In the 19th century, the Sicilians maintained a large sulphur mining industry and was responsible for most of the world's production.

The crisis occurred when Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies gave a monopoly over the Sicilian sulphur industry to a French firm, which the British argued violated the 1816 trade agreement.

[8] Until the invention of the Frasch process in 1891, sulphur extracted from volcanic rock in Sicily by the Sicilian method made up the vast majority of the world's production.

[9][10] In 1816, a treaty between the Two Sicilies and Great Britain was signed that gave British merchants large concessions, such as a 10% reduction in the customs duty due on imports from and exports to Britain, and gave British merchants a large advantage trading in Southern Italy.

[16] In response, Lord Palmerston, the British Foreign Secretary began attempting to convince the Sicilian government to reverse the agreement.

[17] It was further impractical for Ferdinand II to cancel the contract, because if he did Taix and Aycard intended to claim £666,000 in compensation, a price that the kingdom would be hard pressed to pay.

[14] "The outcome of this affair is not difficult to foresee: It will end as every quarrel between the powerful and the weak, by the submission of the latter, and Europe will assist in it without being troubled by it.

On 23 February Ferdinand gave his minister, Prince de Cassaro, permission announce the cancellation of the contract.

[19] In mid-March, the British warned that if their wishes were not met, they would establish a blockade and begin seizing merchant ships of the Sicilies.

[22] Klemens von Metternich, an Austrian diplomat, urged the two parties to avoid all-out war, writing to Sicilian diplomat Marquis de Gagliati: "Marquis, you must agree that it is hardly worth having a European war over a question of sulphur!"