Today, the island of Corsica is an integral part of France, and has been for over two
centuries, however, historically, Corsica was inhabited by people who were more similar
to modern Italians than the French.
So, then, how did France get the island?
Why did the Corsican people tolerate their rule, and why has Corsica not become independent
or a part of Italy?
Well, somewhat ironically, Corsica’s fall to France came about as the Corsicans were
attempting to gain their freedom from another Italian power, the Republic of Genoa, which
had maintained intermittent control on the island since the late 13th century.
By the 1700s, Corsicans had begun to develop an identity of their own, distinct from the
Genoese.
At that point “Italy” as we know it today wasn’t yet a country and instead the peninsula
was divided up into a handful of Italian states, of which Genoa was one, and the Corsicans
essentially wanted to have their own.
Naturally, though, the Genoese weren’t overly happy about that idea, so they repressed Corsican
separatism in the 1720s and 30s, but all of that cost money and the Genoese were running
out of it, as well as presumably, patience, fast.
The final straw came in 1755 when the Corsican revolutionaries got a decent leader in the
form of Pasquale Paoli.
Paoli succeeded where earlier rebels, including his own father, had failed and he drove Genoa
from almost the entire island.
Only the fortified coastal cities of Calvi and Bonifacio remained in Genoese hands.
Through Paoli’s leadership, the Republic of Corsica was proclaimed, with him as President.
The republic’s constitution was written in Tuscan Italian, the same language that
modern, standard Italian was built off of, and it embodied the liberal principles of
the enlightenment.
Under Paoli, Corsica’s justice system was modernized, its economy, especially the mining
sector was built up, and schooling was prioritized.
He even founded the island’s only university.
Though, while the Republic of Corsica was effectively independent, the Genoese still
did claim it.
That was until 1768, when through the Treaty of Versailles (not the famous one) they sold
the island to France.
Unlike Corsican republicanism, the absolute monarchy in France was just about the least
liberal system in Europe, so Paoli and the Corsicans endeavoured to resist the French,
who had taken up residence in the old Genoese fortresses on the coast.
And at first, to the surprise of France’s King Louis XV, and certainly to his commanders
on the ground, the Corsicans held them off, and won the battle of Borgo.
Their luck would soon fade though, and a new French commander, the Comte de Vaux, forced
Paoli out after his victory at the battle of Ponte Novu in May
1769.
Corte, the Corsican capital was taken by the French, and the Corsican republic was
history.
Though the dream of a France-less Corsica wasn’t.
For the next twenty years, Paoli lived in exile
in London, where he ingratiated himself with
Britain’s elites, that was until events in Paris made Corsican independence look possible
again.
The French Revolution turned a social order in France that had lasted for centuries completely
on its head, so when King Louis XVI lost his, and the new French Republic became at war
with most of Europe, Paoli returned to Corsica.
The Corsicans, only too happy to see him back, called an assembly at Corte to consider secession
from France.
For arranging that, Paoli was denounced by fellow his Corsican, the young Napoleon Bonaparte
in front of the French National Assembly.
But at Corte, once more, Corsican independence was declared, however this time, they would
not create a republic.
Though Paoli most likely wanted to.
Instead, the Corsicans were pragmatic and, utilizing his connections in London, they
petitioned for aid from Britain.
The British were already a participant in
the War of the First Coalition against the new French Republic, though unlike their major
allies Prussia and Austria, they had not been able to launch any significant invasion of
the French mainland.
British power primarily existed at sea, and they had already lost the port of Toulon to
the revolutionaries which made the idea of having a large island base near the French
Mediterranean coast, tempting.
So, a fleet under Admiral Samuel Hood was dispatched to reinforce the Corsican rebels
in 1794, and together, as the British could essentially blockade the entire island, they
drove the French out.
Side note: Samuel Hood was the namesake for the British battlecruiser HMS Hood which infamously
was sunk by the German Bismarck during WW2.
Also, it was during the fighting to secure Calvi that then Captain, later Admiral, Horatio
Nelson lost his right eye.
So Corsica, using the Kingdom of Ireland as a model (it was technically distinct from
Britain, but the British monarch sat on the throne of both countries) became the Anglo-Corsican
Kingdom, and George III of Great Britain was crowned as its first, and only, king.
Obviously, though he never traveled there, given that there was a war going on, so a
Scottish viceroy, Sir Gilbert Elliot, was appointed to perform the King’s duties.
Which, to be honest, weren’t particularly extensive.
Much like Britain itself, the Anglo-Corsican Kingdom was a democratic state, for the standards
of the time anyway.
It had a unicameral, elected parliament as a legislature and a council of state, headed
by a Prime Minister as its executive.
Probably to his disappointment, Paoli did not serve in that role.
Rather it went to Carlo Andrea Pozzo di Borgo, another prominent Corsican.
But the alliance between Corsican and Brit was only ever one of convenience.
The Kingdom's motto, “Friends, and not by mere accident,” makes that clear.
Paoli, while not officially in charge, was still incredibly influential on the island,
and he didn’t hide the fact that he preferred republicanism to monarchy.
In short, the Corsicans gave Britain a bit of a headache.
So, when Spain entered the War of the First Coalition on France’s side, Britain accepted
that its position in the Mediterranean would have to change.
With Spain’s help, France could potentially stand up to the British at sea, so they abandoned
Corsica, the French came back, they forced both Paoli and di Borgo into exile, and Corsica
became two French departments.
And that mostly settled the question of Corsican sovereignty for the next century.
There were still plenty of Corsicans who wished to see their republic arise again, but from
now on they would go about attempting to accomplish that primarily through politics, not war.
Throughout the 19th century, various French regimes attempted to assimilate the Corsicans,
but resistance and attempts to preserve Corsican culture didn’t really begin in earnest until
the aftermath of WW1.
During the war, Corsica had the highest ratio of deaths per
capita out of any French region, mostly due to high rates of conscription on the island.
The slaughter led to widespread distrust of the French government, and growing calls for
autonomy for Corsica.
It didn’t help that Italy had unified in the 1860’s and now its Fascist government
was eager to try to reclaim what it viewed as historically Italian territories.
Like Corsica.
In 1923 the island’s first regionalist party, the Party of Corsican Action was founded by
a politician and writer, Petru Rocca.
Like many Corsican nationalists, he first advocated for more power to be given to a
Corsican local government within France, but in the 1930s, moved to support Corsican
unification with Italy.
Though when Mussolini made it clear that that would not have been a union of equals most
nationalists
backed off that position.
So, during WW2 he took Corsica the hard way and the island was occupied by Fascist Italy.
Unfortunately, for them, Italy lost the war and their occupation wasn’t particularly
popular, so in the decades since, Corsica being a part of France has more or less been
accepted by the population.
A notable exception was the National Liberation Front of Corsica, a terror group that operated
from 1976-2012 and which sought total Corsican separation from France.
Their tactics were condemned by most Corsicans.
The old French goal of assimilation has, by now, largely been successful.
Corsicans almost all speak French and many don’t even speak Corsican at all.
However, in their Assembly, as of this video’s publishing anyway, parties that support further
Corsican autonomy do hold a majority, and there definitely remains a small portion of
the Corsican population that favours outright independence.
Italian cultural influence has dwindled since 1768, the Italian state no longer claims Corsica,
and it will likely stay a part of France well into the foreseeable future.
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In the video to the left, you can find out why the Pope still owns a bit of Rome.
And, as always, I’ve been James, and thank you for watching Look Back History.