25. A Crude Proposition Kicked Off Weeks of Unrest and Massacres in Sicily
In 1266, Charles of Anjou, a member of the French royal family, invaded and conquered Sicily, and crowned himself its king. The new monarch brought with him a vast retinue of French courtiers, bureaucrats, officials, and nobles, who treated the locals contemptuously. Sicily was taxed heavily to fund Charles’ endeavors elsewhere, while Sicilians nobles were shut out of any role in ruling their own island. Understandably, the Sicilians resented the exploitation and disrespect. The result was The Sicilian Vespers, a massacre of thousands of French that kicked off an island-wide rebellion.
By the time it ended six weeks later, three thousand French men and women had been killed, and French control of Sicily had come to an end. It began on Easter Monday, March 30th, 1282. Sicilians were celebrating at the Church of the Holy Spirit near Palermo, when they were joined by a group of drunk Frenchmen. One of them dragged a married woman from the crowd and crudely propositioned her. He ended up stabbed to death by the woman’s enraged husband. When the other Frenchmen tried to avenge their comrade, the Sicilian crowd fell upon and killed them.
