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For many years Sicily had been the theatre of social, politic and economic attempts of reforms which tried to remove the last traces of the " ancien règime", but the voice of the reformers remained unheard in a society essentially conservative. Everyone who had some aspirations for freedom was pushed to go away and leave this closed and patriarchal society to look for self-realization elsewhere. Some of the most famous Sicilians, the architect Filippo Juvara, the composer Alessandro Scarlatti and many others lived and died abroad. Nevertheless, Sicily found itself more and more exposed to the interest of many European men of letters because it began to win fame of being a very romantic island that foreigners had to visit. Sicily offered whatever could be imagined as a source of remantic adventure: it had heartquakes, volcanos, outlaws, strange local customs in addition to wonderful antiquities and a remarkable sense of hospitality to foreigners. In spite of the growing attention towards Sicily and the increasing spirit of democratic reforms, the island continued in "Ancien Regime" and the British promise of mon-intervention in the civil administratin was maitained .In fact the absalutist rule resisted and for Great Britain the occupation of Sicily became a stratigic necessity to foce the successes that Napoleon had obtained.The Bourbons asked for a striet alliance that helped the Neapolitan troops to toke hold of molta which was still under Sicilian rule. When, in 1798, Napoleon’s army invaded naples, Ferdinand flew to Palermo on Nelson’s flagship. His arrival was received with joy by the Sicilians that now envisaged a possible indipendenre from Naples.Sicily gove Ferdinand on absolute support against the revolutionary France brit the king shore the entusiasm of his subjects and he considered Sicily simpy as a source off profit for Naples , even his AustrianQueen said she hated Sicilian people an Palermo, in comparison with Naples , looked underdeveloped to her , Even if king was a rough man and illiberal , Sicilian people could benefit from the new way of living , politics and administration. But they were suffering olso losses and huge expensies in mointaining the king and his court. Four years later (1802) the king went back to Naples , to king with him a lot of Sicilian maney . He assured that a permanent court would be in Palermo , but he didn’ t keep his promise so when the war obliged the Royal Family to look again for a refuge in Palermo , the town didn’t welcom them , Napoleon wasw ready to occupe Sicily and rule the central Meditherraneon so Ferdinand, who hadn’t got either army or fleet ,was obliged to ask Britain for help.The presence of a big foreign army bought to Sicily a prosperity that for centuries it hadn’t known. Not only a direct British subsidy was granted but also loons and a discreet quantity Of investments from London:all contributed to create a small "boom" in Industry, trade and agriculture, Great Britain’s commercial intervention was so considerable that in 1812 in the island there were thirty between consuls and vice-consuls and in Palermo " salons" the tendency to speak the sicilian dialect with an English accent developped.
NELSON: HISTORICAL HINTS Sicilians showed their gratitude to the British troops by being extremely gnerous. The person they had more respect for was surely Admiral Nelson: he was called the " Anglo-Sicilian hero " and he received a wide feudal possession and, moreover; the TITLE OO Duke of Bronte, with all the privileges of the feudal jurisdiction and a large income , which previously was granted to the hospital of Palermo.Nelson played animportant role in improving the situation suffered by the Sicilian agriculture after 1815 : in the preceding decade most of the cultivated area had to be deserted and the value of the land had collapsed. About the production of corn we know that, together with other cereals, continued to be exported to Great Britain, Portugal and France, but the Napoleonic wars changed the kind of commerce, giving a great lounch to the Sicilian wine industry. It is told that since the English hadn’t any other sources of supply Nelson left for the Nile Battle with more than fourty gallons of Sicilian wine an board. The Sicilian wine had already acquired a Great home, thanks to a man, John Woodhouse of Liverpool who had forwarded Sicilian wine to Great Britain where it was welcome with success.The brought to Sicily, as Nelson did not only capitals and enterprises but also the knowledge of foreign markets, contributing to increase the new process of commercial growth of Sicily, in every sense.
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