History of Corsica

{{Short description|none}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}} {{History of Corsica}} [[File:Bannière Royaume de Corse (selon Gelre).svg|thumb|upright=1.15|Paoli's flag of the Corsican Republic. The figure, known as "the Moor's head", originated on the blazon of the [[kingdom of Aragon]] in Spain. It was originally the head (detached or undetached in various theories) of a blindfolded prisoner and represented the clearing of the [[Moors]] from the Iberian Peninsula. It became relevant to Corsica in the 13th century [[Kingdom of Sardinia]] and Corsica sponsored by Aragon, although its use by any Corsican chiefs is debatable. For some reason, [[Theodore of Corsica]] chose it for his independent kingdom of Corsica, whether through showmanship or because he wanted a symbol of struggle against foreign domination. Paoli adopted it to continue the tradition of an independent Corsica, as he had practically stepped into Neuhoff's shoes. The blindfold proved too ferocious and was diminished to a headband.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Moor's Head ... A Symbol |url=http://www.corsica.net/corsica/uk/discov/hist/maure.htm |work=Trois Etudes sur Paoli |first=Pierre |last=Antonetti |publisher=corseweb |access-date=2008-05-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516033351/http://www.corsica.net/corsica/uk/discov/hist/maure.htm |archive-date=16 May 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>]]

The '''history of [[Corsica]]''' goes back to antiquity, and was known to [[Herodotus]], who described [[Phoenicia]]n habitation in the 6th century BCE. [[Etruscans]] and [[Carthaginians]] expelled the Ionian Greeks, and remained until the [[Roman Republic|Romans]] arrived during the [[Punic Wars]] in 237 BCE. [[Vandals]] occupied it in 430 CE, followed by the [[Byzantine Empire]] a century later.

Raided by various Germanic and other groups for two centuries, it was conquered in 774 by [[Charlemagne]] under the [[Holy Roman Empire]], which fought for control against the [[Saracens]]. After a period of [[Feudalism|feudal]] anarchy, the island was transferred to the [[papacy]], then to city states [[Republic of Pisa#Rise to power|Pisa]] and [[Republic of Genoa|Genoa]], which retained control over it for five centuries, until the establishment of the [[Corsican Republic]] in 1755. The French gained control in the 1768 [[Treaty of Versailles (1768)|Treaty of Versailles]]. Corsica was briefly independent as a [[Anglo-Corsican Kingdom|Kingdom]] in union with Great Britain after the [[French Revolution]] in 1789, with a viceroy and elected Parliament, but returned to French rule in 1796.

Corsica strongly supported the allies in World War I, caring for wounded, and housing POWs. The [[poilus]] fought loyally and suffered great casualties. A recession after the war prompted a mass exodus to southern France. Wealthy Corsicans became colonizers in Algeria and [[Indochina]].

After the [[Fall of France]] in 1940, Corsica was part of the southern ''[[zone libre]]'' of the [[Vichy regime]]. Fascist leader [[Benito Mussolini]] agitated for Italian control, supported by [[Italian irredentism#Fascism and World War II|Corsican irredentists]]. In 1942, [[Italian occupation of Corsica|Italy occupied Corsica]] with a huge force. German forces took over in 1943 after the [[Allied armistice with Italy]]. The Germans faced opposition from the [[French Resistance]], retreating and evacuating the island by October 1943. Corsica then became an Allied air base, supporting the [[Mediterranean Theater of Operations|Mediterranean Theater]] in 1944, and the [[Operation Dragoon|invasion of southern France]] in August 1944. Since the war, Corsica has developed a thriving tourism industry, and has been known for its independence movements, sometimes violent.

==Geography== Corsica's strategic position in the [[Mediterranean Sea|western Mediterranean]] has significantly influenced its history. The island lies approximately 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) north of [[Sardinia]], separated by the [[Strait of Bonifacio]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-06-30 |title=The Island of Corsica, France |url=https://www.literallytheworld.com/france-blog/the-island-of-corsica-france |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=Literally the World |language=en-US}}</ref> It is about 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of the [[Elba|Isle of Elba]], 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the coast of [[Tuscany]], and approximately 170 kilometers (105 miles) from the French port of [[Nice]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=How to get to Corsica from Sardinia |url=https://www.blualghero-sardinia.com/en/how-to-get-to-corsica-from-sardinia/ |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=bluAlghero-Sardinia |language=en}}</ref>

Covering an area of 8,722 square kilometers (3,368 square miles), Corsica is the fourth-largest island in the [[Mediterranean Sea]], following [[Sicily]], Sardinia, and [[Cyprus]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-01-21 |title=The 5 Largest Islands in the Mediterranean Sea |url=https://www.islandsaround.com/largest-islands-mediterranean-sea/ |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=Islands Around |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Corsica". Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Mar. 2025, https://www.britannica.com/place/Corsica. Accessed 30 April 2025</ref>

==Prehistory== {{main|Prehistory of Corsica}} [[File:Filitosa oppidum 1.jpg|thumb|left|Prehistoric structures at [[Filitosa]]]] The prehistory of Corsica covers the long period from the [[Upper Paleolithic]] to the first historical event, the founding of [[Aléria]] by the [[ancient Greece|ancient Greeks]] in 566 BCE.

During the Ice Ages, the average level of the Mediterranean Sea dropped and several natural bridges were created that allowed the passage of fauna from the Italian mainland to the Sardinian-Corsican archipelago, passing through the islands of the Tuscan archipelago and crossing at most a narrow stretch of sea. Around 12-14 000 years ago, the climate began the evolution that led it to its present form, and Corsica, detached from the [[Tyrrhenian Sea]], assumed its present-day island configuration. In the 19th century BCE, the hypothesis was developed that man may also have populated these lands by reaching them on foot when it was not yet completely an island; This thesis of [[Docteur Mattei]] was taken up by [[:fr:Pierre-Paul_Raoul_Colonna_de_Cesari_Rocca|Count Colonna de Cesari Rocca]], who noted how, at the time of his writing, anthropologists <ref>Obedenare su ''Bulletin de la Société d'Anthropologie de Paris''</ref> were becoming interested in the curious behavioural similarities between the characters of certain types of Corsican and [[Albanians|Albanian]] people.<ref name=":0">[https://www.archive.org/download/histoiredelacors00colouoft/histoiredelacors00colouoft.pdf Pierre Paul Raoul Colonna de Cesari-Rocca, ''Histoire de la Corse'', Boyle, 1890 https://www.archive.org/download/histoiredelacors00colouoft/histoiredelacors00colouoft.pdf]</ref>

The first deposits of chipped stones and sculptural sketches found so far in Corsica, in the region of [[Porto-Vecchio]], date back to around 9000 BC (Romanellian). A female skeleton ([[Lady of Bonifacio|la dame de Bonifacio]]) was found near the town of the same place.<ref>Collectivité territoriale de Corse, ''L'abri sous roche d'Araguina Sennola''</ref><ref>https://www.corsicatheque.com/Histoire/Prehistoire/Dame-de-Bonifacio</ref>

The [[Neolithic|Early Neolithic]] is represented in Corsica by finds of cardinal pottery and imported obsidian. The major influences seem to come from both [[Tuscany]] and Sardinia.

