Prehistory and antiquity and its dependencies in 264 BC Corsica has been occupied since the
Mesolithic era, otherwise known as the Middle Stone Age. The permanent human presence in Corsica is documented in the
Neolithic period from the 6th millennium BC. After a brief occupation by the
Carthaginians,
colonization by the ancient Greeks, and a slightly longer occupation by the
Etruscans, it was incorporated by the
Roman Republic at the end of the
First Punic War. In 238 BC, along with
Sardinia, the islands became
a province of the Roman Republic. The Greeks, who built a colony in
Aléria, considered Corsica as one of the most backward regions of the Roman world. The island produced sheep, honey,
resin and wax, and exported many slaves. Corsica was integrated into
Roman Italy by
Emperor Diocletian (). Administratively, the island was divided into
pagi, which in the Middle Ages became the
pievi, the basic administrative units of the island until 1768.
Pepin the Short, king of the
Franks and
Charlemagne's father, expelled the Lombards and nominally granted Corsica to
Pope Stephen II. A popular revolution against this and the feudal lords, led by
Sambucuccio d'Alando, got the aid of Genoa. After that, the
Cismonte was ruled as a league of
comuni and churches, after the Italian experience. In the 16th century, the island entered into the fight between Spain and France for supremacy in Italy.
Sampiero Corso (Sampiero di Bastelica) would later come to be considered a hero of the island. Their power reinstated, the Genoese did not allow the Corsican nobility to share in the government of the island and oppressed the inhabitants with a heavy tax burden. On the other hand, they introduced the
chestnut tree on a large scale, improving the diet of the population, and built a
chain of towers along the coast to defend Corsica from the attacks of the
Barbary pirates from North Africa. The period of peace lasted until 1729, when the refusal to pay taxes by a peasant sparked the general insurrection of the island against Genoa. The island became known for the large number of mercenary soldiers and officers it produced. In 1743, over 4,600 Corsicans, or 4% of the entire population of the island, were serving as soldiers in various armies (predominantly those of Genoa, Venice, and Spain), making it one of the most militarized societies in Europe.
Corsican Republic , leader of the Corsican resistance, and the first and only General of the
Corsican Republic , 1788 painting "A cutter and a
man of war off Corsica" by
Nicholas Pocock 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, including an ephemeral attempt in 1736 to proclaim an independent Kingdom of Corsica under the German adventurer
Theodor von Neuhoff, an independent
Corsican Republic was proclaimed in 1755 under the leadership of Pasquale Paoli and remained sovereign until 1769 when the island was
conquered by France. Following the outbreak of the
French Revolution in 1789, Pasquale Paoli was able to return to Corsica from exile in Britain. In 1794, he invited British forces under
Lord Hood to intervene to free Corsica from French rule. Anglo-Corsican forces drove the French from the island and established an
Anglo-Corsican Kingdom. Following Spain's entry into the war, the British decided to withdraw from Corsica in 1796.
19th century Despite being the birthplace of the Emperor, the island was slightly neglected by Napoleon's government. In 1814, near the end of the
Napoleonic Wars, Corsica was briefly occupied again by British troops. The
Treaty of Bastia gave the British crown sovereignty over the island, but it was later repudiated by
Lord Castlereagh who insisted that the island should be returned to a
restored French monarchy. After the restoration, the island was further neglected by the French state. Despite the presence of a middle class in Bastia and Ajaccio, Corsica remained an otherwise primitive place, whose economy consisted mainly of subsistence agriculture, and whose population constituted a pastoral society, dominated by
clans and the rules of
vendetta. The code of vendetta required Corsicans to seek deadly revenge for offences against their family's honor. Between 1821 and 1852, no fewer than 4,300 murders were perpetrated in Corsica. During the first half of the century, the people of Corsica were still immersed in the Italian cultural world: the bourgeoisie sent children to
Pisa to study, official acts were enacted in Italian and most books were printed in Italian. From the 19th century into the mid-20th century, Corsicans also grew closer to the French nation through participation in the French Empire. Compared to much of Metropolitan France, Corsica was poor and many Corsicans emigrated. While Corsicans emigrated globally, especially to many South American countries, many chose to move within the French Empire which acted as a conduit for emigration and eventual return, as many young Corsican men could find better job opportunities in the far corners of the Empire where many other French hesitated to go. In many parts of the Empire, Corsicans were strongly represented, such as in
Saigon where in 1926 12% of Europeans were from Corsica. Across the French Empire, many Corsicans retained a sense of community by establishing organizations where they would meet regularly, keep one another informed of developments in Corsica, and come to one another's aid in times of need.
