Rodrigo Ponce de León, fourth Duke of Arcos

After having successfully exercised the office of viceroy of Valencia, the fourth Duke of Arcos (1602-1672) was chosen in 1646 as the successor to the Almirante de Castilla to the government of Naples. Finding himself facing a critical financial situation, with the kingdom exhausted by the enormous tax burden, the new viceroy was forced to impose a new tax to fund the defense of the State of Presidi, attacked by a French expedition led by Thomas of Savoy. A gabella tax on fruit and hated by the people was thus re-established which was a source of large profits for the financiers of the Crown, nobles and citizens who had already provided the donation, and for the collectors of the excise tax. This was the spark that started the revolt of Masaniello. Overwhelmed by the events, the Duke of Arcos showed himself unable to cope with the situation: after accepting the demands prepared by Genoino, he was unable to regain control of the city even after the death of Masaniello, and with the arrival of the fleet led by don Juan de Austria the younger and the proclamation of the Republic (October 1647)  the government in Madrid also lost confidence in him. He abandoned Naples on 24 January 1648 and the Duke of Arcos was deprived of any further assignments.

Read more:

• G. De Caro, Arcos, Rodrigo Ponce de León duca d’, in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, v. 4 (1962).
• A. Musi, La rivolta di Masaniello nella scena politica barocca, Napoli 1989.