Bourbon conquest of the Two Sicilies

Bourbon Conquest of the Two Sicilies
Part of the War of the Polish Succession
Charles of Bourbon on horseback during the Siege of Gaeta (Giovanni Luigi Rocco, c. 1734, private collection)
Date 1734–1735 Location Southern Italy and Sicily (Kingdom of Naples and Kingdom of Sicily) Result Spanish victory and establishment of the Bourbon monarchy in the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, recognized by European powers with the Treaty of Vienna (1738)
Belligerents
Spain	Austria
Commanders and leaders
Charles of Bourbon1 Count of Montemar Count of Charny Duke of Berwick and Liria Count of Marsillac Marquis of Pozzoblanco Duke of Veraguas Duke of Castropignano Marquis of Castelforte Marquis of Las Minas Count of Mazeda Marquess of Gracia Real Naval forces: Gabriel Perez de Alderete Count of Clavijo	Giovanni Carafa Count of Traun Prince of Belmonte Naval forces: Giovanni Luca Pallavicini
Strength
Approximately 14,000[1][2]	7,082 (Kingdom of Naples)[3]
1Nominal command

The Bourbon Conquest of the Two Sicilies took place between 1734 and 1735 during the War of the Polish Succession, when Spain, under Philip V, invaded the Kingdom of Naples and the Kingdom of Sicily, both then under Austrian dominion.

In keeping with the balance of power politics that governed 18th-century international relations, the victorious military campaign did not result in the two kingdoms reverting to Spanish viceroyalties as in previous centuries. Instead, they regained their former independence. Philip V's son by his second wife, Elisabeth Farnese, the Infante Don Charles—already Duke of Parma—ascended the throne as the first ruler of the Bourbon dynasty of Naples.

The conquest sparked tensions with Pope Clement XII, who, as holder of centuries-old feudal rights over the kingdoms, granted Charles investiture only in May 1738. International recognition of the new dynasty came in November of that year with the Treaty of Vienna (1738), at the cost of ceding the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza to the Habsburgs and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany to the Lorraine dynasty.