The 1847-48 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, 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".