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120-518: It was formed on 8 October 1796 by Napoleon Bonaparte , then commander of the Armee d'Italie . Its theoretical full strength was 3740 men made up of a hussar company, an artillery company and seven 500-man infantry cohorts (3 from Milan , 1 from Cremona and Casalmaggiore , 1 from Lodi and Pavia , 1 from Como and 1 miscellaneous cohort of Italian nationalists, mainly from the Papal States and

240-579: A Franco-Ottoman fleet occupied Corsica , but the reaction of Spain and Genoa, led by Andrea Doria , reestablished the Genoese supremacy on the island, confirmed by the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis . The unlucky protagonist of this episode was Sampiero di Bastelica , who 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

360-513: A Senate and Council of State which were effectively nominated by the executive. The new constitution was approved by plebiscite on 7 February 1800. The official count was over three million in favour and 1,562 against. Lucien, however, had doubled the count of the "yes" vote to give the false impression that a majority of those eligible to vote had approved the constitution. Historians have variously described Bonaparte's new regime as "dictatorship by plebiscite," "absolutist rule decked out in

480-510: A pledge for the debts incurred after enlisting French military help in suppressing the Corsican revolt; as a result, France annexed the island in 1769. The future Emperor of the French , Napoleon Bonaparte , was a native Corsican, born that same year in Ajaccio: his ancestral home, Maison Bonaparte , is now a visitor attraction and museum. Because of Corsica's historical ties to Tuscany ,

600-412: A Corsican accent and his French spelling was poor. In May, he transferred to the military academy at Brienne-le-Château where he was routinely bullied by his peers for his accent, birthplace, short stature, mannerisms, and poor French. He became reserved and melancholic, applying himself to reading. An examiner observed that Napoleon "has always been distinguished for his application in mathematics. He

720-809: A French presence in the Middle East and join forces with Tipu Sultan , the Sultan of Mysore , an enemy of the British. Bonaparte assured the Directory that "as soon as he had conquered Egypt, he will establish relations with the Indian princes and, together with them, attack the English in their possessions". The Directory agreed in order to secure a trade route to the Indian subcontinent . In May 1798, Bonaparte

840-511: A Southern Romance one. Fewer and fewer people speak a Ligurian dialect , known as bunifazzinu , in what has long been a language island , Bonifacio , and in Ajaccio , the aghjaccinu dialect. In Cargèse , a village established by Greek immigrants in the 17th century, Greek ( Ελληνικά ) was the traditional language. Among foreign languages, the most spoken ones were English (39%) and Italian (34%) as reported by an official survey by

960-754: A brig, landed in France with a thousand men, and marched on Paris, again taking control of the country. His opponents responded by forming a Seventh Coalition , which defeated him at the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815. Napoleon was exiled to the remote island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic, where he died of stomach cancer in 1821, aged 51. Napoleon is considered one of the greatest military commanders in history and Napoleonic tactics are still studied at military schools worldwide. His legacy endures through

1080-705: A civil ceremony. Bonaparte now habitually styled himself "Napoleon Bonaparte" rather than using the Italian form "Napoleone di Buonaparte." Two days after the marriage, Bonaparte left Paris to take command of the Army of Italy. He went on the offensive, hoping to defeat the Kingdom of Sardinia in Piedmont before their Austrian allies could intervene. In a series of victories during the Montenotte campaign , he knocked

1200-540: A coastal battery. In July 1793, he published a pamphlet, Le souper de Beaucaire (Supper at Beaucaire ), demonstrating his support for the National Convention which was now heavily influenced by the Jacobins. In September, with the help of his fellow Corsican Antoine Christophe Saliceti , Bonaparte was appointed artillery commander of the republican forces sent to recapture the port of Toulon which

1320-464: A difficult crossing over the Alps, the French captured Milan on 2 June. The French confronted an Austrian army under Michael von Melas at Marengo on 14 June. The Austrians fielded about 30,000 soldiers while Bonaparte commanded 24,000 troops. The Austrians' initial attack surprised the French who were gradually driven back. Late in the afternoon, however, a full division under Desaix arrived on

