Moreover, not only did the Spaniards exploit distrust for the purpose of domination, but they taught some of their subjects to do so too and to pass it on to others. The Bourbon Spanish domination, which replaced the Habsburgs in 1724 and, except for a brief interval, lasted until the Italian unification in 1861, continued to pursue the policy of divide et impera and took particular care to foster the hatred between Neapolitans and Sicilians

XREF: Connects to classic divide-and-conquer colonial strategy seen across other empires studied.

Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking…, loc. 2123