Today in Labor History January 12, 1848: The Palermo rising began in Sicily. It was the first of many revolutions that occurred that year in Europe. Three times the people of Sicily rose up against Bourbon rule in the 1800s. This time they succeeded, creating an independent state that survived for 16 months. Their new constitution included a proposal to confederate the Italian states into a single nation. It set the stage for the final end of the Bourbon kingdom in 1860, initiated by Giuseppe Garibaldi. Three days prior to the Palermo rising, activists distributed posters and notices organizing the people for the revolt.