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1440-689: A hussar company and at the end of that year the Cisapadane Legion merged into it - that unit had been made up of 6 cohorts of 1,000 men and became the Lombard Legion's third demi-brigade. By then the Legion had been moved to Verona in support of French forces fighting in the Veneto before being divided up between Corfu , Peschiera and Friuli - the elements of the Legion still in Italy on

1560-569: A position with the Bureau of Topography where he worked on military planning. On 15 September, Bonaparte was removed from the list of generals in regular service for refusing to serve in the Vendée campaign. He sought a transfer to Constantinople to offer his services to Sultan Selim III . The request was eventually granted, but he never took up the post. On 3 October, royalists in Paris declared

1680-570: A promise to defend private property, raising taxes on tobacco, alcohol and salt, and extracting levies from France's satellite republics. Bonaparte believed that the best way to secure his regime was by a victorious peace. In May 1800, he led an army across the Swiss Alps into Italy, aiming to surprise the Austrian armies that had reoccupied the peninsula when Bonaparte was still in Egypt. After

1800-731: A rebellion against the National Convention. Paul Barras , a leader of the Thermidorian Reaction , knew of Bonaparte's military exploits at Toulon and made him second in command of the forces defending the convention in the Tuileries Palace . Bonaparte had seen the massacre of the King's Swiss Guard during the Insurrection of 10 August 1792 there three years earlier and realized that artillery would be

1920-797: A springboard to political power. In November 1799, Napoleon engineered the Coup of 18 Brumaire against the Directory , and became First Consul of the Republic. He won the Battle of Marengo in 1800, which secured France's victory in the War of the Second Coalition , and in 1803 sold the territory of Louisiana to the United States . In December 1804, Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of the French, further expanding his power. The breakdown of

2040-429: Is a territorial collectivity of France , and is expected to achieve "a form of autonomy" in the near future. The regional capital is Ajaccio . Although the region is divided into two administrative departments , Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud , their respective regional and departmental territorial collectivities were merged on 1 January 2018 to form the single territorial collectivity of Corsica. Corsican autonomy

2160-549: Is a temperate montane zone . The mountains are cooler and wetter, and home to the Corsican montane broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion. This region supports diverse forests of oak , pine , and broadleaf deciduous trees, with vegetation more typical of northern Europe. The population lives predominantly below 900 m (3,000 ft), with only shepherds and hikers from 600 to 900 m (2,000 to 3,000 ft). The elevation above 1,800 to 2,700 m (5,900 to 8,900 ft)

2280-677: 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 of the French mainland , west of the Italian Peninsula and immediately north of the Italian island of Sardinia , the nearest land mass. A single chain of mountains makes up two-thirds of the island. As of January 2024 , it had a population of 355,528. The island

2400-526: Is estimated that only 10% of Corsica's population speak the language natively, with only 50% having some sort of proficiency in it. The Corsican language is divided into two main varieties: Cismuntanu and Ultramuntanu , spoken respectively northeast and southwest of the Girolata– Porto Vecchio line. This division was due to the massive immigration from Tuscany which took place in Corsica during

2520-477: Is fairly well acquainted with history and geography ... This boy would make an excellent sailor". One story of Napoleon at the school is that he led junior students to victory against senior students in a snowball fight, which allegedly showed his leadership abilities. But the story was only told after Napoleon had become famous. In his later years at Brienne, Napoleon became an outspoken Corsican nationalist and admirer of Paoli. In September 1784, Napoleon

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2640-565: Is more extensive than in other regional collectivities of France and the Corsican Assembly is permitted to exercise limited executive powers. Corsica's second-largest town is Bastia , located in the prefecture of Haute-Corse. Corsica was ruled by the Republic of Genoa from 1284 to 1755, when it seceded to become a self-proclaimed, Italian -speaking Republic . In 1768, Genoa officially ceded it to Louis XV of France as part of

