Francesco Crispi - 1848 Sicilian Uprising

1848 Sicilian Uprising

In January 1848 he assumed an active role in the Sicilian uprising against the rule of Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies at Palermo. As a journalist and member of the Sicilian parliament he supported the separatist movement that wanted to break ties with Naples. The uprising ended in failure and the Bourbon government was restored on May 15, 1849. Unlike many, Crispi was not granted amnesty and was forced to flee the country.

He lived next in Piedmont where he worked as a journalist. He was implicated in the Mazzini conspiracy at Milan in February 1853 and was expelled from Piedmont. He took refuge first on Malta, then in Paris. He became a revolutionary conspirator and close friend of Giuseppe Mazzini involving himself in the exile politics of the national movement, abandoning Sicilian separatism. He identified himself with the republicanism of Mazzini. Expelled from France, he moved to London where he met up with Mazzini, who he had never met before.