Sir William Forbes, an unwitting witness: The Latouche-Tréville expedition and an eruption of Vesuvius in the diary of a Scottish banker

Abstract

The text analyzes the expedition of the French Revolutionary fleet against Naples in 1792, placing it within the context of diplomatic tensions between France and the Bourbon Kingdom. It examines the historiographical significance of the episode, highlighting the lack of recent studies and the need for new interpretations, and presents as its main source the unpublished diary of William Forbes, which offers a direct account of the events, intertwining the political dimension with observations on the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Finally, the text emphasizes the role of British social networks in Naples and their importance in the circulation of information and in shaping perceptions of the crisis.