2760-461: Is the high alpine zone . Vegetation is sparse, with high winds and frequent cloud cover. This zone is uninhabited. There is considerable birdlife in Corsica. One famous example is the bearded vulture , or Lammergeier , which (along with the iconic griffon vulture ) serve as environmental "janitors" by scavenging the remains of deceased animals, thus limiting the proliferation of infectious microbes and diseases. Other avian species to be seen include

2880-709: The Battle of Friedland . Seeking to extend his trade embargo against Britain , Napoleon invaded the Iberian Peninsula and installed his brother Joseph as King of Spain in 1808, provoking the Peninsular War . In 1809, the Austrians again challenged France in the War of the Fifth Coalition , in which Napoleon solidified his grip over Europe after winning the Battle of Wagram . In summer 1812, he launched an invasion of Russia , which ended in

3000-575: The Battle of Tarvis in March 1797. Alarmed by the French thrust that reached Leoben , about 100 km from Vienna, the Austrians sued for peace. The preliminary peace of Leoben , signed on 18 April, gave France control of most of northern Italy and the Low Countries , and promised to partition the Republic of Venice with Austria. Bonaparte marched on Venice and forced its surrender , ending 1,100 years of Venetian independence. He authorized

3120-532: The Constitution of the Year VIII , under which three consuls were appointed for 10 years. Real power lay with Bonaparte as First Consul, and his preferred candidates Cambacérès and Charles-François Lebrun were appointed as second and third consuls who only had an advisory role. The constitution also established a Legislative Body and Tribunate which were selected from indirectly elected candidates, and

3240-598: The Council of Five Hundred and Directory: Lucien Bonaparte, Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès , Roger Ducos and Joseph Fouché to overthrow the government. On 9 November 1799 ( 18 Brumaire according to the revolutionary calendar), the conspirators launched a coup, and the following day, backed by grenadiers with fixed bayonets, forced the Council of Five Hundred to dissolve the Directory and appoint Bonaparte, Sieyès and Ducos provisional consuls. On 15 December, Bonaparte introduced

3360-701: The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1796 to 1815. He was the leader of the French Republic as First Consul from 1799 to 1804, then of the French Empire as Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1814, and briefly again in 1815. Born on the island of Corsica to a family of Italian origin, Napoleon moved to mainland France in 1779 and was commissioned as an officer in the French Royal Army in 1785. He supported

3480-564: The GR20 , one of Europe's most notable hiking trails . The island is 90 km (56 mi) from Tuscany in Italy and 170 km (110 mi) from the Côte d'Azur in France. It is separated from Sardinia to the south by the Strait of Bonifacio , which is a minimum of 11 km (6.8 mi) wide. In 2005 the population of Corsica was settled in approximately 360 communities. According to

3600-500: The Kingdom of Sicily ). It was commanded by the former Milanese nobleman, general Trivulzio and included Ugo Foscolo and Vincenzo Cuoco among its soldiers. 2720 had been recruited by 18 October and on 6 November 1796 it and several other units were ceremonially presented with their standards in the piazza outside Milan Cathedral - they were in red, white and green, which would become the national colours of Italy . The Lombard Legion

3720-582: The Knights Hospitaller . Grand Master Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim surrendered after token resistance, and Bonaparte captured an important naval base with the loss of only three men. Bonaparte and his expedition eluded pursuit by the Royal Navy and landed at Alexandria on 1 July. He fought the Battle of Shubra Khit against the Mamluks , Egypt's ruling military caste. This helped

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3840-607: The Köppen climate classification scheme, coastal regions are characterized by a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa). Further inland, a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Csb) is more common. At the highest elevation locations, small areas with a subarctic climate (Dsc, Dfc) and the rare Mediterranean climate can be found. The station of Sari-Solenzara records the highest year-round temperatures in Metropolitan France, with an annual average of 16.41 °C over

