Editing Charles III of Spain (section)

===Impact of rule in Naples and Sicily===
[[File:Camillo-Paderni-Charles-III-of-Spain-King-Charles-VII-of-Naples.jpg|left|thumb|King Charles VII of Naples by [[Camillo Paderni]], c. 1757]]
Charles left a lasting legacy on his kingdom, introducing reforms during his reign. In Naples, Charles began internal reforms that he later continued in peninsular Spain and the ultramarine [[Spanish Empire]]. His chief minister in Naples, [[Bernardo Tanucci]], had a considerable influence over him. Tanucci had found a solution to Charles's acceding to the throne, but then implemented a major regalist policy toward the Church, substantially limiting the privileges of the clergy, whose vast possessions enjoyed tax exemption and their own jurisdiction. His realm was financially a backward, underdeveloped stagnant agrarian economy, with 80% of the land being owned or controlled by the church and therefore tax-exempt. Landlords often registered their properties with the church to benefit from tax exemptions. Their rural tenants were under their landlords' control rather than royal jurisdiction. Taxes were collected by [[tax farming]] through low paid employees who supplemented their income by the exploitation of their position. "Smuggling and corruption were institutionalized at all levels."<ref>Stein and Stein, ''Apogee of Empire'', pp. 4-5.</ref>

Charles encouraged the development of skilled craftsmen in Naples and Sicily, after centuries of foreign domination. Charles is recognized for having recreated the "Neapolitan nation", building an independent and sovereign kingdom.<ref>The Academy of Real Navy 10 December 1735, was the first institution to be established by Charles III for cadets, followed 18 November 1787 by the Royal Military Academy (later Military School of Naples):{{cite journal|last1=Buonomo|first1=Giampiero|title = Goliardia a Pizzofalcone tra il 1841 ed il 1844|journal= L'Ago e Il Filo Edizione Online|date=2013| url=https://www.academia.edu/3394824|language=it}}</ref> He also instituted reforms that were more administrative, more social and more religious than the kingdom had seen for a long time. In 1746 the [[Inquisition]] was introduced in domains bought by the [[Giuseppe Spinelli|Cardinal Spinelli]], though this was not popular and required intervention by Charles.

Charles was the most popular king the Neapolitans had had for many years. He was very supportive of the people's needs, regardless of class, and has been hailed<ref>{{in lang|it}} [https://www.academia.edu/11315001/Illuminismo_nel_Regno_delle_due_Sicilie ''{{lang|it|Quei Lumi accesi nel Mezzogiorno}}''].</ref> as an [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] king. Among the initiatives aimed at bringing the kingdom out of difficult economic conditions, Charles created the "commerce council" that negotiated with the Ottomans, Swedes, French, and Dutch. He also founded an insurance company and took measures to protect the forests, and tried to start the extraction and exploitation of the natural resources.
[[File:CasertaNorthernAspect.jpg|thumb|[[Palace of Caserta]]]]
[[File:Palazzo Reale di Napoli.jpg|thumb|[[Royal Palace of Naples]]]]
On 3 February 1740, King Charles issued a proclamation containing 37 paragraphs, in which [[Jew]]s were formally invited to return to Sicily, from where they had been [[History of the Jews in Sicily#Middle Ages|brutally expelled in 1492]]. This move had a little practical effect: though a few Jews did come to Sicily, though there was no legal impediment to their living there, they felt their lives insecure, and they soon went back to Turkey. Despite the King's goodwill, the Jewish community of Sicily which had flourished in the Middle East was not re-established. Still, this was a significant symbolic gesture, the King clearly repudiating a past policy of religious intolerance. Moreover, the expulsion of the Jews from Sicily had been an application of the Spanish [[Alhambra Decree]] - which would be repudiated in Spain itself only much later.

The Kingdom of Naples remained neutral during the [[Seven Years' War]] (1756–1763). The British Prime Minister, [[William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham|William Pitt]] wanted to create an Italian league where Naples and Sardinia would fight together against Austria, but Charles refused to participate. This choice was sharply criticized by the Neapolitan Ambassador in Turin, [[Domenico Caraccioli]], who wrote:

<blockquote>
"The position of Italian matters is not more beautiful; but it is worsened by the fact that the King of Naples and the King of Sardinia, adding troops to larger forces of the others, could oppose itself to the plans of their neighbors; to defend itself against the dangers of the peace of the enemies themselves they were in a way united, but they are separated by their different systems of government."<ref>Francesco Renda, Storia della Sicilia Dalle origini ai giorni nostri vol. II, Palerme, Sellerio editore, 2003.</ref>
</blockquote>

With the [[Republic of Genoa]] relations were stretched: [[Pasquale Paoli]], general of [[Corsica]]n pro-independence rebels, was an officer of the Neapolitan army and the Genoese suspected that he received the assistance of the Kingdom of Naples.

He constructed a collection of [[palace]]s in and around Naples. Charles was in awe of the [[Palace of Versailles]] and the [[Royal Palace of Madrid]] in Spain (the latter being modeled on Versailles itself). He undertook and oversaw the construction of one of Europe's most lavish palaces, the [[Royal Palace of Caserta]] (''Reggia di Caserta''). Construction ideas for the stunning palace started in 1751 when he was 35 years old. The site had previously been home to a small hunting lodge, as had Versailles, which he was fond of because it reminded him of the [[Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso]] in Spain. Caserta was also much influenced by his wife, the very cultured [[Maria Amalia of Saxony]]. The site of the palace was also far away from the large volcano of [[Mount Vesuvius]], which was a constant threat to the capital, as was the sea. Charles himself laid the foundation stone of the palace amid many festivities on his 36th birthday, 20 January 1752. Other buildings he had built in his kingdom were the [[Palace of Portici]] (''Reggia di [[Portici]]''), he had [[Giovanni Antonio Medrano]] design the [[Teatro di San Carlo]]—constructed in just 270 days—and the [[Museo di Capodimonte|Palace of Capodimonte]] (''Reggia di Capodimonte''); he also had the [[Royal Palace of Naples]] renovated. He and his wife had the [[Capodimonte porcelain|Capodimonte porcelain Factory]] constructed in the city. He also founded the [[Accademia Ercolanese]] and the [[National Archaeological Museum, Naples]], which still operates today.

During his rule the Roman cities of [[Herculaneum]] (1738), [[Stabiae]] and [[Pompeii]] (1748) were re-discovered. The king encouraged their excavation and continued to be informed about findings even after moving to Spain. [[Camillo Paderni]] who was in charge of excavated items at the king's palace in Portici was also the first to attempt in reading obtained scrolls from the [[Villa of the Papyri]] in Herculaneum.<ref name=Marchant2018>{{cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/buried-ash-vesuvius-scrolls-are-being-read-new-xray-technique-180969358/|title=Buried by the Ash of Vesuvius, These Scrolls Are Being Read for the First Time in Millennia|work=Smithsonian Magazine|author=Jo Marchant|year=2018|access-date=19 January 2019}}</ref>

After Charles departed for Spain, Minister Tanucci presided over the Council of Regency that ruled until Charles' third son [[Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies|Ferdinand]] reached 16, the age of majority.