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The French conquest of Corsica was a successful expedition by
French forces The French Armed Forces (french: Forces armées françaises) encompass the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the Gendarmerie of the French Republic. The President of France heads the armed forces as Chief of the Armed Forces. France ...
of the Kingdom of France under Comte de Vaux, against Corsican forces under Pasquale Paoli of the
Corsican Republic In November 1755, Pasquale Paoli proclaimed Corsica a sovereign nation, the Corsican Republic ( it, Repubblica Corsa), independent from the Republic of Genoa. He created the Corsican Constitution, which was the first constitution written in Ital ...
. The expedition was launched in May 1768, in the aftermath of the Seven Years' War. A French expeditionary force was landed on the island of
Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast o ...
, then ruled by the
Corsican Republic In November 1755, Pasquale Paoli proclaimed Corsica a sovereign nation, the Corsican Republic ( it, Repubblica Corsa), independent from the Republic of Genoa. He created the Corsican Constitution, which was the first constitution written in Ital ...
. Marching inland to overcome any Corsican opposition, the French force initially suffered an unexpected defeat at the Battle of Borgo. But a new commander, the Comte de Vaux, was appointed to lead the expedition, and decisively defeated the Corsican army at the Battle of Ponte Novu in 1769, effectively bringing an end to Corsican resistance. The Corsican forces, having neither the willpower nor the manpower to resist the French, surrendered the island. After the Corsican defeat, France annexed the island, although they took a year consolidating the territory as many Corsicans took to the hills and engaged in guerilla warfare against the French. Pasquale Paoli fled to Great Britain, where he was immensely popular, and became a member of
Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709  – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford D ...
's
dining club A dining club (UK) or eating club (US) is a social group, usually requiring membership (which may, or may not be available only to certain people), which meets for dinners and discussion on a regular basis. They may also often have guest speakers. ...
. Corsica remained under French rule until 1794, when an Anglo-Corsican expedition captured Corsica from the French and the
Anglo-Corsican Kingdom The Anglo-Corsican Kingdom ( Italian: ''Regno Anglo-Corso''; Corsican: ''Riame anglo-corsu'', ''Riamu anglu-corsu''), also known as the Kingdom of Corsica ( Italian: ''Regno di Corsica''; Corsican: ''Regnu di Corsica''), was a client state of ...
was established, with Paoli as its ruler. On 19 October 1796, the French reconquered Corsica and it became a French ''
département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety- ...
''.


Background

The island of
Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast o ...
had been ruled by the
Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the La ...
since 1284. In the 18th century, Corsicans started to develop their own nationalism and seek their independence from Genoese rule. In 1729, the Corsican Revolution for independence from Genoa began, first led by Luiggi Giafferi and Giacinto Paoli, and later by Paoli's son, Pasquale Paoli. After 26 years of struggle against the
Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the La ...
(plus an ephemeral attempt to proclaim in 1736 an independent Kingdom of Corsica under the German adventurer Theodor von Neuhoff, who was supported by the Dutch Republic and the Kingdom of Great Britain, which at the time ruled over Menorca and
Gibraltar ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song = "Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gibra ...
in the Mediterranean Sea), the independent
Corsican Republic In November 1755, Pasquale Paoli proclaimed Corsica a sovereign nation, the Corsican Republic ( it, Repubblica Corsa), independent from the Republic of Genoa. He created the Corsican Constitution, which was the first constitution written in Ital ...
was proclaimed in 1755 under the leadership of Pasquale Paoli and remained sovereign until 1769. The first
Corsican Constitution The first Corsican Constitution was drawn up in 1755 for the short-lived Corsican Republic independent from Genoa beginning in 1755, and remained in force until the annexation of Corsica by France in 1769. It was written in Tuscan Italian, the l ...
was written in Italian (the language of culture in Corsica until the middle of the 19th century) by Paoli, which was heavily influenced by the British one. Despite four decades of intense fighting, the Corsican Republic proved unable to eject the Genoese from the major coastal fortresses of Calvi and Bonifacio. After the Corsican conquest of
Capraia Capraia is an Italian island, the northwesternmost of the seven islands of the Tuscan Archipelago, and the third largest after Elba and Giglio. It is also a ''comune'' (Capraia Isola) belonging to the Province of Livorno. The island has a p ...
, a small island of the Tuscan Archipelago, in 1767, the
Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the La ...
, exhausted by forty years of fighting, decided to sell the island to France which, after its defeat in the Seven Years' War, was trying to reinforce its position in the Mediterranean. In 1768, with the Treaty of Versailles (1768), the Genoese republic ceded all its rights on the island. The very same year, King Louis XV sent a military expedition to Corsica to secure French rule over the island, under the command of Comte de Vaux, a veteran of the Seven Years' War.