In later phases, an important megalithic civilisation developed in Corsica, which left on the island [[Dolmen|dolmens]] (stazzòne, found near Cauria and Pagliagio), [[Menhir|menhirs]] (stantare) and the original statues-menhirs, concentrated mainly in the south, at the site of [[Filitosa]] and that of [[Funtanaccia]], near [[Sartène|Sartene]], but also present in the north, near [[Saint-Florent, Haute-Corse|San Fiorenzo]]. The site of Filitosa - a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]] - is located near [[Sollacaro]], towards the sea outlet of the [[Taravo Valley]]). According to the archaeologist [[Giovanni Lilliu]], in the second half of the 4th millennium B.C., Corsica was invested by a cultural current called the [[Arzachena culture|Culture of Arzachena]], also known as the Corsican-Gallurese cultural facies, secondary to the cultural complex known as the [[Ozieri culture|Culture of Ozieri]] and extended over the whole of Sardinia.<ref>Giovanni Lilliu e AA.VV, ''Prima dei Nuraghi - La società in Sardegna nei secoli - pp.14 e 15'', Torino, Eri - Edizioni RAI, 1977.</ref>

The Corsican-Gallurese facies mainly affected the whole of [[Gallura]] with expansion beyond the [[Strait of Bonifacio|Straits of Bonifacio]] into southern Corsica. According to G. Lilliu, this facies showed a society with an aristocratic and individualistic background, and was clearly distinguished from the predominant facies of Ozieri, which tended to be democratic and had clear influences from the eastern Mediterranean. The pastoral, aristocratic facies of Arzachena and the democratic agricultural culture of Ozieri constituted the most important sociological component of the pre-Nuragic Sardinian populations.<ref>Giovanni Lilliu e AA.VV, ''Prima dei Nuraghi - La società in Sardegna nei secoli - pp.14 e 15'', Torino, Eri - Edizioni RAI, 1977.</ref>

The Corsican [[Eneolithic]] is characterised by the [[Torrean civilization]], which takes its name from the site of [[Terrina corsica|Terrina]], on the central-eastern coast, where techniques related to copper metallurgy were widespread. In the Early Bronze Age, northern influences from the [[Polada culture]] are recorded on the island, as well as in Sardinia.<ref>Kewin Peche-Quilichini, Périodisation des vaisselles de l'âge du Bronze de Corse : évolution morphologique et culturelle</ref>

In this phase, the Torrean civilisation developed in the south. Numerous megalithic towers with a structure similar to that of the "Sardinian [[Nuragic civilization|nuraghi"]] remain today from this culture. Due to the nature of the finds, their age and location, scholars have ascertained that this civilisation was an extension of the coeval civilisation that developed in Sardinia. According to an invasionist theory, mainly developed by Grosjean in the 1970s, the Torreani (whom the author makes out to be the ancient sea people of the [[Sherden]])<ref>{{cite book | last1=Schütz | first1=Jutta | title=Corsica | date=1993 | publisher=APA Publications | isbn=978-0-395-65777-5 | url=https://archive.org/details/corsica0000unse_a8y2 }}</ref> got the better of the megalithic people and drove them towards the centre and north of the island. However, this theory is no longer accepted by most scholars who see the Torreani as the evolution of the local Neoeneolithic communities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Corsica - Enciclopedia |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/corsica_(Enciclopedia-dell'-Arte-Antica)/ |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=Treccani |language=it}}</ref> It was in this period that the people that the Greeks would call "Κὁρυιοι, Còrsi", also attested in Gallura and perhaps of [[Ligures|Ligurian]] ancestry, as toponyms such as Asco and [[Venzolasca]], with the typical suffix in ‘-asco’, would seem to suggest.

==Classical antiquity==

===Name=== The ancient Greeks, notably [[Herodotus]], called the island ''Kurnos'' or ''Kyrnos'' (from ''kur'' or ''kyr'' meaning [[Cape (geography)|cape]]);<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lavezzi |first1=Ghjiseppu |title=Corse : Vertiges de l'honneur: L'Âme des Peuples |date=2018 |publisher=Nevicata |isbn=978-2-512-01011-1 |page=10 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=enJaDwAAQBAJ&q=corsica+Kurnos+or+Kyrnos&pg=PT10 |access-date=20 March 2021 |language=fr}}</ref> the name Corsica is [[Latin]] and was in use in the [[Roman Republic]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Knight |first1=Charles |title=The National Cyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge |date=1853 |page=994 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sa7kjXr-SkAC&q=Herodotus+Kurnos&pg=RA1-PA993 |access-date=20 March 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

Why Herodotus used Kyrnos and not some other name remains a mystery, and the phrases of the authors give no clue. The Roman historians, however, believed Corsa or Corsica (rightly or wrongly they interpreted -ica as an adjectival formative ending) was the native name of the island, but they could not give an explanation of its meaning. They did think that the natives were originally [[Ligures]].<ref>{{cite book|pages=689–692|title=Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography|first=William|last=Smith|year=1872|location=London|publisher=J. Murray}} Downloadable Google Books.</ref>

== Iron Age and ancient history ==

=== Greek and Etruscan period === Beginning on the island around the 8th century BC, the Iron Age ended with Corsica's entry into history when the colony of [[Aléria|Alalia]] was founded by [[Ionians|Ionian Greek]] colonists, the [[Doric Greek|Phocians]] of [[Marseille]], in 565 or 562 BC,<ref name=":0" /> near the site of the present-day town of Aleria. The Greeks called the island first Kalliste and later Cyrnos,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Geografia (Strabone) - Volume 2/Libro II/Capitolo V - Wikisource |url=https://it.wikisource.org/wiki/Geografia_(Strabone)_-_Volume_2/Libro_II/Capitolo_V |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=it.wikisource.org |language=it}}</ref> Cernealis, Corsis and Cirné.<ref name=":0" /> Herodotus spoke of the Phocaeans, thus leaving the first <ref name=":0" /> documentary trace of the island, and narrated that after the foundation of Alalia other Phocaeans reached the island to escape the risk of being enslaved by the [[Persians]].

