Sicilian Colonization

During the height of the Sicilian Kingdom, in the 13th century, Roger of Lauria was commissioned by John of Procida, the current reigning King of Sicily. In 1255, Roger of Lauria assembled a fleet of 25 ships and around 15,000 men in total set sail to conquer the African lands of Italy, Spain, France, and parts of Germany, in an effort to spread civilization to uncivilized lands. The first settlements were founded on the coasts, although many of the ships in the northern sea were lost due to unpredicted weather conditions. Cities such Aieta in Calabria, Gromo in Lombardy and Rouen in France became beacons of European settlements in a native sub-Saharan land. These settlements were constantly under attack by natives and many fell and their Sicilian population wiped out. The last major settlement left standing in African mainland Europe was Gromo, which had expanded and managed to subject most of Lombardy under Sicilian rule.

After Rodger of Lauria's death in 1305, the naval expansion period was over and any attempts to sail into new lands were over. This led to a major supply shortage in the few remaining settlements, and eventually the collapse of every Sicilian settlement except Gromo. After Rodgers death, King Andrea Chiaramonte placed the governing of the region to Blasco II Alagona in 1307. Blasco would launch an aggressive expansionist campaign into the north, into barbaric Germany, primarily into Baden, Württemberg, Rheinland, and parts of western Bavaria.

However, most of these campaigns were stopped short after the native King Albrecht I led a campaign against the European Sicilian army and prevented their expansion into Bavaria. Albrecht I would strike a deal with Charles II of Naples, promising to lend them funds in exchange for the invasion of the Sicilian Lombard region. In 1329, the city of Gromo fell, and almost every Sicilian living there was killed and or enslaved, and in 1332, the entire Lombardy region fell and Hugo de Moncada was forced to withdraw from most of his lands in Germany following many defeats, such as the defeat at Heidelberg, Battle of Neckar River, and Basel.

In 1348, the Sicilian army in Europe was reduced to a very small portion of Württemberg. After Blasco fell sick, he gave his command to Matteo Palazzi, a cunning commander who had seen victories before. Matteo, upon having most of the remaining Sicilian army under his command, which was around 8,000 men, made the decision to allow the conscription of native Germans to assist in the fortification of Weissach, which was the last major settlement in Sicilian controlled Württemberg. A massive German army led by Gunther von Schwarzburg had begun a siege on Weissach in 1350, however Matteo had predicted this and had his army awaiting nearby to flank the German army. In thanks to the element of surprise, and the help of the German auxiliaries, Gunther surrendered after countless losses in his army, and pulled out of Württemberg.

Following several victories from 1350-1352, the Sicilian army had once again controlled the Baden-Württemberg region under Matteo Palazzi. However, the war was draining resources, and Matteos army was poorly fed, unsheltered, and lacked many supplies. Matteo had to return home at some point, but the island was under a German and Spanish blockade, and returning home or asking for more supplies would be near impossible. As winter of 1353 grew closer, Matteo petitioned to King Guglielmo Peralta back home to call a peace deal. On November 19, 1353, Gugliemo, Matteo, and Duke John III of Brabant came to meet in Palermo to sign the Treaty of Palermo. Its effects are listed below

-Weissach will remain a Sicilian city
-Sicily will pull out of Germany
-Sicilian armies will be safely accompanied out of the HRE
-Sicily will be compensated

For hundreds of years Weissach remained an ethnically pure Sicilian settlement, until Pope Francis took control of the Holy Roman Empire and took control of Weissach and Sicily, but still allowing Il Poo to lead the island and city autonomously