Europe Travel Guides

Pre-20th century

Corsica's history reveals a complex revolving door of takeovers - with exploitation and neglect the modus operandi of most colonisers - and attempts by its people to reclaim their autonomy and traditions. It's likely that it all started back in the Palaeolithic era (up to 12,000 BC), but the earliest signs of life on Corsica - the skeletal remains of Bonifacio woman - date back only to the early Neolithic era (6570 BC). The early days were a time of big stones - menhirs, dolmens, statuary, torri and nuraghi were all built by successive rounds of inhabitants. For a long time Corsica was just a port stop for the seafaring Mediterranean peoples, but it soon drew more interest. Its first real conquerers were the Romans; eventually Goths, Vandals, the Byzantine Empire, Moors and the papacy all stepped up to try their hand.

By the 10th century it was the nobility's turn to lord it over Corsica. Important seigniorial families created fiefdoms on the island and ruled them with a rod of iron (some historians date the predominance of so-called clans in Corsica from this time). The island, though not the people, then prospered under the bishop of Pisa, with the island's good fortune subsequently tempting the Genoese to get in on the action. The Genoese, like most of the Corsican's previous rulers, proved to be cruel taskmasters, carrying out thousands of summary executions and generally lining their own pockets at the expense of their Corsican workhorses. Despite Corsican attempts to overthrow their masters, the Italians ruled for five centuries, with the help of some canny fortification. It was during this time that olive and chestnut trees were cultivated with a view to turning Corsica into Genoa's larder.

The French first came into the picture in the 16th century, when Corsica became caught up in the power struggle between France and Italy. The French victory freed the island from Genoese rule; however, the change was shortlived and Corsica was ceded back to the Genoese under the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis. Some historians call the subsequent second period of Genoese rule the 'century of fire'. Further fortification took place, along with suppression of the islanders. Many Corsicans, sick of the poverty and exclusion from the management of their country's affairs, emigrated.

Between 1730 and 1750 the locals and their Genoese rulers battled for power, with the Genoese seeking the assistance, significantly, of France. In 1755, after the troubles had died down and France had once again left, a local called Pascal Paoli managed to unite the Corsicans and lead an insurrection against the Genoese. He gained enough power to cobble together a rough constitution, a unique act in an era of dynasties and absolutism. Genoa once again asked the French for assistance, and once again they came to the party. Four years later the Treaty of Versailles formalised the Genoese cession of Corsica to France, which quickly changed tack from mediator to ruler, defeating Paoli's supporters and taking full power in 1769.

As military rulers go, the French were not as brutal as the Genoese. They proclaimed a new set of laws, known as the Code Corse, and made efforts to develop agriculture. Following the French revolution Paoli returned to Corsica, but, in the style of things at the time, he was accused of counter-revolutionary behaviour. In response he declared Corsica's secession and asked Britain to help. They took charge for a mere two years and once again the French took over, with Corsica coming under the jurisdiction of its most famous son, Napoleon Bonaparte. Despite anti-French sentiment, Napoleon, paradoxically, ended up doing more to Gallicise the island than any other individual.