1831 Andrew Jackson - Indemnity Claims Against Naples, The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies

In 1831, the conclusion of a treaty for indemnity payments with France opened the door to finally resolve similar claims against Naples, also known as the Kingdom of the two Sicilies. The government of Naples had been procrastinating to make payments for years, claiming that if France did not acknowledge the claims, why should they. Now, the United States had a legal basis to demand payment and Jackson decided to play hard ball. Naples must pay, or President Jackson "take such measures as his constitutional duties shall direct".

After the fall of Napoleon in 1814, Napoleon's brother-in-law Joachim Murat became the ruler of the Kingdom of Naples. Murat attempted to call the Italians together in a war of national independence but failed and he was forced to renounce the throne of Naples. Ferdinand of Bourbon regained his throne in Naples and consolidated his holdings in Naples and Sicily to create the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies on December 18, 1815. This transition of power made it difficult for Americans to collect on indemnity claims resulting from decrees that Napoleon had forced his brother-in-law Murat to execute. For years Ferdinand and the government of Naples procrastinated, arguing that they were under no obligation to pay these claims, especially since the French themselves had refused to acknowledge their own obligations. In July of 1831, this all changed. France had finally agreed to acknowledge their obligations and signed a treaty with the United States to make a lump sum payment to cover the claims. The U.S. now had the legal basis for their claims against the Kingdom of Naples. President Jackson's new Secretary of State Edward Livingston appointed John Nelson as chargé d'affaires to Naples and instructed him to inform the government of the Two Sicilies that the time for procrastination was over and that any more delays in meeting American demands would result in the President consulting with Congress to take whatever measures were necessary to insure full compensation. The demand upon Naples were so insulting and threatening to Naples, that Jackson later asked Congress not to publish openly the documents relative to the Two Siciles for fear it might be hinder the work of other American ministers abroad. The government of Naples initially refused, but when Minister Nelson demanded his passports and notified the Neapolitan Secretary of State that the President would "take such measures as his constitutional duties shall direct", the Neapolitan government fully acquiesced. They were impressed by Nelson's determination, and the four American warships in Naples' harbor.

The entire measure was resolved and put into execution without waiting for Congress to meet. Jackson explained that this was necessary because "the state of Europe created an apprehension of events that might have rendered our application ineffectual."

"The conclusion of a treaty for indemnity with France seemed to present a favorable opportunity to renew our claims of a similar nature on other powers, and particularly in the case of those upon Naples, more especially as in the course of former negotiations with that power our failure to induce France to render us justice was used as an argument against us. The desires of the merchants, who were the principal sufferers, have therefore been acceded to, and a mission has been instituted for the special purpose of obtaining for them a reparation already too long delayed. This measure having been resolved on, it was put in execution without waiting for the meeting of Congress, because the state of Europe created an apprehension of events that might have rendered our application ineffectual."

In 1833, President Jackson remarked that the ratification had been duly exchanged.

"The ratifications of the convention with the King of the two Sicilies have been duly exchanged, and the commissioners appointed for examining the claims under it have entered upon the duties assigned to them by law. The friendship that the interests of the two nations require of them being now established, it may be hoped that each will enjoy the benefits which a liberal commerce should yield to both."

And in 1834, the first installment had been received.

"The first installment due under the convention of indemnity with the King of the Two Sicilies has been duly received, and an offer has been made to extinguish the whole by a prompt payment -- an offer I did not consider myself authorized to accept, as the indemnification provided is the exclusive property of individual citizens of the United States. The original adjustment of our claims and the anxiety displayed to fulfill at once the stipulations made for the payment of them are highly honorable to the Government of the Two Sicilies. When it is recollected that they were the result of the injustice of an intrusive power temporarily dominant in its territory, a repugnance to acknowledge and to pay which would have been neither unnatural nor unexpected, the circumstances can not fail to exalt its character for justice and good faith in the eyes of all nations."

And paid in 1835.

"The installments due under the convention with the King of the Two Sicilies have been paid with that scrupulous fidelity by which his whole conduct has been characterized, and the hope is indulged that the adjustment of the vexed question of our claims will be followed by a more extended and mutually beneficial intercourse between the two countries."

References

Presidency.ucsb.edu. (2019). Third Annual Message | The American Presidency Project. [online] Available at: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/third-annual-message-3 [Accessed 29 Jun. 2019].

Presidency.ucsb.edu. (2020). Fifth Annual Message | The American Presidency Project. [online] Available at: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/sixth-annual-message-2 [Accessed 25 Mar. 2020].

Presidency.ucsb.edu. (2020). Seventh Annual Message | The American Presidency Project. [online] Available at: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/seventh-annual-message-2 [Accessed 25 Mar. 2020].

Andrew Jackson Versus France American Policy toward France. (1976). Tennessee Historical Quarterly, 35(1), pp.53-54.

In Senate of the United States, February 9, 1833. Documents relating to the convention with Sicily. Ordered, that the following correspondence, relating to the convention with the King of the Two Sicilies, be printed for the use of the Senate. (1833). Washington, DC.

Wagner, D. (2019). 1823 James Monroe - Just Indemnity from the French Government. [online] Stateoftheunionhistory.com. Available at: http://www.stateoftheunionhistory.com/2017/08/1823-james-monroe-just-indemnity-from.html [Accessed 1 Jul. 2019].

History.state.gov. (2019). Two Sicilies* - Countries - Office of the Historian. [online] Available at: https://history.state.gov/countries/two-sicilies [Accessed 1 Jul. 2019].