In [[535 BC|535 B.C]]., following the [[Battle of the Sardinian Sea|battle of the Sardinian sea]], they in turn were driven out by an Etruscan-Carthaginian coalition formed on the basis of a pact that had been drawn up for the purpose and which, after the conflict, provided for the division of the two islands over which influence had been won: Sardinia to the Carthaginians, Corsica to the Etruscans.<ref>{{Cite book |last=De Negri |first=Teofilo |title=History of Genoa |date=2003 |publisher=Giunti Editore |isbn=88-09-02932-1}}</ref> In fact, according to [[Herodotus]], the Phocians had won, but it was a [[Cadmean victory]], since of the 60 ships employed (half the total armament of the opposing fleets) 40 were sunk and the remainder rendered unserviceable. The Phocaeans then left Corsica and the Carthaginians and Etruscans were thus able to implement the partition pact equally. The Etruscans therefore resumed that control over the eastern shores of the island that they had previously consolidated with the activity of the warships of [[Pisa]], [[Volterra]], [[Populonia]], [[Tarquinia]] and [[Ceres, Piedmont|Cere]].<ref>Diod. V 13, 4</ref> Their presence is attributed to the toponym [[Tarco]] on the south-eastern coast, which recalls the city of Tarquinia.[[Image:Italy 400bC en.svg|thumb|left|[[Italy]] in 400 BCE.]]This was followed by the incursions of the [[Siceliotes|Siceliots]] from [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]], who founded a legendary [[Portus Syracusanus]] in the 5th century B.C., and again by the Carthaginians (4th century B.C.). The Syracusans first made a move towards the island under the command of Apello in 453 BC,<ref>Diod. XI 88, 5</ref> but it was in 384 BC, under [[Dionysius I of Syracuse|Dionysius I]], that they launched their most important attack, since it was aimed not only at Corsica but also at the island of [[Elba]] and the Tuscan coast. The Portus Syracusanus has been classically identified at the site of today's [[Porto-Vecchio|Porto Vecchio]], however there are several scholars from different periods who refute this thesis, arguing that it may have been in the [[Saint Amanza|Gulf of Santa Amanza]],<ref>Thus according to Philipp Clüver (Sardinia et Corsica Antiqua, 1619) and Xavier Poli (La Corse dans l'antiquité, Paris, 1907)</ref> or in [[Bonifacio, Corse-du-Sud|Bonifacio]].<ref>Thus, among others, according to the Corsican historian Antonio Filippini (Istoria di Corsica, 1827)</ref> [[File:REmpire Corsica-Sardinia.svg|thumb|[[Province of Corsica et Sardinia]] in the [[Roman Empire]]]] ===Roman era=== {{details|Corsica and Sardinia}} Corsica came under Roman control in 238 BCE, during the [[First Punic War]], when Rome annexed both [[Corsica]] and [[Sardinia]] from [[Carthage]], exploiting Carthage's internal struggles during the [[Mercenary War]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Corsica - (Ancient Mediterranean) - Vocab, Definition, Explanations {{!}} Fiveable |url=https://fiveable.me/key-terms/ancient-mediterranean/corsica |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=library.fiveable.me |language=en}}</ref> The islands were officially organized into the Roman province of [[Sardinia and Corsica|Sardinia et Corsica]] in 227 BCE, marking one of Rome's earliest overseas provincial establishments.<ref>Bechert: ''Die Provinzen des römischen Reiches'', p. 61.</ref> The Roman conquest faced significant resistance from the indigenous [[Corsicans|Corsican tribes]], particularly in the island's rugged interior. Rebellions were frequent, with notable uprisings occurring in 231 BCE, which was suppressed by [[Gaius Papirius Maso]], who celebrated a triumph on Mons Albanus.<ref>Mastino, Attilio (2005). ''Storia della Sardegna antica'', Edizioni Il Maestrale, pp.69–90</ref>

Despite resistance, the Romans established several colonies to solidify their control. [[Gaius Marius]] founded Colonia Mariana in the northeast around 104 BCE, and [[Sulla]] established Colonia Veneria Alaria at [[Aléria]] between 82 and 80 BCE.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=CIL X, 8038 |url=http://db.edcs.eu/epigr/epi_einzel_en.php?p_belegstelle=CIL+10%2C+08038&r_sortierung=Belegstelle}}</ref> Aléria, originally a [[Phocaea|Phocaean Greek]] settlement known as [[Alalakh|Alalia]], became a significant Roman city and naval base, with a population reaching approximately 20,000 at its peak.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Corsica - Province of the Roman Empire {{!}} UNRV |url=https://www.unrv.com/provinces/corsica.php |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=www.unrv.com}}</ref> Roman infrastructure on Corsica was limited, with only one known major road running along the east coast from Piantarella through Aléria to Mariana.<ref name=":1" /> The Romans exploited the island's natural resources, including timber, iron, and salt, and introduced [[viticulture]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lane' |first='Max |date=2023-04-12 |title=A brief history of Corsica |url=https://www.thethinkingtraveller.com/blog/history-of-corsica |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=The Thinking Traveller |language=en}}</ref>

Under [[Augustus]]'s provincial reforms in 27 BCE, Sardinia et Corsica became a [[Roman province|senatorial province]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jasiński |first=Jakub |title=Roman Sardinia and Corsica « IMPERIUM ROMANUM |url=https://imperiumromanum.pl/en/roman-geography/roman-provinces/list-of-roman-provinces/roman-sardinia-and-corsica/ |access-date=2025-04-30 |language=en-US}}</ref> In 6 CE, Corsica was separated into its own senatorial province, while Sardinia became an imperial province due to its strategic importance and the need for a substantial military presence. Corsica's administrative status fluctuated over time, alternating between senatorial and imperial control.<ref>{{Cite web |title=AE 1971, 122 |url=http://db.edcs.eu/epigr/epi_einzel_en.php?p_belegstelle=AE+1971%2C+00122&r_sortierung=Belegstelle}}</ref> The island remained relatively peaceful during the early Imperial period, with few significant events recorded. Notably, the philosopher [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]] was exiled to Corsica from 41 to 49 CE, during which time he wrote several works.<ref>Bengtson: ''Römische Geschichte'', p. 253.</ref>

As the [[Western Roman Empire]] weakened, Corsica became vulnerable to external threats. In 430 CE, [[Vandals|the Vandals]], a Germanic tribe that had established a kingdom in [[North Africa]], conquered Corsica, integrating it into their maritime domain.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jarus |first=Owen|date=2022-08-30 |title=Who were the Vandals, the 'barbarians' who sacked Rome? |url=https://www.livescience.com/who-were-the-vandals |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=Live Science |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Vandals - Livius |url=https://www.livius.org/articles/people/vandals/ |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=www.livius.org}}</ref> In 534 CE, during the [[Vandalic War]], the [[Byzantine Empire]] under [[Justinian I|Emperor Justinian I]] launched a campaign to reclaim former [[Western Roman Empire|Western Roman]] territories. Corsica was recovered by Byzantine forces, restoring imperial control and introducing [[Byzantine Empire|Eastern Roman]] (Byzantine) administrative and cultural influences to the island.

