Acton, Sir John Francis Edward
Part of The Encyclopedia of Southern Italy.
Acton, Sir John Francis Edward: (b. 1736, Besançon, France. d. Aug. 12, 1811, Palermo). Adventurer and statesman. The son of an English doctor, Edward Acton, he served for a time in the French and Tuscan navies, rising to the rank of Captain. In 1775, he participated as the captain of a Tuscan frigate, in the campaign of Charles III against Algiers. During this action, he distinguished himself by assuming command at a critical moment, thus saving 3 to 4 thousand Neapolitans and Spaniards. A man of ambition, he had a keen sense of opportunity. In 1778, he saw such opportunity in Naples and entered the service of the Bourbon rulers. It did not take him long to the attention of the sovereigns. Driven forward by unbridled ambition, Acton used his innate intelligence and skills to win the favor of the Austrian-born Queen Maria Carolina. His rise to power thereafter was a swift one. By 1779, he was named Minister of the Navy; a year later, he became Minister of War. From 1784 to 1798, Acton held the office of Prime Minister. Queen Maria Carolina had a private agenda to pull Naples out from under the strong influences of Spain and turn it into a puppet of the Austrian Hapsburgs. In Acton, she discovered an ally and weapon in her quest. Left free of any interference, Acton was successful in carrying out the Queen’s wishes. This achievement earned him still more power. In 1789 he became Foreign Minister and President of the Council. With these appointments, added to those he already held, Acton became the effective ruler of Naples in all but name. His determination to gain and hold power by whatever cruel or brutal means necessary established the tradition of repression that so marked the final decades of the Bourbon kingdom. In many ways, Acton can be considered the catalyst, which sparked the series of events leading to the ultimate fall of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. For all of his cunning and scheming ways, Acton was an ardent supporter of the Old Order. He admired the despotism of the Hapsburgs and opposed the concepts of democracy and liberty of the French Revolution. This opposition blinded him to the changes taking place in Europe; changes that were to bring about his own downfall. In 1806, the army of Napoleon entered southern Italy and captured Naples. Acton fled with the Royal family to Sicily to avoid capture and died in exile in Palermo. Through papal dispensation, he was allowed to marry his niece, the eldest daughter of his brother, General Joseph Edward Acton (b. 1737). The marriage produced three children, the two most important being Sir Richard Acton (father of the first Lord Acton) and Charles Januarius Edward Acton (1803-1847).