Expulsion of the Jews from Sicily in professions such as philosophy, medicine, artisanal pursuits, and farming. The exact number of Jews in Sicily at the time of expulsion is not certain, However, some have put the number of Jewish refugees at 36,000. Also, in 1492, it is known the Jewish populations of Palermo, Messina, and several other cities were considerable, and that there were "Giudeccas", or Jewish settlements, in over 50 places in Sicily, ranging in anywhere population from 350 to 5,000. At their height, Jewish Sicilians probably constituted from five to eight percent of the island's population. Muslims had ruled much of the Iberian Peninsula
Kingdom of Sicily with the creation of the brand-new Kingdom of the Two Sicilies with capital Naples in 1816. The people of Sicily rebelled to this violation of its centuries-old statutes (which every king, including Ferdinand, had sworn to respect) but were defeated by the Neapolitan and Austrian forces in 1820. In 1848-49 another Sicilian revolution of independence occurred, which was put down by the new king Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies, who was nicknamed "Re Bomba" after his 5-day bombardment of Messina. The increased hostility of the peoples and the elites of Sicily towards Naples and the Bourbon dynasty created a