==Middle Ages== {{Main|Medieval Corsica}} [[File:Calvi citadelle.JPG|thumb|left|Modified medieval citadel at [[Calvi, Haute-Corse|Calvi]]]] [[File:Justinian555AD.png|thumbnail|The Byzantine Empire in 555 AD, including Corsica]]

After the fall of the [[Western Roman Empire]], Corsica was frequented by migrant peoples and corsairs, notably Vandals, who plundered and ravaged at will until the coastal settlements fell into decline and the population occupied the slopes of the mountains. Rampant malaria in the coastal marshes reinforced this decision. Due largely to competition for the island from [[Ostrogoths|Ostrogothic]] [[Foederati]] who had settled on the [[Riviera]], the Vandals never penetrated much beyond the coast, and their stay in Corsica was relatively short-lived, just long enough to prejudice the Corsicans against foreign adventurers on Corsican soil. [[File:Aistulf's Italy-it.svg|thumbnail|750 AD]] In 534, the armies of [[Justinian I]] recovered the island for the empire, but the [[Exarchate of Ravenna|Byzantines]] were not able to effectively defend the island from continuing raids by the Ostrogoths, the [[Lombards]], and the [[Saracen]]s. The Lombards, who had made themselves masters of the [[Gothic War (535–554)|war- and famine-shattered]] Italian Peninsula, conquered the island in {{circa}} 725.

The Lombard supremacy on the island was short lived. In 774, the [[Franks|Frankish]] king [[Charlemagne]] conquered Corsica as he moved to subdue the Lombards and [[Carolingian Empire|restore the Western Empire]]. For the next century and a half, the thus established [[Holy Roman Empire]] continually warred with the Saracens for control of the island. In 807, Charlemagne's constable Burchard defeated an invading force from [[Al Andalus]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=pNVCAQAAMAAJ Annali d'Italia: Dall'anno 601 dell'era volare fino all'anno 840], by Lodovico Antonio Muratori, Giuseppe Catalani, Monaco (1742); page 466.</ref> In {{circa}} 930, [[Berengar II]], King of Italy, invaded and subdued the imperial forces. [[Otto I]] vanquished Berengar and restored Corsica to imperial control in 965.

Its external threats mostly vanquished, a period of feudal anarchy followed as local Corsican-based nobles warred on each other and struggled for control, culminating in the transfer of the island – at the request of its population – to the [[papacy]] in 1077. The Pope yielded civic administration to [[Pisa]] in 1090, but contention between the Pisans and their rival [[Genoa|Genoese]] soon engulfed Corsica. Repeated truces proved fleeting as the two naval and trading powers clashed for supremacy in the Western Mediterranean. The various Italian republics that arose began to assume responsibility for the security and prosperity of Corsica, starting with [[Tuscany]], the closest. Corsica was finally removed from the fighting by annexation to the [[Papal States]] in 1217.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

==Late Middle Ages and Renaissance== [[File:Genuesische Kolonien.png|right|upright=1.35|thumb |Territories of the [[Republic of Genoa]] (shown in red), 1400]] [[Pisa]] retained control of the island during most of the Middle Ages but at the start of the [[Renaissance]] it fell to [[Genoa]] in 1284, following the [[battle of Meloria]] against Pisa.

Corsica successively was part of the [[Republic of Genoa]] for five centuries. Despite take-overs by [[Crown of Aragon|Aragon]] between 1296 and 1434 and France between 1553 and 1559, Corsica would remain under Genoese control until the [[Corsican Republic]] of 1755 and under partial control until its purchase by France in 1768.

===Bank of Saint George=== However, the dissension and political conflict at home did not always permit [[Doges of Genoa]] to govern Corsica well or at all. During such periods the island was subject to destructive conflict between coalitions of signorial families. The [[Bank of Saint George]] became involved as a major [[creditor]] of the Republic of Genoa. As security for their public loans they had obtained a franchise to collect public money; i.e., taxes. [[File:Italia 1494-es.svg|thumbnail|1494 AD]] In 1453 the people of Corsica held a general assembly, or Diet, at Lago Benedetto at which they voted to request the protection of the [[Bank of Saint George]] as a credible third-party. In return the bank would get the right to exercise their franchise in Corsica. This third-party solution became immediately popular. The government of Genoa placed Corsica in the bank's hands and the major contenders on Corsica agreed to a peace, some accepting cash payments for their cooperation.<ref>{{cite book|page=31|title=Wanderings in Corsica; its history and its heroes|first=Ferdinand Adolf|last=Gregorovius|author-link=Ferdinand Gregorovius|translator-first=A. |translator-last=Muir |year=1855|publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref>

Throughout the next century the bank undertook enterprises in the major coastal cities, sending in troops to secure the strong points, building or rebuilding the citadels, recruiting several hundred colonists per city, mainly Genoese, and constructing quarters for them within a city wall. Most of these "old cities" survive and are populated today, having served as the nucleus of modern Corsican coastal cities.

The natives were at first kept at bay. Typically more or less immediately but certainly by a few generations they were allowed to conurbate with the Genoese, especially as the latter were decimated by [[malaria]] and required the assistance of the natives. Some conflict continued but within a few decades peace and order were restored to the island. Genoese watchtowers populated the entire coastline (and are there yet) where the forces of Genoese signori ruling from coastal castles kept a watchful eye for raiders, pirates, bandits and smugglers.