3960-772: The Mesolithic era. 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 an only slightly longer occupation by the Etruscans , it was incorporated by the Roman Republic at the end of the First Punic War and, with Sardinia , in 238 BC became a province of

4080-830: The Ostrogoths . Briefly recovered by the Byzantine Empire , it soon became part of the Kingdom of the Lombards . This made it a dependency of the March of Tuscany , which used it as an outpost against the Saracens . Pepin the Short , king of the Franks and Charlemagne 's father, expelled the Lombards and nominally granted Corsica to Pope Stephen II . In the first quarter of the 11th century, Pisa and Genoa together freed

4200-768: The Plot of the Rue Saint-Nicaise two months later, gave him a pretext to arrest about 100 suspected Jacobins and royalists, some of whom were shot and many others deported to penal colonies. After a decade of war, France and Britain signed the Treaty of Amiens in March 1802, bringing the Revolutionary Wars to an end. Under the treaty, Britain agreed to withdraw from most of the colonies it had recently captured from France and her allies, and France agreed to evacuate Naples. In April, Bonaparte publicly celebrated

4320-531: 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

4440-414: The Roman Republic . The Romans, 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, not well considered because of their fierce and rebellious character. Moreover, it was known for its cheap wines, exported to Rome, and was used as a place of exile, one of the most famous being

4560-532: The Sardinian dhole , the mustelid Enhydrictis galictoides , the deer Praemegaceros cazioti , the Corsican giant shrew , Tyrrhenian mole , Sardinian pika , Tyrrhenian vole , and the Tyrrhenian field rat . As of the January 2024 estimate, Corsica has a population of 355,528 inhabitants. At the 2019 census, 55.7% of the inhabitants of Corsica were people born on the island, 29.9% were from Continental France , 0.3% were natives of Overseas France , and 14.1% were born in foreign countries. The majority of

4680-417: The Treaty of Amiens led to the War of the Third Coalition by 1805. Napoleon shattered the coalition with a decisive victory at the Battle of Austerlitz , which led to the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire . In the War of the Fourth Coalition , Napoleon defeated Prussia at the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt in 1806, marched his Grande Armée into Eastern Europe, and defeated the Russians in 1807 at

4800-532: The Treaty of Campo Formio . Bonaparte returned to Paris on 5 December 1797 as a hero. He met Charles Maurice de Talleyrand , France's Foreign Minister, and took command of the Army of England for the planned invasion of Britain. After two months of planning, Bonaparte decided that France's naval strength was not yet sufficient to confront the British Royal Navy. He decided on a military expedition to seize Egypt and thereby undermine Britain's access to its trade interests in India . Bonaparte wished to establish

4920-401: The Treaty of Lunéville in February 1801. The treaty reaffirmed and expanded earlier French gains at Campo Formio. Bonaparte's triumph at Marengo increased his popularity and political authority. However, he still faced royalist plots and feared Jacobin influence, especially in the army. Several assassination plots, including the Conspiration des poignards (Dagger plot) in October 1800 and

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5040-423: The Tyrrhenian-Adriatic sclerophyllous and mixed forests ecoregion , in which forests and woodlands of evergreen sclerophyll oaks predominate, chiefly holm oak ( Quercus ilex ) and cork oak ( Quercus suber ). Much of the coastal lowlands have been cleared for agriculture, grazing and logging; these activities have reduced the forest area considerably. Between 600 and 1,800 m (2,000 and 5,900 ft)

5160-439: The army of Rome sent to attack the Kingdom of Naples under General Domenico Pino . It broke up after the Republic's fall in 1799, but some survivors from the unit moved to France, where they joined veterans from the armed forces of the Roman Republic and the Neapolitan Republic to form the Italic Legion ( Legione Italica ), also known as the Italian Legion ( Legione Italica ). This formed part of Bonaparte's reserve force for

