Editing Charles Felix of Sardinia (section)

== Viceroy of Sardinia (1799–1814) ==
[[File:Charles Felix as the Grand Master of the Order of the Most Holy Annunciation.jpg|thumb|200px|Charles Felix as the Grand Master of the [[Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus]]]]
Charles Emmanuel IV was childless and, after the death of his wife, he abdicated in favour of his brother Victor Emmanuel I on 4 June 1802. The latter did not take possession of the domains in Sardinia himself, preferring to entrust them to Charles Felix as viceroy.

Charles Felix's government of Sardinia was rather rigid and authoritarian. Since the {{ill|Sardinian revolutionary movements|it|Moti rivoluzionari sardi}} in 1794, the island had experienced a period of disorder, exacerbated by widespread poverty, which had led to an increase in crime, which the viceroy suppressed with notable harshness, writing to his brother the king, "slaughter, slaughter, for the good of the human race."{{sfn|Montanelli|1971|p=344}}

Charles Felix established a military regime, such that his Sardinian subjects referred to him as "Carlo Feroce" (Charles the Ferocious). The tool of this regime was the special court of the Viceregal delegation for the investigation of political proceedings, which took action immediately against the "capopolo" (popular leader), [[Vincenzo Sulis]], who was guilty of nothing other than having been more successful than the viceroy in defeating the revolutionary movements. When Sulis was condemned to twenty years in gaol, the viceroy considered it a lenient sentence. Furthermore, in the persecution of "state criminals," Charles Felix legitimated the adoption of military procedures and granted every power to the police, from spying to censoring letters and placing bounties on suspects.{{sfn|Montanelli|1971|p=344}}

In his reorganisation work, however, he displayed notable energy to control the autonomy of the judiciary and the local bureaucracy and managed to correct some abuses of the feudal regime.<ref name= Treccani >{{cite web|url=http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/carlo-felice-di-savoia-re-di-sardegna_(Dizionario-Biografico)/|title=Carlo Felice di Savoia|access-date=22 February 2015}}</ref>

In fact, when the [[Stamenti]], the parliament of the kingdom, voted to pay a tax of 400,000 lire, Charles Felix exerted significant pressure to have the poorest classes exempted from the tax and he judged disputes in feudal jurisdiction in favour of vassals rather than feudal lords.<ref name= Treccani /> When an anti-feudal revolt took place against the Duke of [[Asinara]], who had refused to conform to the regulations of the viceroy, Charles Felix decided to punish both the duke, who was stripped of his property, as well as the revolutionaries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usini.virtuale.org/la_rivolta_antifeudale.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080608165651/http://www.usini.virtuale.org/la_rivolta_antifeudale.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 June 2008|title=Storia di Usini, la Rivolta anti-feudale|access-date=22 February 2015}}</ref>

Despite the precarious political and social situation, Charles Felix was able to bring some improvements to the agriculture and economy of the island. Under his rule, an agrarian society and an office for the administration of Crown mines and forests were established. Additionally, the farming of olives was encouraged and commercial contracts were granted to encourage local production. Finally, he began a project to systematise the road network.<ref name= Testedistoria >{{cite web|url=http://testedistoria.blogspot.it/2011/12/carlo-felice-di-savoia-il-re-per-caso.html|title=Teste di storia: Carlo Felice di Savoia, il re per caso|accessdate=22 February 2015}}</ref>