History of Sicily unrest enjoyed wide support in Messina and produced an organized structure, and consciousness of the need to link the struggle to the whole of Sicily. The insurgents briefly gained control of the city but, despite bitter resistance, the Bourbon army was victorious and suppressed the revolt. This suppression resulted in further oppression and created a diaspora of Messinian and Sicilian revolutionaries outside Sicily and locked Sicily under the control of the reactionary government. The bombardments of Messina and Palermo earned Ferdinand II the name "King Bomba". "See also: " Sicily was merged with the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1860 following
Constance, Queen of Sicily Constance's father-in-law Frederick Barbarossa was on a crusade Henry and Constance were forced to stay in Germany and could not maintain her claim to Sicily. Emperor Frederick died in 1190 and the following year Henry and Constance were crowned Emperor and Empress. Constance then accompanied her husband at the head of a substantial imperial army to forcefully take the Sicilian throne from Tancred with the support of the loyal Pisa fleet. The northern towns of Sicily opened their gates to Henry, including the earliest Norman strongholds Capua and Aversa. Salerno, Roger II's mainland capital, sent word ahead that Henry was