559 
NAP 
with two hundred foldiers and thirty officers. On the 
night of the 30th a violent tempeft arofe, and difperfed 
the little fleet; and, on the 5th of Oftobcr, rejoining 
another of his veffels, he was compelled to land at Pizzo, 
on the coaft of Calabria, with fifty men. Few troops were 
quartered on this part of the coait, but no preparation had 
been made for his reception. He immediately ifl'ued pro¬ 
clamations, inviting his former fubje&s to join his ftand- 
ard, and promifing them the affiftance of Auftria. From 
the coaft he marched quietly to the village. When he ar¬ 
rived there, he attempted to excite the ftir of a civil war, 
by crying out to the people, “ I am your king, Joachim 
Murat: you ought to acknowledge me.” Thefe words 
were the fignal of a general commotion : they ran to arms. 
Murat and his fuite, who were proceeding towards Monte- 
leone, feeing themfelves purfued by the populace, threw 
themfelves precipitately among the mountains ; whence 
they attempted to open for themfelves a way to the coaft, 
in order to find the vefi'el which awaited them : but, over¬ 
come by the number and courage of their purfuers, they 
were made prifoners, and conducted, in fpite of the moft 
aftive refiftance on their part, to the fort of Pizzo. In 
the heat of the encounter, Capt. Pernice was killed, and 
Gen. Francefchetti wounded, as well as feven other per¬ 
sons in the fuite of Murat; who was then, after a defpe- 
rate refiftance, taken prifoner. A court-martial was im¬ 
mediately affembled ; he was brought before it, and tried 
on one of his own laws, which decreed, that any perfon, 
landing in the country with an intent of difturbing the 
public tranquillity, fliould be (hot. Ferdinand at firft re¬ 
fufed to fign the warrant for his death; but, being at 
length prevailed on by his minifters, orders were given 
for the immediate execution of the prifoner. When 
Murat was informed that hrs fate was decided, he ex- 
preffed fome furprife and indignation ; but, immediately 
recolle&ing himfelf, requefted a pair of fciffars to cut off 
his hair, in order to fend it to his wife, but this was 
cruelly refufed. He then intreated that he might be (hot 
by the frnall detachment of his guard which was at Pizzo 5 
this was alfo refufed. His requeft that the execution 
might take place in the Great Hall of the commandant 
of Pizzo was acceded to. Twelve Sicilian foldiers were 
then placed clofe to the door of the apartment. Murat 
took leave of the prieft who accompanied him, entered 
refolutely the hall, uncovered his bread, gave the word 
“Fire 1 .” and immediately fell, pierced by eight balls. 
His execution took place on the 15th of Oftober, 1815. 
We are told, that, after being buried at Pizzo, his body 
was dug up by the populace, in the December following, 
and that the fyndic, who oppofed them, was murdered, 
and then confumed in the fame fire. 
Murat was born at an inn near Cahors; where, even 
when a child, he was remarkable for his courage and ad- 
drefs in riding the moft fpirited horfes. The fame traits 
were afterwards eminent in his character when he entered 
the army as a foldierof fortune ; and his early habits in¬ 
duced him particularly to cultivate the fcience of cavalry- 
manoeuvres-, for which he became highly diftinguilhed. 
His marriage with Bonaparte's favourite lifter gave him a 
crown ; and, as if fortune refolved that he fliould wear it, 
his caufe, by the moft unforefeen and profperous events, 
was levered from that of Napoleon ; fo that he appeared 
even to triumph in the downfall of his mafter. But the 
reftlelfnefs of his ambition, and the contemptible chica¬ 
nery of his politics, worked his ruin. Not fatisfied with 
what the Austrian minifter, in his remonftrance to him, 
juftlycalled “ one of the moft ancient, compaft, and beau¬ 
tiful, kingdoms in Europe,” impelled by the principles he 
learned in the fchool of Napoleon, he fighed after the pa¬ 
trimony of the papal fee, and attempted to feize on the 
three legations. Succefs had rendered Murat an enthu- 
liaft; he fancied that Italy panted for liberty; that (he 
would hail him as her regenerator, and reward him with 
her diadem. With thefe hopes, he encountered the power 
At Auftria with about 30,000 men, after having feverally 
L E S. 
deceived every court in Europe, and forfeited the bribe 
for which he fold his patron, by joining him again before 
the bargain was completed. The lot’s of his throne was 
the juft puniftiment of his perfidy ; and the lots of his 
life can be regarded in no other light than as the.facrifice 
of an incendiary, offered to the fafety of his intended 
victims. At the fame time it is but juftice to him to re¬ 
mark, that, during the (hort period of his reign over 
Naples, he did much to benefit that fine portion of Italy. 