5280-503: The barn owl , blue rock thrush , common crane , Corsican nuthatch , golden eagle , greater flamingo , osprey , peregrine falcon , red kite , and starry bittern . In some cases, Corsica is an isolated portion of a species' distribution; in other cases, it is the furthest point in a species' range. For example, a subspecies of hooded crow ( Corvus cornix cornix ) occurs in Corsica, but not anywhere further south. Corsica has abundant reptile and amphibians, one protected species being

5400-401: The second Italian campaign and fought the Austrians at Lecco . Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte ; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I , was a French military officer and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led a series of successful campaigns across Europe during

5520-422: The treaty of Campo Formio of 17 October 1797 returned to Lombardy . The Lombard Legion became part of the Cisalpine Army in April 1798, then made up of eight demi-brigades, though this had fallen to four by the following November. The Legion's fourth cohort was attached to General Jean Étienne Championnet 's army to fight in Naples in 1798 and the following year the Legion's second demi-brigade formed part of

5640-433: The 1981–2010 period. The average amount of sunshine received annually was 2,715 hours in the period 2008–2016. The island is divided into four major ecological zones, by altitude. Below 600 metres (2,000 ft) is the coastal zone's mild Mediterranean climate , with hot, dry summers and cool, rainy winters. The area's natural vegetation is sparse Mediterranean forest, scrubland, and shrubs. The coastal lowlands are part of

5760-480: The Austrian position in Italy. At Rivoli, Austria lost 43% of its soldiers dead, wounded or taken prisoner. The French then invaded the heartlands of the House of Habsburg . French forces in Southern Germany had been defeated by Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen in 1796, but Charles withdrew his forces to protect Vienna after learning of Bonaparte's assault. In their first encounter, Bonaparte pushed Charles back and advanced deep into Austrian territory after winning

5880-557: The Council of State recommended a new plebiscite asking the French people to make "Napoleon Bonaparte" Consul for life. (It was the first time his first name was officially used by the regime.) About 3.6 million voted "yes" and 8,374 "no." 40%-60% of eligible Frenchmen voted, the highest turnout for a plebiscite since the Revolution. France had regained her overseas colonies under Amiens but did not control them all. The French National Convention had voted to abolish slavery in February 1794, but, in May 1802, Bonaparte reintroduced it in all

6000-411: The French National Convention outlawed him. In early June, Bonaparte and 400 French troops failed to capture Ajaccio from Corsican volunteers and the island was now controlled by Paoli's supporters. When Bonaparte learned that the Corsican assembly had condemned him and his family, the Buonapartes fled to Toulon on the French mainland. Bonaparte returned to his regiment in Nice and was made captain of

6120-416: 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. 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

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6240-472: The French Revolution in 1789, and promoted its cause in Corsica. He rose rapidly through the ranks after winning the siege of Toulon in 1793 and defeating royalist insurgents in Paris on 13 Vendémiaire in 1795. In 1796, Napoleon commanded a military campaign against the Austrians and their Italian allies in the War of the First Coalition , scoring decisive victories and becoming a national hero. He led an invasion of Egypt and Syria in 1798 which served as

6360-477: The French fleet in the Battle of the Nile , preventing Bonaparte from strengthening the French position in the Mediterranean. His army had succeeded in a temporary increase of French power in Egypt, though it faced repeated uprisings. In early 1799, he moved an army into the Ottoman province of Damascus (Syria and Galilee ). Bonaparte led these 13,000 French soldiers in the conquest of the coastal towns of Arish , Gaza , Jaffa , and Haifa . The attack on Jaffa

6480-440: The French government. Ever since, Corsican nationalism has been a feature of the island's politics, with calls for greater autonomy and protection for Corsican culture and the Corsican language , or even full independence. Some groups supporting independence, such as the National Liberation Front of Corsica , have carried out a violent campaign that includes bombings and assassinations targeting buildings and officials representing

