Sicilian Vespers - The Aragonese Invasion

The Aragonese Invasion

After the pope refused the rebels' pleas for the status of free communes, the islanders sent for Pedro III of Aragon whose wife Constance was Manfred's daughter, Henry VI's great-granddaughter; and the sole surviving heir of Frederick II who was not in captivity and was in a position to assert her rights. Pedro III championed his wife's claim to the entirety of the Kingdom of Sicily.

Prior to the Vespers, Pedro III had constructed and outfitted a fleet for war and upon the pope's inquiry of the need for such a great war fleet, Pedro stated that it was to be used against the followers of Islam along the northern coast of Africa as he had legitimate interests in trade there and he needed to protect them. So when Pedro received a request for help from the Sicilians he was conveniently on the north coast of Africa in Tunis just 200 miles across the sea from the island. At first Pedro feigned to be indifferent to the request of the Sicilians and to the plight of the islanders, but after several days to allow a proper showing of deference made for the pope's consumption, Pedro took advantage of the revolt. He ordered his fleet to sail for Sicily, landed at Trapani on August 30, 1282. While he marched towards Palermo, his fleet followed close by the coastal road. Pedro's involvement changed the character of the uprising from a local revolt into a European War. Pedro arrived at Palermo on September 2 and initially he was received by the populace with indifference, it was merely one foreign king replacing another; they much preferred a free commune under a vague suzerainty of the pope. However, after Pope Martin made plain his orders for the populace to accept Charles, Pedro made a promise to the islanders that they would enjoy the ancient privileges they had had under the Norman king, William the Good. Thereafter, Pedro was accepted as a satisfactory second choice and was crowned by acclamation of the people at the cathedral in Palermo on September 4, thus becoming also Peter I of Sicily.

With the pope's blessing the counter-attack from Charles was not long in coming; his fleet from Naples arrived and blockaded the port of Messina and made several attempts to land troops on the island, but all were repulsed.