Editing Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (section)

==Reign==
Ferdinand's minority/childhood ended in 1767, and his first act was the expulsion of the [[Society of Jesus|Jesuits]]. The following year he married [[Maria Carolina of Austria|Archduchess Maria Carolina]], daughter of [[Maria Theresa|Empress Maria Theresa]]. By the marriage contract, the queen was to have a voice in the council of state after the birth of her first son, and she was not slow to avail herself of this means of political influence.<ref name=EB1911/>

Tanucci, who attempted to thwart her, was dismissed in 1777. The Englishman Sir [[John Francis Edward Acton|John Acton]], who in 1779 was appointed director of marine, won Maria Carolina's favour by supporting her scheme to free Naples from Spanish influence, securing ''rapprochement'' with the [[Archduchy of Austria]] and the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]]. He became practically and afterward actually prime minister. Although not a mere grasping adventurer, he was largely responsible for reducing the internal administration of the country to a system of [[espionage]], [[corruption]] and [[cruelty]].<ref name=EB1911/>