Conquest

France's first offensive failed after the initial and rather small French expeditionary force suffered a significant setback at the Battle of Borgo in October 1768. France therefore dispatched large numbers of reinforcements, swelling the size of their army on the island to 24,000 men, and tasked a new commander with the renewal of the endeavor. The Corsican army was decisively defeated at the Battle of Ponte Novu and the French forces soon overran the island although Corsican forces were not not ever subdued until the following year and sporadic outbreaks of rebellion continued.


Consequences

The French invasion triggered the
Corsican Crisis The Corsican Crisis was an event in British politics during 1768–69. It was precipitated by the invasion of the island of Corsica by France. The British government under the Duke of Grafton failed to intervene, for which it was widely criticise ...
in British politics. Although they sent secret aid to the Corsicans, the British government chose not to act to prevent the island's occupation. Paoli had created a liberal
Corsican Constitution The first Corsican Constitution was drawn up in 1755 for the short-lived Corsican Republic independent from Genoa beginning in 1755, and remained in force until the annexation of Corsica by France in 1769. It was written in Tuscan Italian, the l ...
heavily influenced by that of Britain. He created the most extensive voting franchise in the world, and attempted radical reforms in education. Because of Britain's enmity of France, and because the British had historically been supportive of Corsican exiles — Paoli sought to establish an alliance with Great Britain. Britain opened a
consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth co ...
on the island, but events in Corsica did not feature prominently in Britain until 1768.. The leader of the Corsican Republic, Pasquale Paoli, went into exile in Britain where he remained until the French Revolution allowed him to return to Corsica. British troops subsequently intervened in Corsica between 1794–1796, where they created the
Anglo-Corsican Kingdom The Anglo-Corsican Kingdom ( Italian: ''Regno Anglo-Corso''; Corsican: ''Riame anglo-corsu'', ''Riamu anglu-corsu''), also known as the Kingdom of Corsica ( Italian: ''Regno di Corsica''; Corsican: ''Regnu di Corsica''), was a client state of ...
, and in 1814 when they agreed the Treaty of Bastia. Following the
Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...
control of the islands were returned to the restored French monarchs. The invasion and occupation had even more profound consequences for France itself. When Napoleon Bonaparte was born on Corsica in 1769, he automatically became a natural-born French citizen. Both his parents Carlo Maria Buonaparte and Maria Letizia Ramolino joined the local resistance and fought against the French to maintain independence, even when Maria was pregnant with him. Although raised as a Corsican nationalist, Napoleon gradually turned his loyalties towards the whole of France, serving in the French Army. He went on to become ruler of mainland France, adopted the ideals of the French Revolution as his own, and triggered the Napoleonic Wars that devastated much of Europe and changed it permanently.


Legacy

To this day, some Corsican nationalists advocate the restoration of the island's republic. There are several groups and two nationalist parties (the autonomist ''Femu a Corsica'' and the separatist ''
Corsica Libera ''Corsica Libera'' (, en, Free Corsica) is a left-wing separatist political party active in Corsica. It was founded in Corte in February 2009 by members of three nationalist parties, '' Corsica Nazione'', ''Rinnovu'' and the Corsican Nationalist ...
'') active on the island calling for some degree of Corsican autonomy from France or even full independence. Some groups that claim to support Corsican independence, such as the
National Liberation Front of Corsica The National Liberation Front of Corsica ( co, Fronte di liberazione naziunale di a Corsica or ; french: Front de libération nationale corse, abbreviated FLNC) was a militant group that advocates an independent state on the island of Corsica, se ...
, have carried out a ongoing violent campaign since the 1970s that includes bombings and assassinations, usually targeting buildings and officials representing the French government.


See also

* Treaty of Bastia * Corsican nationalism * Pasquale Paoli * Comte de Vaux *
National Liberation Front of Corsica The National Liberation Front of Corsica ( co, Fronte di liberazione naziunale di a Corsica or ; french: Front de libération nationale corse, abbreviated FLNC) was a militant group that advocates an independent state on the island of Corsica, se ...
*
Corsican Crisis The Corsican Crisis was an event in British politics during 1768–69. It was precipitated by the invasion of the island of Corsica by France. The British government under the Duke of Grafton failed to intervene, for which it was widely criticise ...
*
Anglo-Corsican Kingdom The Anglo-Corsican Kingdom ( Italian: ''Regno Anglo-Corso''; Corsican: ''Riame anglo-corsu'', ''Riamu anglu-corsu''), also known as the Kingdom of Corsica ( Italian: ''Regno di Corsica''; Corsican: ''Regnu di Corsica''), was a client state of ...


References


Bibliography

* Black, Jeremy. ''European Warfare, 1660-1815''. UCL Press, 1994. * Englund, Steven. ''Napoleon: A Political Life''. Harvard University Press, 2005. * Gregory, Desmond. ''The Ungovernable Rock: The Anglo-Corsican Kingdom''. Associated University Press, 1985. {{Authority control Conflicts in 1768 Conflicts in 1769 Ancien Régime Military history of Corsica 1768 in France 1769 in France