===Sampiero Corso=== {{main|Invasion of Corsica (1553)}} [[File:Bastelica (Santo).jpg|thumb|left|Monument to Sampiero Corso, [[Bastelica]]]] Having begun its dominion in Corsica by building walled cities from which the Corsicans were to be excluded, the [[Bank of Saint George]] in the exercise of its taxation franchise finally became as unpopular in some quarters as the [[Republic of Genoa]]. It too generated a population of Corsican exiles, one of whom, [[Sampiero Corso]], immigrated to France and became ultimately a high-ranking officer in the French army. He was thus on hand in Italy during the [[Italian War of 1551–1559]] when the question came up in a conference of the general staff of what to do with Corsica, which was between France and Italy. At the insistence of Corso and other well-placed exiles the Marshal [[Paul de Termes]] gave orders, without the knowledge or assent of his commander, [[Henry II of France]], to take Corsica.<ref>{{cite book|pages=[https://archive.org/details/mediterraneanthe01brau/page/926 926–933]|title=The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II|first=Fernand|last=Braudel|translator-first=Sian|translator-last=Reynolds|year=1996|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=0-520-20330-5|url=https://archive.org/details/mediterraneanthe01brau/page/926}}</ref>

In August 1553, the Turkish fleet under [[Dragut]], an ally of the French under a [[Franco-Ottoman alliance]], set sail transporting French troops to [[Cap Corse]] in the [[Invasion of Corsica (1553)]]. [[Bastia]] fell on the 24th, [[Saint-Florent, Haute-Corse|Saint-Florent]] on the 26th, [[Corte, Haute-Corse|Corte]] shortly after and [[Bonifacio, Corse-du-Sud|Bonifacio]] in September. Before they could take [[Calvi, Haute-Corse|Calvi]] the Turks went home in October for unknown reasons. Sampiero Corso proceeded to raise civil war in central Corsica, pitting signor against signor, wasting the villages of his opponents.

That November, Henry II opened negotiations with Genoa but too late. While parlaying the Genoese sent their best commander, Admiral [[Andrea Doria]], with 15,000 men to Cap Corse, recapturing [[Saint-Florent, Haute-Corse|Saint-Florent]] in February 1554. By 1555, the French had been cleared from most of the coastal cities and Doria left. A Turkish fleet sent to help was decimated by the plague and went home towing empty ships, assisted by Genoese gold. Sampiero fought on in the hinterland.

Peace was finally brokered by [[Elizabeth I]] of England. By the [[Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis]] in 1559, the French returned Corsica to Genoa. Left without support, Corso went again into exile. Peace was restored, but not before the Genoese had dealt severely with the traitorous Signori.

==Enlightenment== Corsican society had always been relatively egalitarian, and writer [[Dorothy Carrington]] claims, "Alone among the peoples of Europe the Corsicans avoided feudal and capitalist oppression."<ref>{{cite book |title=Corsica: portrait of a granite island |last=Carrington |first=Dorothy |year=1974 |publisher=John Day Co. |location=New York |isbn=0-381-98260-2 |page=11 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xe4rAAAAMAAJ }}</ref>

The [[Age of Enlightenment]] overthrew signorial and colonial rule and brought some measure of self-rule to the island. As the [[Corsican constitution]] was drawn up in 1755, Corsica is distinguished by having staged the first enlightenment revolution, being upstaged only by the [[English Revolution]] of the preceding century. It was the first of a trio: Corsican, American, French, and as such had some influence on the [[American Revolution]]. Corsica never did obtain total sovereignty but it shared in the [[French Revolution]], became part of France, and acquired the local autonomy and civil rights established by that revolution. [[File:Northern Italy 1700.jpg|thumbnail|Corsica 1700]] Genoese rule in the 18th century was less than satisfactory to Corsicans, who considered it corrupt and ineffective. The Genoese on their part used their citadels and watch towers in an attempt to control a population that without its assent could not be controlled. The Corsicans had a bastion of their own, the mountains, but steadily the number of exiles abroad grew and those began to look for ways and means to free Corsica from all foreign powers. At no point in the Corsican history had the island ever been a nation of its own, nor did it ever achieve that goal. In the 18th century, however, Corsicans were able to establish a partial republic in which the Genoese were penned up in the citadels but ruled nowhere else. The republic began with a search by the exiles for a savior, a man of great ability who could step in and lead them to victory and self-rule.

===Revolution of 1729–36=== In 1729, a full-scale revolt broke out in Corsica. In April 1731, having been unable to contain the outbreak, the Genoese appealed to the [[Emperor Charles VI]], as feudal suzerain of the island, for military assistance.<ref name=Wilson>Peter Hamish Wilson, ''German Armies: War and German Society, 1648–1806'' (Routledge 1998), 208.</ref> The moment was propitious, since the emperor was on good terms with the [[Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia|Duke of Savoy]] and the [[Philip V of Spain|King of Spain]], and had just signed agreement with the [[Maritime Powers]]. In July, 4,000 men of the garrison of [[Milan]] were sent to Corsica at the expense of Genoa. The Genoese desired to keep the expedition small and the cost low, but the military expert [[Eugene of Savoy]] convinced the emperor to increase the number of troops to 12,000 by 1732. The war degenerated into a guerrilla campaign in the mountains, which the professional forces of the emperor could not win.<ref name=Wilson/>

After negotiations were opened, the Corsicans offered their island's sovereignty to Charles or, if he refused, Eugene. A final agreement was signed at [[Corte, Haute-Corse|Corte]] on 13 May 1732, whereby the Genoese would return to power and implement reforms. An amnesty was granted to all rebels and the emperor guaranteed the accord.<ref name=Wilson/> The emperor was unable to prevent Genoa returning to its former mismanagement, and island rose up again in 1734.<ref name=Wilson/>

In the second phase of the revolt, the Corsican leader, [[Giacinto Paoli]], requested Spanish assistance. None arrived before the German adventurer Theodor von Neuhoff, who convinced the people to elect him King [[Theodore of Corsica]] in March 1736.<ref>For his career, see Julia Gasper, ''Theodore von Neuhoff, King of Corsica: The Man Behind the Legend'' (University of Delaware Press, 2013). Gasper considers the entire period of intermittent revolt between 1729 and the French annexation of 1768 to be a forty-year "Corsican War of Independence".</ref> He left in October 1736 to seek support abroad, and was arrested in [[Amsterdam]] and thrown in debtors' prison.<ref name=Wilson/>

===Corsican Republic=== {{main|Corsican Republic}} [[File:Portrait de Pascal Paoli - William BEECHEY.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Pasquale Paoli]], portrait by [[Sir William Beechey]]]] [[File:Pascal Paoli01.jpg|thumb|Monument to [[Pasquale Paoli]]]] {{unreferenced section|date=September 2020}} A capable advocate of Corsican independence at last stepped forward from the ranks of Corsicans in exile in Italy, [[Pasquale Paoli]], a general and patriot who struggled against Genoa and then France, and became ''Il Babbu di a Patria'' (Father of the Nation). In 1755 he proclaimed the Corsican Republic. Paoli founded the first University of Corsica (with instruction in Italian). He chose the [[Maure|Moor]]'s head ("Testa Mora"), previously used by Theodore of Corsica, as Corsica's emblem in 1760. Paoli considered the Corsicans to be an Italian people.

