Charles II, Duke of Parma - Duke of Lucca

Duke of Lucca

On 13 March 1824 Charles Louis' mother died and he succeeded her as Charles I, Duke of Lucca. Age twenty five, he inherited a small but well kept Duchy. However he showed a lack of interest in ruling. The turbulent episodes of his early life had affected him badly. In his own words "The stormy nature of my life, my inexperience, my good faith have unfortunate resulted in a complete lack of faith in myself and a diffidence, often involuntary but none the less inevitable towards, others."

Charles Louis was initially uninterested in government, preferring to give free rein to his love for traveling. During the first few years of his reign he was largely absent from the duchy, leaving its government to his ministers led by Ascanio Mansi. From 1824 to 1827 Charles Louis traveled throughout Italy. He visited Rome and the courts of Naples and Modena often, he was less keen in staying with his in laws at the Piedmont Court which he disliked due to its austerity. From 1827 to 1833 he traveled thorough Germany where he owned two castles: Uchendorff and Weisstropp (near Dresden). He enjoyed life at the Austrian court, where his sister in law was Empress. While in Vienna he rented the Kinsky Palace. He also spent time in Berlin, Frankfurt, Prague and in the capitals of other German states.

In the early 1830s Charles Louis began to take an increased interest in state affairs. His Duchy was not affected by the revolutionary movements that ran across Rome and central Italy in 1831. In foreign relations, he recognized King Louis Philippe of France, who had come to power in the July Revolution of 1830. He was also allied with the Carlists in Spain. In 1834, his uncle the Carlist claimant, Carlos V, made Charles Louis an Infante of Spain. He also side with the legitimate cause in Portugal. In 1833, after staying away for three years, Charles Louis returned to Lucca and granted a general amnesty. This was in stark contrast to the attitude of others Italian states that opted for repression and imprisonment. The same year Thomas Ward, a former English jockey, arrived in Lucca and in few years he became Charles Louis' adviser and minister. Charles Louis studied and collected biblical and liturgical texts and was interested in different religious rituals. He had built a Greek Orthodox chapel at his villa in Marlia. He also flirted with Protestantism which was unfavorable viewed by other catholic courts.

Charles Louis made a number of administrative and financial reforms that were popular. Between 1824 to 1829, some measures were taken relating to duties; to a certain freedom of trade; tax cuts, at the Land Registry. He gave especial encouragement to education and medicine, favoring the establishment of schools. These reforms were implemented thanks to the initiative of his Minister Mansi during the duke's absence. Charles disappointed his subjects who had hoped for a return to the constitution of 1805 and the hopes of Liberals in his duchy shifted to his only son and heir. He tried to copy in Lucca things he saw made abroad regardless if the conditions in the duchy were favorable. His love for traveling created many difficulties in governing and he often signed decrees according to his state of mind at the moment without any real knowledge of the issues. The actual power rested in his minister Mansi. It was said that while Charles Louis was the Duke, Mansi was king. Aware that Lucca was headed to be annexed by Tuscany, Mansi alined his policies with those of Florence, these was resented by Charles Louis. However his weakness and his restless character did not allow Charles to escape the oppressive relations of protection and control exerted upon Lucca by the courts of Austria, Tuscany and Modena. He was viewed with suspicion by both Louis Philippe of France and Metternich.

After 1833, Charles Louis, chronically short of money, stayed abroad less frequently. In 1836 he returned to Vienna and in 1838, after being in Milan for the coronation of Emperor Ferdinand, he went to France and then to England where he contracted debts. In 1837 he authorized the opening of a casino in Pieve Santo Stefano. The same year he promoted a reform of the State Council and the Council of Ministers. In 1840, while he was staying in Rome, his minister Ascanio Mansi died. Mansi's death heralded a new period during which Charles Louis took the initiative more, but his court drew adventures from different nationalities and Lucca became a safe haven for liberals fugitives from other states. Some of them were unscrupulous adventures of dubious reputation. He chose Antonio Mazzarosa, an eminent man, as presidency of the Council of State, but under Austrian pressure, he appointed Fabrizio Ostuni as Foreign Minister representing him at the Austrian court. Ostuni tenure lasted only three years (1840–1843) and coincided with a period of increasing financial distress. The economy of the duchy was in decline since 1830 and deteriorated further with the years. In 1841, the paintings of the Palatine Gallery had to be sold. The irregularities committed by Ostuni were discovered and denounced by Charles Louis' new right hand man, Thomas Ward.

Charles Louis rarely saw his wife, who after 1840 retired from public life and lived in religious seclusion in Pianore. He visited her but commented that her weak intellect and lack of sensitivity "would enable her to live a century ". Charles Louis admired female beauty, but was believed to be homosexual. While in his Duchy, Charles was really little in his capital preferring to stay in the country in Marlia. In 1845 his son married princess Louise Marie Thérèse d'Artois, a daughter of the Duke of Berry and the only sister of the French legitimate pretender the Count of Chambord.

Under pressure by Austria, Charles Louis agreed on some territorial adjustments that were detrimental to his future inheritance in Parma. By the treaty of Florence, on 28 Nov 1844, between Charles Louis and the dukes of Tuscany and Modena, he had to give up his claim to the Duchy of Guastalla and the lands east of the Enza. These territories would be given to Modena receiving in compensation only Lunigiana. The treaty of Florence remained a secret for nearly three years, but once it became known it contributed to Charles Louis growing unpopularity both in Lucca and in Parma. Need for money led the Duke, on the advice of Ward, who became Minister of Finance, to claim tax credits for titles dating back thirty years. All these resulted in general dissatisfaction. A liberal movement began to grow in Lucca where in 1847 there was a series of demonstrations, culminating in July in a full-scale riot. At first Charles Louis tried to assert his authority, but the continuous unrest forced him to take refuge in the Villa of San Martino in Vignale. On 1 September 1847, alarmed at the sight of a crowd that wanted to submit some reforms, he signed a series of concessions. Three days later, under pressure from many citizens, he returned to Lucca, where he was welcomed triumphantly. However he was unable to cope with the pressure and on 9 September he left for Modena. From there, he issued a decree that converted the Council of State in a Council of Regency. On 4 October he abdicated in favor of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, who would in any case have taken the duchy when Charles Louis became Duke of Parma, meanwhile he was to receive a monthly economical compensation. Thomas Ward arranged the premature handover; in a letter Charles told him " I can't describe to you how I feel and what a sacrifice I have made". He left for Saxony while his family went to live in Turin under the protection of King Charles Albert of Sardinia.