6600-453: The French government; periodic flare-ups of raids and killings culminated in the assassination of Prefect Claude Érignac in 1998. Lately, the drive towards independence has taken a more electoral approach, where Corsicans elected pro-autonomist, or pro-independence parties overwhelmingly in the past few elections. In 2018, Corsica had the highest murder rate in France. In March 2022 Corsica saw large protests and riots after Yvan Colonna ,

6720-436: The French governor Charles Louis de Marbeuf , who became his patron and godfather to Napoleon. With Mabeuf's support, Carlo was named Corsican representative to the court of Louis XVI and Napoleon obtained a royal bursary to a military academy in France. The dominant influence of Napoleon's childhood was his mother, whose firm discipline restrained a rambunctious child. Later in life, Napoleon said, "The future destiny of

6840-448: The French practise their defensive tactic for the Battle of the Pyramids on 21 July, about 24 km (15 mi) from the pyramids . Bonaparte's forces of 25,000 roughly equalled those of the Mamluks' Egyptian cavalry. Twenty-nine French and approximately 2,000 Egyptians were killed. The victory boosted the French army's morale. On 1 August 1798, the British fleet under Sir Horatio Nelson captured or destroyed all but two vessels of

6960-468: The French revolutionary cause. Paoli returned to the island in July 1790, but he had no sympathy for Bonaparte, as he deemed his father a traitor for having deserted the cause of Corsican independence. Bonaparte plunged into a complex three-way struggle among royalists, revolutionaries, and Corsican nationalists. He became a supporter of the Jacobins and joined the pro-French Corsican Republicans who opposed Paoli's policy and his aspirations to secede. He

7080-482: 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

7200-511: The French to loot treasures such as the Horses of Saint Mark . In this Italian campaign, Bonaparte's army captured 150,000 prisoners, 540 cannons, and 170 standards . The French army fought 67 actions and won 18 pitched battles through superior artillery technology and Bonaparte's tactics. Bonaparte extracted an estimated 45 million French pounds from Italy during the campaign, another 12 million pounds in precious metals and jewels, and more than 300 paintings and sculptures. During

7320-410: The Italian experience. The following 150 years were a period of conflict, when the Genoese rule was contested by Aragon, the local lords, the comuni and the Pope: finally, in 1450 Genoa ceded the administration of the island to its main bank, the Bank of Saint George , which brought peace. In the 16th century, the island entered into the fight between Spain and France for supremacy in Italy. In 1553,

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7440-412: The Piedmontese out of the war in two weeks. The French then focused on the Austrians, laying siege to Mantua . The Austrians launched offensives against the French to break the siege, but Bonaparte defeated every relief effort, winning the Battle of Castiglione , the Battle of Bassano , the Battle of Arcole , and the Battle of Rivoli . The French triumph at Rivoli in January 1797 led to the collapse of

7560-440: The Ramolinos, descended from a noble family from Lombardy . Napoleon's parents, Carlo Maria Buonaparte and Maria Letizia Ramolino , lived in the Maison Bonaparte home in Ajaccio , where Napoleon was born on 15 August 1769. He had an elder brother, Joseph , and, later, six younger siblings: Lucien , Elisa , Louis , Pauline , Caroline , and Jérôme . Five more siblings were stillborn or did not survive infancy. Napoleon

7680-452: The Republic's future was in doubt, he took advantage of the temporary departure of British ships from French coastal ports and set sail for France, despite the fact that he had received no explicit orders from Paris. The army was left in the charge of Jean-Baptiste Kléber . Unknown to Bonaparte, the Directory had sent him orders to return from Egypt with his army to ward off a possible invasion of France, but these messages never arrived. By

7800-408: The Roman philosopher Seneca . Corsica was integrated into Roman Italy by Emperor Diocletian ( r.  284–305 ). Administratively, the island was divided into pagi , which in the Middle Ages became the pievi , the basic administrative units of the island until 1768. In the fifth century, the western half of the Roman Empire collapsed, and the island was invaded by the Vandals and