===Sale and annexation to France=== {{Main|French conquest of Corsica}} {{unreferenced section|date=September 2020}} Seeing that attempts to dislodge Paoli were futile, in 1764 by secret treaty Genoa sold Corsica to the [[Étienne François, duc de Choiseul|Duke of Choiseul]], then minister of the French Navy, who bought it on behalf of the crown. On the quiet, French troops gradually replaced Genoese in the citadels. In 1768, after preparations had been made, [[Treaty of Versailles (1768)|an open treaty]] with Genoa ceded Corsica to France in perpetuity with no possibility of retraction and the Duke appointed a Corsican supporter, Buttafuoco, as administrator. The island rose in revolt. Paoli fought a guerrilla war against fresh French troops under their commander, [[Charles Louis de Marbeuf|Comte de Marbeuf]], but was defeated in the [[Battle of Ponte Novu]] and had to go into exile in [[Vienna]] and then London. The French move into Corsica triggered the [[Corsican Crisis]] in Britain, where debate raged over the question of British intervention. In 1770, Marbeuf publicly announced the annexation of Corsica and appointed a governor.

===Anglo-Corsican Kingdom=== {{Main|Anglo-Corsican Kingdom}} {{unreferenced section|date=September 2020}} [[File:Pozzo di Borgo.jpg|thumb|[[Carlo Andrea Pozzo di Borgo]]]] After the French revolution, Corsican leader Pasquale Paoli, who had been exiled under the monarchy, became something of an idol of liberty and democracy. In 1789 he was invited to Paris by the [[National Constituent Assembly (France)|National Constituent Assembly]] and was celebrated as a hero in front of the assembly. He was afterwards sent back to Corsica having been given the rank of lieutenant-general.

In 1795, after proclaiming the independence of Corsica, a constitution was adopted that made Corsica a kingdom in [[personal union]] with Great Britain, represented by a viceroy. The constitution was considered quite democratic for its time, with an elected Parliament and a Council. [[Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto|Sir Gilbert Elliot]] served as viceroy whereas [[Carlo Andrea Pozzo di Borgo]] served as head of government (effectively a prime minister). The island returned to French rule in 1796.

==French First Empire== {{Expand section|date=June 2013}}

==Modern era== ===19th century=== From 1854 to 1857 the Société du Télégraphe Électrique or "The Mediterranean Electric Telegraph", a company started by [[John Watkins Brett]], connected [[La Spezia]], Italy with Corsica by submarine cable, being the first to do so. The line ran south along the east coast, partly on land, partly on sea, from [[Cap Corse]] to [[Ajaccio]], where a second cable crossed the [[Strait of Bonifacio]]. Brett's intended links across [[Sardinia]] and through the deeps to [[Annaba|Bona]], [[Algeria]], failed because of decimation of the crews by [[malaria]] and the technical difficulties of laying cable in deep waters. By 1870 Paris could communicate with Algeria by telegraph through Corsica.<ref>{{cite web|last=Glover|first=Bill|title=History of the Atlantic Cable & Undersea Communications from the first submarine cable of 1850 to the worldwide fiber optic network|publisher=FTL Design|year=2008|url=https://www.atlantic-cable.com/CableCos/France/ptt.htm|access-date=2008-07-20}}</ref>

===First World War and after=== [[File:20-Corte-classe 1917-30 mai 1916.JPG|thumb|left|Corsican troops of 1916, from a postcard]] In [[World War I]] Corsica responded to the call to arms more intensely than any other allied region. Out of a population estimated by a diplomat of the times to have been about 300,000, some 50,000 Corsican men were under arms: a ratio greater than one of every six Corsican citizens.<ref>{{cite book|title=The War Diary of a Diplomat|first=Lee|last=Meriwether|year=1919|publisher=Dodd, Mead and Company|pages=56}}</ref>

The civilian population was correspondingly pro-allied. Prisoners of war were sent to Corsica. There they occupied every available space from rooms in monasteries to cells in citadels. Stone sheds were converted for their use. When all else failed, wooden barracks were constructed on the mountainsides. The prisoners were put to work in agriculture and forestry. Corsica was also turned into a hospital for the wounded. Most of the allies sent medical units or volunteers. The island was so useful as a base that the sea lanes leading to it were under constant surveillance and attack by [[U-boat]]s.<ref>Meriwether page 17.</ref>

Corsican [[poilu]]s fought loyally and with valor. Estimates of casualties vary but most are over 50%. As a result, the survivors became established in the upper echelons of the French military and police.<ref name=bik>{{cite journal|first=Gerda|last=Bikales|title=Corsican Capers – Island Separatists Highlight France's Malaise|date=Winter 2003–2004 |journal=The Social Contract |volume=14 |issue=2 |url=http://www.thesocialcontract.com/artman2/publish/tsc1402/article_1195.shtml|access-date=2008-07-20}}</ref> However, the loss of manpower contributed to a recession and mass exodus from Corsica in favor of southern France in the post-war period. Corsicans of means became colonizers during this period, the descendants of the former signori starting agricultural enterprises in [[Vietnam]], [[Algeria]] and [[Puerto Rico]].<ref name=bik/> It was on them that the blow of subsequent wars of independence fell most heavily.

===Second World War=== {{see also|Italian occupation of Corsica}} [[File:RegioniIrredenteItalia.jpg|thumb|left|Italian ethnic regions claimed in the 1930s by the [[Italian irredentism]]: <br/>* Green: [[Italian irredentism in Nice|Nice]], [[Italian irredentism in Switzerland|Ticino]] and [[Italian irredentism in Dalmatia|Dalmatia]] <br/>* Red: [[Italian irredentism in Malta|Malta]] <br/>* Violet: [[Italian irredentism in Corsica|Corsica]] <br/>* [[Italian irredentism in Savoy|Savoy]] and [[Corfiot Italians#Corfiot Italians and the Risorgimento|Corfu]] were later claimed]] After the [[Battle of France|Allied defeat]] of 1940, Corsica became part of the Southern zone of [[Vichy France]], and was thus not directly occupied by Axis forces, but fell under ultimate military control of Nazi Germany. A campaign of rhetoric by [[Benito Mussolini]] asserting that Corsica belonged to Italy was reinforced by the [[Italian irredentism in Corsica|irredentist movement]] of Italian-speaking Corsicans (such as [[Petru Giovacchini]]) who advocated the unification of the island with Italy.

