J - 83 : The United Kingdom consists of 5 Parts

The Straits of Messina with Messina Town in the Foreground and Calabria at the Back

The United Kingdom consists of five parts: England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland ... and Sicily. Sounds weird but almost happened in 1812. Several members of the British government argued that the same Normans who conquered England in 1066 (Battle of Hasting) also conquered Sicily (1061 - 1091). It is easy to dismiss this idea as crazy today. In 1812 however, Napoleon controlled Europe except Portugal, Sardinia and Sicily and imposed a continental blockade against Great Britain. His victories at Austerlitz, Jena and Auerstedt in 1806 made him the undisputed ruler of continental Europe. His rule could last for decades. Great Britain prepared for a long war. Bases for the Royal Navy were essential to win.

Europe from 1806 - 1813. With Napoleon's Defeat in Russia in the Winter 1812/1813 his Empire started to crumble. After he lost the Battle of Leipzig in summer 1813 it was gone.

Napoleon's control of Europe was not complete though. After he lost his fleet at Trafalgar in 1806 to the talented Admiral Nelson, he never had enough naval assets to cross the Straits of Messina or invade Sardinia. The House of Bourbon had taken refuge in Sicily in 1806, the House of Piemont fled to Sardinia already in 1798. Sicily provided the Royal Navy finally with the deep sea water ports it was looking for since the loss of Port Mahon (Minorca) in 1802. The island became a vital hub for its Mediterranean operations. As in Portugal, which eventually became the base for Wellington's push through Spain into southern France, the British stationed troops on Sicily. There were several English regiments totalling 15'000 men at the peak. They heavily fortified the northeastern part of Sicily just opposite Calabria.

Remains of the mighty Fortress Real Citadella which protected Messina's harbor. The citadel was constructed by Spain and modernised by the British. If suffered heavy damage in WW II

Forte Gonzaga was built by Spain in the 16th Century and modernized by British Troops. It protected Messina's South-Western Flank.

Castello di Milazzo was home to the 27th Inniskilling Regiment of Foot from 1805 - 1812.

Great Britain never formally annexed or colonialized Sicily though. But from 1806 - 1815 it was under strict political control. The chemistry between the British Empire and the House of Bourbon was bad. King Ferdinando IV needed money. The Sicilian nobles who run the island in the king's absence were unwilling to concede. The King raised them anyway. The Sicilians appealed to the British government. Ambassador and Lieutenant-General Lord William Bentinck (1811 - 1812) forced King Ferdinand IV and Queen Maria Carolina to abdicate in favour of their son Francis I. Bentinck introduced significant political reforms, motivated the Sicilian parliament to adopt a constitution. It abolished feudalism, limited royal power and established parliamentary governance with an upper and lower house.

The Sicilian Parliament was one of Europe's oldest

Parliaments and composed of Nobles, Clergy and

Representatives from Major Cities

Lord Bentnick's reform were welcomed by the farmers who finally were free of their century old oppression. The nobles tolerated it since it curtailed the absolutist king but disliked the land reform. King Francis I openly hated it. As soon as the Congress of Vienna re-instated 1815 the House of Bourbon again, the Sicilian parliament and the constitution were disbanded. The split support also dampened Britain's appetite for annexing Sicily or making it a colony. It was too much trouble. With Napoleon's defeat in 1814 / 1815, there was no more a strategic need for keeping Sicily as a naval base. The Royal Navy found La Valetta Grand Harbour in Malta more useful. The island was formally detached from Sicily and became the crown colony the British Cabinet wanted.

Ambassador and Lt Gen Lord William Bentnick

The failure of Lord Bentnick in Sicily did little harm to his diplomatic career. As a Whig party member, he was well connected. His efforts to call for an Italian uprising and the creation of an unified Italian state in 1815 though landed him in troubles. The British cabinet did not like the idea - at all. It would put them at odds with the Austrians and Russians who insisted that the old monarchies were reinstated. For a good decade, Lord Bentnick was on "gardening leave" in his English estate. Finally, in 1829 he was called back for service in India where he ended his career as the first British governor-general (1834 - 1835). He beet that people forget. And they did. The Sicilian episode is only briefly mentioned in his Wikipedia biography. His ideas though, planted with the 1812 constitution into Sicilian society, had a long-term effect. There was a violent uprising in 1848 which paved the way for Garibaldi's landing in Sicily in 1860. It market the beginning of the Risorgimento, the unification of Italy.

The Brits left a heavily fortified Messina when they withdrew in 1815. Town Walls, Bastions & part of the Citadella Real were razed in 1850 to make space for Messina's new town