The Abolition of Feudalism, Mafia in the Unified Kingdom and I Mafiusi di la Vicaria

Abstract

Opposition to the Bourbon dynasty was not always liberal, and the opposition following the reforms that were introduced after the abolition of feudalism in 1812, during the restoration of the Bourbons, certainly was not. The process of reform began under the viceroy, Domenico Caracciolo (1781–86), a Neapolitan marquis who had been ambassador in France for a while, where he was imbued with philosophical ideas. The reforms carried out by Caracciolo were numerous and aimed to limit the increasingly arrogant ‘proto-mafioso’ class that was forming. The most important reforms include the abolition of the Sant’Uffizio (religious tribunal) and the limitations placed on excessive feudal power. The Inquisition that represented the political-religious power of the Spanish Catholics in Sicily was nothing more than a coagulation of the interests of political clientele that had corrupted the institutions of the viceroyalty. The reformatory efforts of the new viceroy were directed against the barons and their feudal privileges. Many of the abuses that had previously affected the workers were also abolished. This encouraged the magistracy to aim for independence from the barons and to carry out their own roles with impartiality.