The Treaty of Utrecht was really a series of treaties by which the European powers sought to regulate their mutual relations. The one that concerned Sicily was the decision to transfer the island to the control of Duke Victor Amadeus of Savoy in Piedmont. Victor Amadeus was delighted and in 1713, was crowned King of Sicily. He actually bothered to travel to Sicily and became the first royal presence on the island since 1535. He was welcomed by the nobility, but the people in general received him with apathy. 

The poor guy made a serious effort to improve things and tried hard to understand the character and customs of his subjects, but found himself undercut at every turn, first by the rich- who would not accept any innovations that might cut into their personal profits, and second, by the universal corruption, idleness, and lack of initiative that were the result of four centuries of foreign domination. 

Victor Amadeus wisely treated the barons with caution, but he likely felt the Sicilian cause was hopeless. Family vendettas continued unabated and banditry was everywhere. The people were essentially proving themselves ungovernable. 

On a personal level, he had also failed to gain their affection. Sicilians loved color and display; Victor Amadeus was a natural puritan who liked plain dress. When he returned to Turin in Piedmont, the Pope slapped him with a further humiliation- ordering the church to ignore taxes. Many obeyed and were punished by exile or imprisonment, and the confiscation of their property. The Sicilians, proud of their status as Papal legates, also tended to blame the house of Savoy rather than the Pope.  

Then came an invasion from Austria in 1718. Sicily became a battlefield between Spain and Austria. Spain lost and Sicily was ceded to Austria.  

The Austrian’s rule in Sicily lasted twice as long as the Piedmontese, but the result was the same. The Sicilians offered no resistance, but disliked them from the get-go. Piedmontese (which kind of sounds like a Frenchman speaking Italian) was bad enough as a language- but German was even worse. At least Piedmontese was a Latin descendant like Sicilian (which sounds like a Spaniard speaking Italian while chewing bubblegum and tossing in some Arabic and Greek words in just to confuse it some more). And by this time, Sicily was thoroughly Spanish at heart.  

Honestly, I’d bet the Austrians did their genuine best to reform things, but, in a, by now, very old story, were thwarted by the Sicilians at every turn. After 14 years, the Austrians called up Spain and told them they can have Sicily back! 

Charles III, of the House of Bourbon, took the throne in 1737. He did little for Sicily, but could we blame him? Perhaps the Sicilians would have received more attention had they shown the slightest inclination to help themselves, but they didn’t. Every effort at reform, as always, was blocked. 

After Charles, the island got a new king, Ferdinand III. Ferdinand chose to reside in Naples. This dude was irresponsible and childish. He was a lover of outdoor sports, and rough horseplay, and never outgrew this as an adult. This may have been in part due to an ambitious overseer who fostered indolence in the kid so he could manage affairs himself. But more on Ferdinand later. 

Towards the end of the century, the French revolution was shaking the foundations of European monarchies. The regicide that had taken place in such a large, ancient kingdom as France left lots of lesser reges wondering if they might be cided next. The French people were proving that there wasn’t much to keep a monarchy in power beyond “awe” of the monarchy.