Messina revolt

[citation needed] The Spanish government granted Messina a monopoly on the export of silk in 1663, but after loud protests from other ports of Sicily withdrew it the next year.

The Spanish captain-general Luis de Hojo conceived the plan of turning the common people against the upper classes through a display of charity and devotion, and through engineering an artificial shortage for which the senate of the city would be blamed.

[4] On 27 September 1674 Vivonne sent Jean-Baptiste de Valbelle to help the rebels with a convoy of supply vessels guarded by a squadron of seven warships and three fire ships.

[4] The French minister of foreign affairs, the Marquis de Pomponne, had instructed Vallavoire to encourage the people of Messina to form an independent republic, unless they wanted to become part of France or to accept as ruler a prince designated by Louis XIV.

He joined Valbelle, but together they were still not strong enough to attack the Spanish Admiral Melchor de la Cueva's force of 15 sailing warships and 15 galleys.

[3] The French easily defeated the Spanish in the Battle of the Lipari Islands, and captured the 44-gun frigate Nuestra Señora del Pueblo.

At Augusta, de Ruyter was fatally wounded; the combined fleet suffered more casualties than the French, and was forced to withdraw from Messina.

He sent François d'Aubusson de La Feuillade from Toulon with Duquesne's fleet, ostensibly to replace Vivonne as viceroy in Sicily but in fact to evacuate the French troops.