In November 1942, as part of its [[Case Anton|invasion of the southern zone]], Germany arranged for fascist Italy to occupy Corsica as well as some parts of France up to the [[Rhône]] river. The Italian occupation force in Corsica grew to over 85,000 troops, later reinforced by 12,000 German troops.<ref>{{cite book|title=Gr20 – Corsica: The High-level Route|first=Paddy|last=Dillon|pages = 14|year=2006|publisher=Cicerone Press Limited|isbn=1-85284-477-9}}</ref> The French had no troops with which to prevent the occupation. Irredentist propaganda intensified, but the [[Prefect (France)|préfet]] representing the French government restated French sovereignty over the island and stated that the Italian troops were occupiers.<ref>{{cite book|author=Davide Rodogno|authorlink=Davide Rodogno|title=Fascism's European Empire: Italian Occupation During the Second World War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZcUNELPsQQsC&pg=PA218|year=2006|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-84515-1|page=218}}</ref>

The [[French Resistance]] soon began developing under the impetus of loyal local inhabitants (the [[Maquis (World War II)|Maquis]] named after the 18th-century partisans of [[Pasquale Paoli]]),<ref>{{cite book|title=World War II: A Student Encyclopedia|first=Spencer C.|last=Tucker|author2=Priscilla Mary Roberts |author3=Jack Greene |pages=808|year=2004|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=1-85109-857-7}}</ref> and of [[Free French]] leaders starting in December 1942, with [[Charles de Gaulle]] eventually sending Paulin Colonna d'Istria from Algeria to unite the movements. Boosted via six visits by the [[French submarine Casabianca (1935)|Free French submarine ''Casabianca'']], and further armed by Allied airdrops, the strengthened Resistance was met with fierce repression by the OVRA (Italian fascist police) and the fascist [[Black Shirts]] paramilitary groups but gained strength, especially in the countryside.<ref name="CD">{{Cite video | people = Hélène Chaubin, Sylvain Gregory, Antoine Poletti | title = La résistance en Corse | medium = CD-ROM | publisher = Association pour des Études sur la Résistance Intérieure | location = Paris | date = 2003}}</ref><ref>Général Gambiez. ''Liberation de la Corse''. Hachette, Paris 1973, p. 128.</ref>

In July 1943, following the [[Fall of the Fascist regime in Italy]], 12,000 [[German occupation of France during World War II|German troops]] came to Corsica. They formally took over the occupation on 9 September 1943, the day after the [[Armistice of Cassibile]]. Following the [[Allied invasion of Italy|Allied landings in Sicily]] and the Italian surrender, these German troops were joined by the remnants of the [[90th Light Infantry Division (Germany)|Africa Division]] of the German army, reconstituted as the [[90th Panzergrenadier Division]] with about 40,000 men,<ref>{{cite book|title=Backwater War: The Allied Campaign in Italy, 1943–45|first=Edwin Palmer|last=Hoyt|pages=74|year=2006|publisher=Stackpole Books|isbn=0-8117-3382-3|author-link=Edwin P. Hoyt}}</ref> which crossed over from Sardinia. They were accompanied by some [[Italian Social Republic]] forces. They faced [[French Resistance|Resistance]] forces which had been asked to occupy the mountains to prevent Axis troop movements between the Corsican coasts, as well as a subset of [[Royal Italian Army]] troops that allied with them but whose contribution was hampered as their leadership was ambivalent.<ref>{{cite book|first=Richard|last=Lamb|title=War in Italy: A Brutal Story|year=1996|publisher=Da Capo Press|location=New York|isbn=0-306-80688-6|pages=178–181}}</ref> The German forces retreated from [[Bonifacio, Corse-du-Sud|Bonifacio]] towards the Northern harbor of [[Bastia]]. Elements of the reconstituted [[French I Corps]], from the [[4th Moroccan Mountain Division]], landed in [[Ajaccio]] to counter the German movement and the Germans evacuated Bastia by 4 October 1943, leaving behind 700 dead and 350 [[Prisoner of war|POWs]].

After Corsica was thus liberated from the forces of the [[Third Reich]], the island started functioning as an Allied air base in support of the [[Mediterranean Theater of Operations]] in 1944; in particular, groups of the [[57th Wing#History|57th Bomb Wing]] were stationed along the east coast from Bastia in the north to [[Sari-Solenzara|Solenzara]] in the south. Corsica was also one of the bases from which [[Operation Dragoon]], the invasion of southern France in August 1944, was launched.

While on the island, [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|U.S. Army engineers]] successfully eradicated the [[malaria]] that had been endemic to the coastal areas of Corsica,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Toty |first1=Céline |last2=Barré |first2=Hélène |last3=Le Goff |first3=Gilbert |last4=Larget-Thiéry |first4=Isabelle |last5=Rahola |first5=Nil |last6=Couret |first6=Daniel |last7=Fontenille |first7=Didier |title=Malaria risk in Corsica, former hot spot of malaria in France |journal=Malaria Journal |date=12 August 2010 |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=231 |doi=10.1186/1475-2875-9-231 |pmid=20704707 |pmc=2927611 |issn=1475-2875|doi-access=free }}</ref> including half the island's arable land that had been previously uninhabitable.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=World: The Corsican Curse |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,941467,00.html |access-date=21 March 2021 |magazine=Time |date=29 October 1965}}</ref>

===Modern era=== {{Main|Corsican mafia}}

[[File:Corsican nationalism.jpg|thumb|right|[[Corsican nationalism|Corsican nationalists]] have taken up means such as vandalizing the French language on road signs.]] In recent decades, Corsica has developed a thriving tourism industry, which has attracted a sizeable number of immigrants to the island in search of employment. Various movements, calling for either greater autonomy or complete independence from France, have been launched, some of whom have at times used violent means, like the [[National Front for the Liberation of Corsica]] (FLNC). In May 2001, the French government granted the island of Corsica limited autonomy, launching a process of [[devolution]] in an attempt to end the push for nationalism.{{Citation needed|date=December 2010}}