Modern era (plaine orientale) After the collapse of France to the German
Wehrmacht in 1940, Corsica came under the rule of the
Vichy French regime, which was collaborating with
Nazi Germany. In November 1942 the island was
occupied by Italian and German forces following the
Anglo-American landings in North Africa. After the
Italian armistice in September 1943, Italian and
Free French Forces pushed the Germans out of the island, making Corsica the first French Department to be freed. During the
May 1958 crisis, the French military command in Algeria mutinied against the
French Fourth Republic and on 24 May occupied the island in an action called
Opération Corse that led to the collapse of the government; the second phase of the coup attempt,
occupying Paris, was cancelled following the establishment of a transitional government under
Charles de Gaulle.
Corsican conflict militants during the
Tralonca peace campaign, 1996 erected by supporters of
Corsican independence, calling for the release of
Yvan Colonna In the early morning of 5 May 1976, a series of 21 attacks occurred across the island. These were claimed by a previously unknown group, the
National Liberation Front of Corsica (Fronte di Liberazione Naziunale di a Corsica, FLNC). This group, modeled after the Algerian
National Liberation Front, carried out a series of guerrilla attacks, mostly bombings, in the name of Corsican nationalism. By the afternoon of 5 May, a series of demands, called the Manifesto of 5 May, was released, expressing desire to detach itself from the French state and pursue the interest of Corsicans, who they claimed had lived under a
colonial state since the time of the Genoese. This is considered the beginning of the
Corsican conflict. From 5 May onwards, the FLNC carried out a large number of bomb attacks, ambushes, and other acts of guerrilla warfare against French forces, which they described as “colonial forces”. Notable attacks in the 1970s include the bombing of the Pigno transmitter in Bastia in 1977, the
bombing of the air base in Solenzara in 1978, and the bombing of 23 buildings in
Paris in one day in 1979. In 1981, the FLNC called a truce and supported
François Mitterrand’s socialist campaign for president in order to open discussion with the socialist party in hopes of securing a Corsican autonomy process that would lead to eventual independence. The resulting
Defferre Agreements were marked with instability, including an
attempted assassination of sitting president Giscard shortly before the
1981 election. The FLNC achieved the reopening of the
University of Corsica, but withdrew from the agreements in early 1982. The following agreements between Corsican autonomists and other government officials resulted in the creation of the
Corsican Assembly and other government institutions. Following the departure of the FLNC from the agreements and the return of violence, the FLNC carried out larger operations in both number and scale; the 1980s is generally considered the deadliest period of the conflict. In May 1988, The FLNC signed a truce with the government similar to the 1981 truce. This caused a rift in the movement and would result in a division within the FLNC. The pro-truce “habituels” led by
Alain Orsoni, formed the
FLNC-Canal Habituel (Canale Abituale, FLNC-CA). The anti-truce “historiques” formed the
FLNC-Canal Historique (Canale Storicu, FLNC-CS). A smaller third split called
Resistenza, led by members unhappy with both of the other two movements, also formed. These three groups engaged in warfare between each other for most of the 1990s. Resistenza would gradually lower their arms before becoming a pro-peace organization in 1996. The FLNC-CA would announce its self-dissolution in 1996, which would result in a split amongst pro-war members creating the FLNC-5 May. The FLNC-CS participated in
failed negotiations with the French government in 1996. Militants associated with the FLNC-5M and FLNC-CA carried out an assassination of prefect
Claude Érignac in 1998. In 1999, the FLNC-Union of Combatants (Unione di Cumbattenti, FLNC-UC) formed out of a union between the FLNC-CS, FLNC-5M, an FLNC-CS splinter group called Fronte Ribellu, and a minor group called Clandestinu. In 2002, the FLNC-UC split, with more radical members forming the FLNC-22 October (22 Uttrovi, FLNC-22U). These groups led the nationalist in the conflict (with numerous minor groups) until 2014 and 2016, when the groups respectively signed truces. In 2022, Corsican nationalist
Yvan Colonna was killed by an inmate. This resulted in large
waves of unrest in Corsica which reignited the conflict. The
August 2022 Corsica derecho swept across the island and killed six people, injured dozens of others, and caused significant damage. ==Geography==