132] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1816. 



the dignity and denoniiiiation of 

 a kingdom; and orders, that in 

 future the kingdoms of Portugal, 

 the two Algarves, and Brazil, 

 shall form one sole kingdom, 

 under the title of United King- 

 dom of Portugal, Brazil, and the 

 Two Algarves. The transactions 

 in that part of the world will 

 hereafter be mentioned. 



The kingdom tf Naples was 

 visited at the beginning of the 

 year with a pestilential disease, 

 (appaiently the true plague) which 

 broke out at Noia, on its eastern 

 coast, said to have been brought 

 by infection from a Turkish ship. 

 As soon as it was discovered, a 

 strict cordon was tirawn round 

 the place by the Austrian troops, 

 which appear to liave this weak 

 monarchy still under guaid, 

 wheieby it was prevented from 

 spreading; and after committing 

 considerable ravages, it was finally 

 extinguished. 



The situation and the weak- 

 ness of this kingdom, having ex- 

 posed it to the depredations of the 

 piratical states of Barbary, Lord 

 Exmouth, as the British naval 

 cemmander in the Mediterranean, 

 undertook in the spring to medi- 

 ate a peace for the King with the 

 Dey of Algiers, which at that 

 time could not be effected with- 

 out an agreement for paying a 

 large sum for the liberation of 

 the Neapolitan slaves, the dis- 

 charge of which the Admiral was 

 obliged to urge with some impor- 

 tunity. When, however, the no- 

 ble commander had reduced the 

 barbarian to his own terms, he 

 made the restoration of all the 

 ransom paid by Naples one of the 

 conditions of peace. 



Although the kingdoms of Na- 



ples and Sicily were now reunited 

 under the same crown, their 

 constitutions remained different, 

 and the limited government of 

 the latter, in which a degree of 

 freedom of the press was esta- 

 blished, could not but be regarded 

 with jealousy by a Neapolitan 

 court. The King therefore pro- 

 hibited the introduction of the 

 Sicilian journals into his conti- 

 nental territories. 



A signal proof of the little 

 respect inspired by the govern- 

 ment of Naples was exhibited by 

 the arrival, in the beginning of 

 August, of an American squa- 

 dron imder Commodore Chaun- 

 cey, off the city of Naples, having 

 on board Mr. Pinckney, whose 

 purpose was to demand a large 

 sum of money, being the amount 

 of American proj)erty confiscated 

 in the reign of Murat. This mea- 

 sure, which had the appearance 

 of intimidation, excited great 

 iilarm in Naples, almost all the 

 ships of the Royal Navy having 

 been disarmed : the other means 

 for the defence of the port, how- 

 ever, were not neglected ; and 

 the Austrian general Nugent ac- 

 cepted the command of the Nea- 

 politan army. The marquis Cii- 

 cello, minister for foreign affairs, 

 delivered a note to each of the 

 foreign ministers relative to the 

 American claims, and couriers 

 were sent to engage the protec- 

 tion of different courts. The ne- 

 gociation of Mr. Pinckney was 

 protracted, and took a more mo- 

 derate tone ; and part of the 

 American squadron left the bay 

 of Naples for Messina. 



In the month of October, it is 

 annoimced fiom Naples, that Mr. 

 Pinckney had taken his leave of 



the 



