Why Did Sicily Become Under-Developed?

[Romano-Dacis]

The economic disparity seen in Italy today is surprising given the history of the peninsula. 2,300 years ago Sicily, along with other parts of Southern Italy, were the more developed areas of the peninsula. Sicily is strategically placed at the center of Mediterranean civilization. It received rich influences from the Greeks, Carthaginians, and Etruscans, influences not present in Northern Italy.

Sicily does not appear so badly affected by the Dark Ages either. While Northern Italy was ravaged by almost every Dark Age barbarian tribe you can name (Goths, Huns, Vandals, Lombards; they're all there!) Southern Italy appears to have been a quieter place. Were the Arab raids so destructive, or was the influence felt from the Muslim world beneficiary? As Sicily emerged in the Middle Ages it seemed neither backward nor poor, being ruled by the Siculo-Normans and also receiving French influences from the Angevins. Did the Renaissance miss Sicily, or is the cause more recent?

Many people have told me the poverty seen in Sicily today dates from the Napoleonic Wars and the formation of the mafia. But how was it before this time? Basically: at what point did the Northern Italian cities and Central Italy overtake Southern Italy in economic development?

[Azog 150]

I was in Sicily last summer and am going again this Summer. We were surprised how under-developed it was compared to the rest of Italy (Even Southern Italy)

All the motorways were unfinished. We learned this was because most of Sicily's construction buisnesses are mafia owned and so nothing gets done. Thats definitly a major reason. As they have been driven away from illegal commodites they have been forced to adapt.

[clandestino]

Heh, that remembers me at one line of some mafia movie or series, when some Sicilian guys says to some American '' Why do you hink we have highways that lead to nowhere, ports without ships, bridges without river running under it etc? Cause of the mafia ''. But seriously the backwardness of south Italy predates mafia, essentially Sicily and south Italy in general stood too long under feudal rule and never developed independent city communes oriented to trade and manufacture like north Italy did, simply they got stuck in middle ages for too long while northern Italy engaged in capitalism very early.

[DAVIDE]

It happens when Piedmont uses you just to collect taxes or collecting human cannon balls.. macinato tax, moving of factories and labors from south to north etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.

"...the results of votations in Naples and Sicily represents just the 19/100 about right holders; and this considering all the cheating and violence we suffered by Piedmont army and Camorra"

- British minister dispatch in Naples, Eliot, 16th october and 10th november 1860 about the plebiscitary annexation of Kingdom of two Sicilies with Piedmont

[Romano-Dacis]

It happens when Piedmont uses you just to collect taxes or collecting human cannon balls.. macinato tax, moving of factories and labors from south to north etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.

"...the results of votations in Naples and Sicily represents just the 19/100 about right holders; and this considering all the cheating and violence we suffered by Piedmont army and Camorra"

- British minister dispatch in Naples, Eliot, 16th october and 10th november 1860 about the plebiscitary annexation of Kingdom of two Sicilies with Piedmont

I don't quite comprehend. You're saying Sicily is poor because all of its economy was "bought out" by Piedmont and Northern cities?

Is there any good source on comparing Sicily's economy during the Sicilian Vespers to that of Northern Italy?

[Mauri the Terron]

It happens when Piedmont uses you just to collect taxes or collecting human cannon balls.. macinato tax, moving of factories and labors from south to north etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.

"...the results of votations in Naples and Sicily represents just the 19/100 about right holders; and this considering all the cheating and violence we suffered by Piedmont army and Camorra"

- British minister dispatch in Naples, Eliot, 16th october and 10th november 1860 about the plebiscitary annexation of Kingdom of two Sicilies with Piedmont

This. Kingdom of Two Sicilies was far richer than North Italy but not able to beat off Piedmontese invasion and the result was a destruction of old amministrative array and the treasure of the kingdom robbed; after this the kingdom of italy didn't do anything for improve southern italy's conditions and the few things that were tried resulted a complete fail (see Cassa del Mezzogiorno) due to high corruption.

If you wanna know more about this, take a look on neoborbonic movement.

[Watchman]

Some historians point at the "new feudalism" (or "new serfdom") of the Early Modern period; the place was basically dominated big plantations growing cash crops for export, which is lucrative for the owners but tends to seriously retard socioeconomic developement. Happened elsewhere too, with largely the same results (the US "cotton South" would probably be in similar straits if the North hadn't dragged it kicking and screaming into more modern economic structures).

[motiv-8]

Because Sicily has always been exploited, from Roman times to the current government and climate. In modernity Sicily has been the victim of A) massive government corruption and B) the Mafia, these two factors almost always holding hands. For example in the '50s and '60s, the time of the biggest mass growth of the Sicilian economy, that growth was controlled by literally a handful of individuals, almost compeltely centered around Palermo. The ruling government (I think around this time it was the Christian Democrats, or something like that?) used the island as little more than a ballot farm, allowing these individuals license to do whatever they wanted as long as it meant strong turnout at the polls. Meanwhile the majority of the rest of the island continued on like time had not moved on since antiquity.

[Sher Khan]

Basically what Watchman said. The growth of 'pre-industry' in Northern Italy forced specialization on the peninsula northwards and agricultural supply to the south. Naples and Sicily became dominated by landlords that often controlled the entire cycle of production to be sold for profit in the markets up north. Merchant entrepreneurs from Genoa and other places would try and start cash crop production as well like the Venetians in Cyprus and the Atlantic nations in the New World. These didn't go so well, but that didn't stop them from trying.