Corsica served as the start of the [[2013 Tour de France]], the first time that the event was staged on the island.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.letour.com/le-tour/2013/us/grand-depart.html |title=Grand Départ 2013 - Corsica - Tour de France 2013 |access-date=25 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303225759/http://www.letour.com/le-tour/2013/us/grand-depart.html |archive-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In January 2025, the Assembly created an information mission on the institutional future of Corsica.<ref>{{cite news |title=Autonomie de la Corse: l'Assemblée créée une mission d'information sur l'avenir institutionnel de l'île |work=Le Figaro |date=18 December 2024|url= https://www.lefigaro.fr/politique/autonomie-de-la-corse-l-assemblee-creee-une-mission-d-information-sur-l-avenir-institutionnel-de-l-ile-20241218 |access-date=31 January 2025}}</ref> The information mission could give way to a real legislative power if, after 5 years, the adaptation status proves to be insufficient.<ref>{{cite news |author=Patrick Vinciguerra |title=Corse : le Sénat favorable à une autonomie... a minima |work=France Bleu |date=8 January 2025 |url= https://www.francebleu.fr/infos/politique/corse-le-senat-favorable-a-une-autonomie-a-minima-8656779 |access-date=31 January 2025}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==Bibliography== {{refbegin}} * Aldrich. Robert. "France's Colonial Island: Corsica and the Empire" ''French History & Civilization'' (2009), Vol. 3, p112-125. * {{Citation |publisher = Karl Baedeker |location = Coblenz |title = Italy |edition=2nd |date = 1870 |chapter-url= https://archive.org/stream/italyhandbookfor04karl#page/334/mode/2up |chapter= Corsica |ol = 24140254M }} * Candea, Matei. ''Corsican fragments: difference, knowledge, and fieldwork'' (Indiana UP, 2010). * Carrington, Dorothy. ''Granite Island: A Portrait of Corsica'' (London, 1971). * Gregory, Desmond. ''Ungovernable Rock: A History of the Anglo-Corsican Kingdom & Its Role in Britain's Mediterranean Strategy during the Revolutionary War (1793-1797)'' (1986) 211pp. * Hall, Thadd E. "Thought and practice of enlightened government in French Corsica." ''American Historical Review'' 74.3 (1969): 880–905. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1873127 online] * McLaren, Moray. "Pasquale Paoli: Hero of Corsica." ''History Today'' (Nov 1965) 15#11 pp 756–761. * Meeks, Joshua. "Revolutionary Corsica, 1789–1793." in ''France, Britain, and the Struggle for the Revolutionary Western Mediterranean'' (Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2017) pp.&nbsp;41–73. * Nicholas, Nick. "A history of the Greek colony of corsica." ''Journal of the Greek Diaspora'' 31 (2005): 33–78. covers 1600 to 1799. [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nick_Nicholas3/publication/266339426_A_History_of_the_Greek_Colony_of_Corsica'/links/56e00ce008aee77a15fe86cd.pdf online] * {{Citation |publisher = J. Murray |location = London |author = Playfair, R. Lambert|author-link = Lambert Playfair |title = Handbook to the Mediterranean |edition=3rd |date = 1892 |chapter-url= https://archive.org/stream/handbooktomedit01firgoog#page/n191/mode/2up |chapter= Corsica |ol = 16538259M }} * Savigear, Peter. "Intervention and the Balance of Power: An Eighteenth Century War of Liberation" ''Studies in History & Politics'' (1981) 2#2 pp 113–126, on Pasquale Paoli in 1768 * Varley, Karine. "Between Vichy France and fascist Italy: Redefining identity and the enemy in Corsica during the Second World War." ''Journal of Contemporary History'' 47.3 (2012): 505-527 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/23249004 online]. * Willis, F. Roy. "Development planning in eighteenth-century France: Corsica's Plan Terrier." ''French Historical Studies'' 11.3 (1980): 328–351. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/286392 online] * [[Stephen Wilson (historian)|Wilson, Stephen]]. ''Feuding, Conflict and Banditry in Nineteenth-Century Corsica'' (1988). 565pp.

===French works=== * {{cite book|first=Pierre|last=Antonetti|title=Histoire de la Corse|publisher=R. Laffont|year=1973|location=Paris}}. * {{cite book|first=Laurent-Jacques|last=Costa|title=Corse préhistorique: peuplement d'une île et modes de vie des sociétés insulaires, IXe-IIe millénaires av. J.-C|publisher=Errance|location=Paris|year=2004|isbn=2-87772-273-2}}. * {{cite book|first=Laurent-Jacques|last=Costa|title=Questions d'économie préhistorique. Modes de vie et échange en corse et en Sardaigne|publisher= Éditions du CRDP|location=Ajaccio|year=2006}}. * {{cite book|first=Marc|last=De Cursay|title=Corse : la fin des mythes|publisher= Éditions Lharmattan|location=Paris|year=2008}}. * {{cite book|first=Prosper|last=Mérimée|author-link=Prosper Mérimée|title=Colomba: histoire d'une jeune corse qui pousse son frère à venger la mort de son père}}. * {{cite book|first=Janine|last=Renucci|title=La Corse|publisher=Presses universitaires de France|location=Paris|year=2001|isbn=2-13-037169-8}}. * {{cite book|first=Michel|last=Vergé-Franceschi|title=Histoire de la Corse|publisher=Éditions du Félin|location=Paris|year=1996|isbn=2-86645-221-6}} 2 volumes..

{{refend}}

==External links== {{Portal|History|France}} {{commons|Corse|History of Corsica}} {{refbegin}} * {{cite web |title=Map of Corsica |publisher=UNRV.com |url=https://www.unrv.com/provinces/corsica-large.php |access-date=2008-05-05}}

===French links=== * {{cite web |editor-first=Marc |editor-last=deCursay |title=Histoires Corse ne nous racontons pas d'Histoires |url=http://www.lesplumesdupaon.fr |publisher=les Plumes du Paon |access-date=2008-04-29}} * {{cite web |url=http://www.corse.pref.gouv.fr/scripts/display.asp?P=COhist_liberation |title=LA LIBÉRATION DE LA CORSE. 9 septembre – 4 octobre 1943 |publisher=La Préfecture et les services de l'État en Corse |access-date=2008-04-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080624175934/http://www.corse.pref.gouv.fr/scripts/display.asp?P=COhist_liberation |archive-date=24 June 2008}}

===English links=== * {{cite journal |title=Historical Summary of the Negroni Family |url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~prwgw/negroni_04.htm |first=Héctor Andrés |last=Negroni |author-link=Héctor Andrés Negroni |journal=Boletin de la Sociedad Puertorriqueña de Genealogía |volume=8 |issue=1–2 |date=April 1996 |access-date=2008-06-07}} * {{cite web |first=Claudius |last=Ptolemy |author-link=Ptolemy |title=Corsica Island: Sixth Map of Europe |work=The Geography |editor-first=William |editor-last=Thayer |access-date=2008-04-30 |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Periods/Roman/_Texts/Ptolemy/3/2*.html}}. {{refend}}

[[Category:History of Corsica| ]]