of the North political and economic change before Unification was slow and gradual; whereas in the South it came sooner and in more disruptive forms. Davis develops a wide-ranging critical reassessment of the dynamics of political change in the century before Unification. His starting point is the crisis that overwhelmed the Italian states at the end of the 18th century, when Italian rulers saw the political and economic fabric of the Ancien Régime undermined throughout Europe. In the South the crisis was especially far reaching and this, Davis argues, was the reason why in the following decade the South became the theatre for one of the most ambitious reform projects in Napoleonic Europe. The transition was precarious and insecure, but also mobilized political projects and forms of collective action that had no counterparts elsewhere in Italy before 1848, illustrating the similar nature of the political challenges facing all the pre-Unification states. Although Unification finally brought Italy's insecure dynastic principalities to an end, it offered no remedies to the insecurities that from much earlier had made the South especially vulnerable to the challenges of the new age: which was why the South would become a problem - Italy's'Southern Problem'. In This Book John Davis Rewrites The History Of Italy In The Age Of The European Revolutions From The Perspective Of The South. In Contrast To Later Images Of Southern Backwardness And Immobility, He Portrays The South As A Precocious Theatre For Political And Economic Upheavals That Sooner Or Later Would Challenge The Survival Of All The Pre-unification States. This Major Reinterpretation Of The History Of The South Before Unification Significantly Reshapes Our Understanding Of How The Italian States Came To Be Unified, While Davis Also Shows Why Long After Unification Not Just The South But Italy As A Whole Would Remain Vulnerable To The Continuing Challenges Of The New Age.--book Jacket. Introduction : Naples, Napoleon, And The Origins Of The Two Italies -- Pt. I. Absolutist Naples -- 1. The Ancien Regime In The South -- 2. Projecting Reform -- 3. Undermining The Old Order -- 4. 1799 : The Rise And Fall Of The Republic -- 5. Jacobins And Patriots -- 6. The Counter-revolution -- Pt. Ii. Napoleonic Naples -- 7. Naples In The Imperial Enterprise -- 8. The Costs Of Empire -- 9. The Promise Of Change -- 10. A Kingdom Remodelled? : The Provinces And The Capital -- 11. Disorder -- 12. A Kingdom Divided -- Pt. Iii. Restoration And Revolution -- 13. Losing Naples -- 14. Restoration -- 15. Revolution -- Conclusion : States Of Insecurity. John A. Davis. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Naples and Napoleon rewrites the history of Italy in the age of the European revolutions, showing how the South was the first to experience challenges that would undermine all pre-Unification Italian rulers. Davis reshapes our understanding of how Italy came to be unified, and why after Unification the South became such a problem. Using southern Italy as the vantage point, the author offers a reconsideration of the country's history in the age of Napoleon and the European revolutions. The book's central themes are posed by the period of French rule from 1806 to 1815, when southern Italy was the Mediterranean frontier of Napoleon's continental empire