Chapter 9 - The Problems Of Power

Summary

THE DOMINATING POSITION that Charles of Anjou had obtained in the Mediterranean world by 1280, and his close alliance with the papacy, seemed to represent a French ascendancy, for he was always deferential to Louis IX, and after his death continued to be close to his nephew, Philip III (1270– 1285), who he once suggested as a candidate for emperor. He also had many enemies, however. The Byzantines feared him because of his commitment to a reconquest of Constantinople. The Ghibellines in the cities of Italy were profoundly hostile and resisted his attempt to interfere in the area. King Peter III of Aragon (1276– 1285) had married Manfred’s daughter, thereby inheriting the claims of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. In addition, Charles’ raids and threats had established an ascendancy over the emir of Tunis, and this meant that Catalan merchants found it difficult to pass the waist of the Mediterranean, the narrow strait between Sicily and Tunisia. There is no doubt that these powers were all in contact with one another, but whether there was “the great conspiracy” suggested by Steven Runciman is somewhat doubtful, for all of them were totally surprised by the quite unexpected event that brought Charles down.

The War of the Vespers

On the evening of Easter Monday, March 29, 1282, a revolt against Charles’ rule broke out in Sicily. It is said that in Palermo as crowds left Vespers, the evening service, a French sergeant, Drouet, forced himself upon a Sicilian lady, provoking a riot that turned into an uprising against the French. This was only the occasion of the revolt, for there were underlying causes. Not only had Charles levied heavy taxes but he was also an absentee, rarely visiting Sicily. This meant that the local nobles had little access to his person, while his representatives on the island, although few, were hardly emollient, being largely French administrators and soldiers in castle and city garrisons. They were rather few because Charles had kept the island largely as a royal demesne, endowing there very few of his French followers. So, when the rebellion spread, the rebels were able to triumph very quickly. Once they had driven out the creatures of the Angevin king, though, they knew they faced terrible retribution.