Catalina Sarsfield, also styled Catalina von Neuhoff and briefly as Catalina of Corsica, was queen of Corsica by marriage to

Theodore of Corsica Theodore I of Corsica (25 August 169411 December 1756), born Freiherr Theodor Stephan von Neuhoff, was a low-ranking German title of nobility, usually translated "Baron". was a German adventurer who was briefly King of Corsica. Theodore is the sub ...

, who ruled the short-lived

Kingdom of Corsica The Kingdom of Corsica was a short-lived kingdom on the island of Corsica. It was formed after the islanders crowned the German adventurer Theodor Stephan Freiherr von Neuhoff as King of Corsica. Formation and downfall At Genoa, Neuhoff made ...

in 1736. Catalina was the daughter of David Sarsfield, and niece of

Dominick Sarsfield, 4th Viscount Sarsfield Dominick Sarsfield, 4th Viscount Sarsfield (died 1701) was an Irish aristocrat and supporter of the Jacobite cause during the Williamite War in Ireland. Part of a prominent Roman Catholic family of Old English descent (although the first Vis ...

, both of whom had supported James II during the

Williamite War in Ireland The Williamite War in Ireland (1688–1691; ga, Cogadh an Dá Rí, "war of the two kings"), was a conflict between Jacobite supporters of deposed monarch James II and Williamite supporters of his successor, William III. It is also called th ...

and had then left Ireland for France as part of the

Flight of the Wild Geese The Flight of the Wild Geese was the departure of an Irish Jacobite army under the command of Patrick Sarsfield from Ireland to France, as agreed in the Treaty of Limerick on 3 October 1691, following the end of the Williamite War in Ireland. ...

. Part of the exiled Jacobite community, they served in

Continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continent, the major landmasses of Earth * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' ( ...

armies while hoping for the restoration of James II or his successors, which would lead to the recovery of their lost estates in

County Limerick "Remember Limerick" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Munster , subdivision ...

. David was killed fighting at the

Battle of Villaviciosa The Battle of Villaviciosa (11 December 1710) was a battle between a Franco-Spanish army led by Louis Joseph, Duke of Vendôme and Philip V of Spain and a Habsburg-allied army commanded by Austrian Guido Starhemberg. The battle took place durin ...

in 1710. Catalina was the eldest of his six daughters, all of whom were born in

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

. In 1723, Catalina and her daughter followed her husband to Paris. She stayed in the court of Louise d’Orléans. Her daughter would later return to the Spanish court. She is often mistakenly described as the daughter of the Jacobite hero

Patrick Sarsfield Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan, ga, Pádraig Sáirseál, circa 1655 to 21 August 1693, was an Irish soldier, and leading figure in the Jacobite army during the 1689 to 1691 Williamite War in Ireland. Born into a wealthy Catholic famil ...

and

Honora Burke Honora Burke ( – 1698), married Patrick Sarsfield and went into French exile where he followed her soon afterwards. After his death at the Battle of Landen, she married James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, an illegitimate son of James ...

, who came from a distant branch of the Sarsfield family based in

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

. However, she was related to them by marriage.Gasper p.41

References

Bibliography

* Gasper, Julia. ''Theodore Von Neuhoff, King of Corsica: The Man Behind the Legend''. Rowman & Littlefield, 2013. 17th-century French people 18th-century French people French people of Irish descent Irish Jacobites Nobility from Nantes Queens consort

Catalina Catalina may refer to: Arts and media * ''The Catalina'', a 2012 American reality television show * ''Catalina'' (novel), a 1948 novel by W. Somerset Maugham * Catalina (''My Name Is Earl''), character from the NBC sitcom ''My Name Is Earl'' ...

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