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Reynier occupied Crotone on July
13th, 1806. He gathered his wounded,
placed the sick in the local hospitals, left a garrison
in the city and continued his march toward Catanzaro.
He was consistently persued and openly harassed
by the brigand bands from the villages along the
road to Catanzaro. He suffered many casualities.
His reaction and counterattacks were equally cruel.
In Scandale (KR) the populace ambushed and killed
a squadron of the French invaders. In retalliation,
Reynier killed 25 citizens, sacked, and burned the
town to the ground. The same happened in Cotronei
(KR) in retalliation to the resistence. However,
Santa Severina and San Mauro were intimidated into
surrender. Thus, town by town, Reynier made his
way to Catanzaro. But the revolt intensified along
the Sila mountain chain.
Francatrippa's band from Pedace (CS) and Parafante
with his band from Scigliano (CS) together with
those of Savelli, San Giovanni in Fiore, Caccuri
and other villagers perpertrated attacks, stealing
the army animals, kidnapping the soldiers for ransom,
etc.
Even after the villages were occupied by the French
from Crotone to Catanzaro, the executions did not
stop. On February 16, 1807 Domenico Mangone, from
Cerenzia, was shot by a firing squad for military
crimes in Santa Severina. The Sila mountains boiled
with rebel activity. The situation was intolerable
for the French. Giuseppe Napoleone declared a State
of Emergency and sent General Massena to Calabria
to deal with the rebels and brigands.
He thus promulagated the most severe punishments
for the brigands and rebels. On his arrival in Cosenza,
he erected innumerable gallows. Since the days of
the Partonopean Republic, San Giovanni in Fiore
was a center of Bourbon support, therefore staunchly
anti-French. General Franceschi was therefore sent
there on the 30th of August 1806 with
a large contingent of troops.
He was there to capture the following bourbon supporters:
Pignanelli, Biafora, a certain Vincenzo Barberio
(called Occhiodipecora) Giovanni Benicasa (called
Specchiale) all heads of local rebel bands. The
French imposed severe penalities to maintain order
in Savelli, Casino, Cerenzia, Caccuri, San Nicola
dell'Alto, Verzino, Belevedere, etc. The leader
of the Bourbons and rebels in San Giovanni in Fiore
was Nicola Barberio Toscano who together with his
brothers, were able to acquire (not totally innocently)
from the Bourbons on March 28th 1804,
the fiefdoms of Verzino and Savelli which were confiscated
from Nicola Cortese Jr., in 1796 and had been up
until this time in Bourbon hands. General Franceschi
occupied San Giovanni, sacked it, and slaughtered
about 100 persons including a Capuchin monk.
He took Baron Nicola Baberio Toscano prisoner and
brought him as a hostage to Cosenza. These brutal
acts are confirmed by a letter from Courier to Rogliano,
dated August 21, 1806: "We hung a Capuchin
in San Giovanni in Fiore and about 20 poor devils
who looked like colliers." The consequences
of what occured here, were felt in all neighboring
towns, The most brutal and bloody were seen in Savelli,
the town was split equally between supporters of
the French and the Bourbons. The arrest of Baron
Nicola Barberio Toscano gave the opportunity to
those who opposed the "land grab" of 1796,
with the help of the Bourbons, to express
their anger. Politics mixed with personal vendettas.
From that time until 1812, (precisely August 22nd)
there were 83 persons violently killed, including
seven women.
Among the first laws that Giuseppe Napoleone passed
as King of Naples are those of August 2, 1806:
- Feudalism as it exists, is abolished. All
baronial rights are reserved to the Throne.
- Cities, towns and castles arre all under
the laws of the Throne.
- All feudal funds and income are subject
to tribute to the throne, as are all other funds
and income.
- All feudal taxation is abolished.
- All feudal rights to fishing, hunting and
the slaughter of livestock are abolished.
- The feudal domains will stay as they are
in order for all the populace to continue their
use until laws and statutes can be promulgated
to govern and divide. The court of Naples will
decide all controversies.
All feudal contributions were supposed to be abolished,
those contributions that filled the coffers of the
Barons and reduced the people to virtual slavery.
Here is an example of what some laws were: Feudalism
in Calabria "consisted of feudal tributes and
tributes of provision (inkind) or payments to the
Lords"--all animals were not to be slaughtered
without Baronial approval. The Barons reserved the
right to take the breats of any animal slaughtered,
one quarter of any hunted animal. <25>
The elimination of the these feudal rights were
in word only. The state merely took over the Baronial
privileges and imposed heavy taxes on the populace.
Thus the principality of Cerenzia came to an end
as did others in Calabria. But the lands remained
in the hands of the Giannuzzi Savelli family.
Communes and taxation were reconfigured to benefit
the throne. <27> Now, the mayor of the commune was the all important
position, "To become a mayor was the highest
postion of the populace. All means were used including
open violence to achieve it."
In Paris on May 4, 1811, Cosenza was designated
as capital of Calabria Citra.
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