The great faults and vices of the Neapolitan character 
were extreme indolence, the want of enterprife and am¬ 
bition, exceffive ignorance and fuperftition, and a large 
portion of Italian cowardice and cruelty. To eradicate 
thefe he ufed all his endeavours ; and, by the teftimony 
of travellers who had feen Naples under Ferdinand and 
under him, he had been tolerably fucCefsful. If, there¬ 
fore, he could have refted content, and had not differed 
himfelf to have been made the tool of Bonaparte, it is 
highly probable, not only that he would have been dif¬ 
fered to retain the throne of Naples, but that he would 
have effected a great reform in the character of the Nea¬ 
politans. Great Britain had no reafon to exert herfelfin 
favour of the old dynafty, fince the conduct of the queen 
of Naples in Sicily had for many years been hoftile to the 
views of the allies, and even ftrongly favourable to Bona¬ 
parte : and there was reafon to believe, that even Fer¬ 
dinand and his fubjedfs did not feel all the gratitude to¬ 
wards Great Britain, which her exertions and facrifices 
on their behalf juftly intitled her to expedt. 
The particulars detailed above, have been collected 
chiefly from Mant’s Hift. of the Wars of England; Le 
Blois’s Hift. of France; Annual Regifter, 1806-1815; 
Stephens’s Hift. of the War3 arifing out of the French 
Revolution ; Gifford’s Hiftory of the Wars, a vols. 4to. 
1817. to which we beg to refer our readers for farther 
particulars; as alfo to the articles Enoland, France, 
Germany, Italy, and London, in the prefent work. 
STATISTICAL HISTORY. 
The kingdom of Naples is divided into twelve pro¬ 
vinces, called Givjlizierati , or jurifdidlions, containing 
2067 univerfita, under the denomination of cities, towns, 
and villages. This divifion is commonly attributed to 
the emperor Frederic II. The provinces are—Terra di 
Lavora, Principato Citra, Principato Ultra, Capitanata, 
Molife, Abruzzo Citra, Abruzzo Ultra, Bari, Otranto, 
Bafilicata, Calabria Citra, and Calabria Ultra. An efti- 
mate of the population of this kingdom is publilhed an¬ 
nually by authority. In theyeari767,there were 1,819,267 
males, 1,886,875 females, and 107,612 ecclefiaftics fecular 
and religious ; 81,898 males and 76,770 females were born, 
and 123,041 of both (exes died: in 1777, 2,092,745 males, 
2,124,030 females, and 94,728 ecclefiaftics: in 1778, the 
number of inhabitants amounted to 4,564,445 ; in 1779, 
to 4,651,293 ; in the prefent year 1818, to 5,117,362. 
Government. — The king of Naples and of the Two 
Sicilies is an hereditary monarch. The latter title, which 
has lately been revived, was firft ufed in the 12th century, 
when Roger II. earl of Sicily, was alfo king of Naples. 
The king, in acknowledgment of the pope’s feudal right, 
fends every year to him a white palfrey, and a purfe of 6000 
ducats. The king’s eldeft fern is ftyled Prince of Calabria. 
The nobility of various ranks conftitute a very nu¬ 
merous body. “ I am allured,” fays Dr. Moore, (View 
of Society in Italy,) “ that the king of Naples counts 
among his iubjedts 100 perfons with the title of prince, 
and a (till greater with that of duke. Six or feven of 
thefe have eftates which produce from 10 to 13,000k 
a-year; a confiderable number have fortunes of about 
half that value ; and the annual revenue of many is not 
above ioool. or aoool. The inferior orders of the nobility 
are much poorer: many counts and marquifles have not 
above 300I. or 400I. a-year of paternal eftate ; many have 
(till lefs ; and not a few enjoy the title without any eftate 
whatever. Thefe nobles, however, are cxceffively fond 
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