It was comparatively similar to what happened to Europe east of the Elbe, how Polish, Russian and Prussian serfs became increasingly pushed back into strict feudal roles for the benefit of the nobility hoping to profit in Amsterdam, or how Hungarian magnates found it better to drive hundreds of thousands of heads of cattle westwards rather than try and compete against the Italians, the Fugger family and the Dutch in Venice or Frankfort money markets.

[Odovacar]

It was comparatively similar to what happened to Europe east of the Elbe, how Polish, Russian and Prussian serfs became increasingly pushed back into strict feudal roles for the benefit of the nobility hoping to profit in Amsterdam, or how Hungarian magnates found it better to drive hundreds of thousands of heads of cattle westwards rather than try and compete against the Italians, the Fugger family and the Dutch in Venice or Frankfort money markets.

And they were simply right. In more backward countries there was not enough commerce to produce money for the nobles. They received material goods mainly. From time to time they could earn much with selling these, in other times this brought a steady income at least, and the worse case was that they had to use them themselves.

For a sicilian, polish, hungarian, russian, etc. nobleman to compete with an italian banker or a dutch, a miracle of monetarial income was needed. Also these countries were more rural than urban. Also countries without sea ports and routes or without Transatlantic connection received a disadvantage as main commerce shifted from the Mediterannean to the Atlantic.

In Sicily's particular case we can see other factors as well. A great distrust to every governement created the Mafia. Sicily was alwas invaded by foreign powers and stood under foreign kingdoms for long. People were socialised to a noncooperative sentiment with the authorities.
Also forms of capitalist enterprise need clear laws and a dependable order.

[G-Megas-Doux]

During the middle ages Sicilly was concidered to be a leading nation in terms of culture and many other things due to its mix of peoples and knowledge. It was at its peak during the reign of Fredrick II HRE. I am not sure as to the changes and development during the times afterwards but I am very sure that there were strong ties with Aragon and then Spain until the switch to the Habsburgs later on so it would have been developing nicely. From my knowledge Sicilly was one of the first places to be joined to Sardinia Piedmont by the revolutionary adventurer Guissepie Garribaldi who was acting on behalf of his reluctant ruler from the house of Savoy. I am certain that Sicilly was very reluctant to be part of this realm and resented the distant authority of the Italian government. I have read books mentioning the major problems of the late 19th Century in Italy specificly Sicilly.

Azog 150 and Davide.Cool seem to be on the money from what I have heard and read in the past.

From the title of this thread I was going to make a joke about chess, the sicillian opening and the dragon variation and how it leads to a slow development. However I did not want to check this thread. Note when playing White against a Sicillian opening I like to play the Grand Prix attack.

[RollingWave]

On the larger scale of things, with the end of the medieval periods and the arrival of the age of discoveries, the economic center of Europe simply shifted away from the Med and towards the Atlantic, which was a major blow to all the med powers, hence why Italy / Greece today is basically a 2nd rate European country (at best) where as it was basically the center of the western world up even during Medeival times.

Though why Sicily remains worse off than Italy, that would probably need to be examained on a more micro scale.

[Border Patrol]

Im gonna go ahead and blame this one on spain.

[Stefanoski]

the economic center of Europe simply shifted away from the Med and towards the Atlantic, which was a major blow to all the med powers, hence why Italy / Greece today is basically a 2nd rate European country (at best) where as it was basically the center of the western world up even during Medeival times.

Hold up, watch what you say buddy. Italy is a second rate European country? Our GDP is fourth in Europe. Is Spain 'second rate' as well? Choose your wording a hell of a lot better.

I've never been to Sicily, i've heard it's a beautiful place but strikingly different to northern Italy.

I think the reason for Sicily's relative poverty is a combination of what people have mentioned. What the Piemontese did definitely contributed but not to the extent that we can still use it as an excuse. I think the biggest factor is that economic development post-unification has always been hampered by the Mafia.

[torongill]

Isn't at least a part of the problem the immigration of people due to the mafia and the constant vendettas. I suppose I'm brainwashed by "The Godfather", but I remember clearly a dialogue that ran like that:
Mike Corleone(seeing a lot of abandoned houses): Where are all the men?
His bodyguard: Dead, killed themselves in vendettas.

[motiv-8]

Isn't at least a part of the problem the immigration of people due to the mafia and the constant vendettas. I suppose I'm brainwashed by "The Godfather", but I remember clearly a dialogue that ran like that:
Mike Corleone(seeing a lot of abandoned houses): Where are all the men?
His bodyguard: Dead, killed themselves in vendettas.

That was a bit hyperbolic, there were towns in the interior of Italy that had absurdly high per capita crime rates, but not that bad.

[Romano-Dacis]

That was a bit hyperbolic, there were towns in the interior of Italy that had absurdly high per capita crime rates, but not that bad.

All the men killed themselves, and the last man standing committed suicide because he had nothing left to kill.

So would Sicily have been better off today if it never unified with Italy?

[Nik]

Maybe Sicilly did not get worse, but the rest of the world just got better?

Btw, the Po Plain has been an industrial and economic hub since the high medieval ages, in that time only rivalled by the netherland region in trade volume.

Hold up, watch what you say buddy. Italy is a second rate European country? Our GDP is fourth in Europe. Is Spain 'second rate' as well? Choose your wording a hell of a lot better.

Acoording to official statistics, yes. But Italy and Greece both officially qualified for the Euro Zone Criteria, and look how that turned out ...

[Watchman]

I don't really see why it would. Now it's at least part of a state where some bits have a decent working economy and adminstration.

[Romano-Dacis]

I don't really see why it would. Now it's at least part of a state where some bits have a decent working economy and adminstration.

But if the mafia and corruption are symptoms of a chronic mistrust of the a foreign and exploitative government, it may be that self-rule would have mitigated those two problems.