Abstract

The paper explores the events which determined the transition of Sicily from the ancien regime towards a modern liberal society. The key figures selected to understand this historical moment are the economist Paolo Balsamo, professor at Regia Università di Palermo, and the Scottish gentleman Gould Francis Leckie, whose profile as landowner and scholar concealed his intelligence activity in Sicily. This essay shows how British policy and Sicilian ruling class conceived a plan to transform the island by importing a model of capitalist society from the United Kingdom and entrusted it to the cultural and political role exercised by Balsamo.

摘要

本文探讨了决定西西里从古代政权向现代自由社会过渡的事件。被选中了解这一历史时刻的关键人物是经济学家、巴勒莫皇家大学教授保罗·巴尔萨莫 (Paolo Balsamo) 和苏格兰绅士古尔德·弗朗西斯·莱基 (Gould Francis Leckie)，他作为地主和学者的形象掩盖了他在西西里岛的情报活动。这篇文章展示了英国的政策和西西里的统治阶级如何通过从英国引进资本主义社会模型来构思改造该岛的计划，并将其委托给巴尔萨莫所发挥的文化和政治作用。