Neapolitan Republic (1647-1648)

The Neapolitan Republic of 1647-1648 was a short-lived government proclaimed in Naples during a revolt against Spanish rule. The uprising began in July 1647, when a tax on fruit sparked riots led by the fishmonger Masaniello and the lawyer Giulio Genoino. Although the viceroy, the Duke of Arcos, suppressed the initial violence, discontent persisted. In October, after a Spanish fleet bombarded the city, the rebels declared a republic. Henri II, Duke of Guise, arrived in November and assumed leadership, taking the title of Doge in imitation of Venice. The republic adopted the motto Senatus Populusque Neapolitanus and struggled to organise defence and government while the Spanish regrouped. Its authority was always fragile, and in April 1648 the Spanish recovered the city. The Duke of Guise was captured, and the republic collapsed. The episode exposed the fragility of Spanish rule in southern Italy and left a lasting memory of popular revolt.