Hey everybody, so I'm new here but I've been interested in history for a long time and I've been writing in an amateur way for forever--well, since I was about eight years old--and I want some advice or thoughts on the Sicilian Vespers.
What if Charles of Anjou, upon becoming King of Sicily in 1266, realizes that the support of the nobility and people on Sicily is crucial to securing the island's wealth, and basically gives them the same privileges he gave his French nobles and knights, and learns their language, etc. Sources say that he was driven and ambitious, but I can't find a thing about any possible arrogance or chauvinism. Is it a stretch to imply he'd "go native", just a little bit? I know the language of his court would likely remain French, but he would at least include a few true Sicilians among his advisers...right?
Now he does that, and Sicily doesn't rebel in 1282, and a mighty Kingdom of Sicily that includes southern Italy exists, possibly taking Epirus, the Peloponnese, modern Tunis + surrounding coastline, and more. Even Constantinople is not out of the question, because before the Vespers Charles had a large, powerful fleet and a lot of money, and that was one of his goals.