Tho terrible massacre of the French in Sicily, known in history as the Sicilian vespers, put an end to the French or Anjeviue rule in Sicily in 1282. The Sicilians called to the throne Pedro, king of Aragon, who had married Constance, daughter of Manfred. &Arles of Anjou retained the continental territories, and fixed his residence at Naples. Both styled themselves King of Sicily, and the usage began gradually to prevail at Naples of calling the island 'Sicily ultra pharum,' and the continental territories ' Sicily citm pharum.' Tho island had a succession of Aragonese kings from this time till 1410, when Alfonso, son of Ferdinand (of Aragon), having succeeded his father as king of Aragon and Sicily, appointed a viceroy to govern Sicily. This was the beginning of the Spanish viceregal government in Sicily, which lasted, with a few short intervals, for above three centuries (till 1734), to the great disappointment and disadvantage of the Sicilians.
By the peace of Utrecht, Charles V. resigned his claims to Spain, but retained Naples, Sardinia, and Milan, and by the express inter vention of England, Sicily was given to Victor Amadeus of Savoy, with the title of king. Victor Amadeus made his ingress into Palermo in 1714, and assembled the Sicilian parliament. The census of the Wand of Sicily, taken at this time, gave a return of 1,153,000 Inhabitants, of which Palermo reckoned 120,000. An expedition sent by Cardinal Alberoni in 1718 took Sicily from Victor Amadeus, but England and Austria obliged the Spaniards to evacuate the island, and by a new arrangement Sardinia was given to Victor Amadeus and Sicily to the emperor Charles. Thus Sicily and Naples were again salted under a foreign crown.
In 1734 a new war having broken out in Europe on the occasion of disputed succession of Poland, Spain undertook to reconquer )oth Naples and Sicily. The Infanta Don Carlos (Carlo Borboue), mu of Philip V., marched with a well-appointed army and took gaples from the Austrians. He then proceeded to Sicily, which he dso conquered after some resistance. At the same time Philip V. nade a solemn renunciation of Naples and Sicily in favour of hie son )on Carlos (who assumed the title of King of the Two Sicilies) and pia heirs.
Carlo Borbone, under whom the country enjoyed peace, and a legree of prosperity to which it had been a stranger for centuries, laving by the death of his brother Ferdinand VI. of Spain succeeded o the crown of that monarchy, resigned his kingdom of the Two ;jellies to his son Ferdinand, then eight years old, appointing a conncil IC regency during his minority. The first part of the reign of Ferdi nand, till the epoch of the French revolution, was spent in forwarding he system begun by his father. He married in 1768 Maria Carolina of Wstria, daughter of Maria Theresa and sister of Marie Antionetto.
A French army having invaded the kingdom of Naples in 1708, Ferdinand and his court escaped to Sicily. In the following June the troops of Ferdinand, joined to a large Calabrian militia, led by cardinal Ruffo, retook the capital and the whole kingdom, and Ferdi nand returned to Naples. In 1805 be entered secretly into a coalition against Napoleon, who after the victory of Austerlitz sent Marshal ilassena against Naples, and for the eccond time Ferdinand took refuge in Sicily, where he remained with his court till 1815.
In 1812, a new representative oonatitution upon a liberal scale was isoclahned in Sicily. The parliameut of 1814 was opened by the king in person, but after its dissolntion he never called another. In the following year, after the defeat of Murat by the Austrians, king Ferdinand was restored to the throne of Naples. lie assumed the title of Ferdinand I., King of the United Kingdom of the Two Sicilice, and the legislation and administration of both divisions of the kingdom were reduced to a uniform system. Thus the Siciliau constitution was virtually abolished.
In 1818, a now concordat for the Two Sicilies was agreed upon by the rope. But a revolt broke out in 1820, in consequence of which the Spanish constitution of 1812 was proclaimed, and a milted parlia ment convoked for Naples and Sicily. Sicily however, over jealous of its natiouality, demanded a separate parliament, and a repeal of the union effected by the king. The Parliament at Naples refused to listen to this demand, and an insurrection broke out at Palermo, which was put down with much bloodshed. In 1821 an Austrian army marched upon Naples, the constitution was abolished, and the king restored to absolute power. Ferdinand died in 1825, and was succeeded by his son Francis, who died in 1830. The present king, Ferdinand II., ascended the throne on the death of his father. He commenced his reign well, introducing many reforms in the finances, the tariff, and the personnel of the administration. An attempt, made by the Sicilians in 1831.2 to break off the union with Naples, was quickly suppressed. In January 1837, the cholera broke out with great violence; a fancy seized the people that the poor were poisoned by the physicians at the command of the government; the wealthy took to flight, and a panic seized the population including even the military. In six weeks there were not less than 26,000 deaths in the city of Palermo alone. Pernicious regulations made for the isolation of infected districts, led to a dearth of provisions and many tumults. At last the Palermitans, roused by political malcontents, disarmed the garrison, deposed the viceroy from his government, and broke off all connection with Naples; the palaces were plundered, and many physicians, their wives, and children thrown into the sea. Similar scenes took place in Catania (where there were 10,000 deaths), in Syracuse, end other places. To put an end to this state of anarchy, 3000 Swiss troops, under the command of General Sonnenberg and Del Caretto, chief of police, landed in the island and were received without opposition into the disaffected towns, where, while the pesti lence was mowing down the people, the ringleaders of the insur rection were executed under sentence of courts martial. By a decree dated October 31, 1837, the separate administration of the island was abolished, the ministerial council for Sicilian affairs in Naples was suppressed, the island declared a Neapolitan province, and public offices in both parts of the kingdom ordered to be filled up without regard to the nationality of the candidates. In March 1838, the king visited the island, dissolved the courts martial, and granted an amnesty which excepted only the ringleaders in the late oommotions.