7920-569: The campaign, Bonaparte became increasingly influential in French politics. He founded two newspapers: one for the troops in his army and one for circulation in France. The royalists attacked him for looting Italy and warned that he might become a dictator. Bonaparte sent General Pierre Augereau to Paris to support a coup d'état that purged royalists from the legislative councils on 4 September—the Coup of 18 Fructidor . This left Barras and his republican allies in control again but more dependent upon Bonaparte who finalized peace terms with Austria by

8040-436: The catastrophic retreat of his army that winter. In 1813, Prussia and Austria joined Russia in the War of the Sixth Coalition , in which Napoleon was decisively defeated at the Battle of Leipzig . The coalition invaded France and captured Paris, forcing Napoleon to abdicate in April 1814. They exiled him to the Mediterranean island of Elba and restored the Bourbons to power . Ten months later, Napoleon escaped from Elba on

8160-583: The cheeses is brocciu (similar to ricotta), which is used as a fresh ingredient in many dishes, from first courses ( sturzapreti ) to cakes ( fiadone ). Other cheeses, like casgiu merzu ("rotten cheese", the Corsican counterpart of the Sardinian casu martzu ), and casgiu veghju , are made from goat or sheep milk. Chestnuts are the main ingredient in the making of pulenta castagnina and cakes ( falculelle ). A variety of alcohol also exists, ranging from aquavita (brandy), red and white Corsican wines ( Vinu Corsu ), muscat wine (plain or sparkling), to

8280-451: The child is always the work of the mother." Napoleon's noble, moderately affluent background afforded him greater opportunities to study than were available to a typical Corsican of the time. In January 1779, at age 9, Napoleon moved to the French mainland and enrolled at a religious school in Autun to improve his French (his mother tongue was the Corsican dialect of Italian). Although he eventually became fluent in French, he spoke with

8400-413: The eastern plains, and continuing chemical pollution ( Fanghi Rossi ) from mainland Italy increased tensions between the indigenous inhabitants and the French government. Tensions escalated until an armed police assault on a pieds-noirs-owned wine cellar in Aleria , occupied by Corsican nationalists on 23 August 1975. This marked the beginning of the Corsican conflict , an armed nationalist struggle against

8520-507: The eastern side. It is the most mountainous island in the Mediterranean, a "mountain in the sea". The island is 183 km (114 mi) long at its longest, 83 km (52 mi) wide at its widest, has 1,000 km (620 mi) of coastline, with more than 200 beaches such as Paraguano . Corsica is very mountainous, with Monte Cinto as the highest peak at 2,706 m (8,878 ft), and around 120 other summits of more than 2,000 m (6,600 ft). Mountains comprise two-thirds of

8640-673: The end of the Pisan rule and the beginning of the Genoese influence in Corsica: this was contested initially by the King of Aragon , who in 1296 had received from the Pope the investiture over Sardinia and Corsica. 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

8760-478: The entry of blacks and mulattos into France, reduced the civil rights of women and children in France, reintroduced a hereditary monarchy and nobility, and violently repressed popular uprisings against his rule. Napoleon's family was of Italian origin. His paternal ancestors, the Buonapartes, descended from a minor Tuscan noble family who emigrated to Corsica in the 16th century and his maternal ancestors,

8880-476: The expense of religious authorities. His conquests acted as a catalyst for political change and the development of nation states . However, he is controversial due to his role in wars which devastated Europe, his looting of conquered territories, and his mixed record on civil rights. He abolished the free press, ended directly elected representative government, exiled and jailed critics of his regime, reinstated slavery in France's colonies except for Haiti , banned

9000-549: The famous "Cap Corse" apéritif produced by Mattei. The herbs which are part of Maquis ( Corsican : machja ), and the chestnuts and acorns of the Corsican forests are eaten by local animals, resulting in a noticeable flavour in the food there. Corsica has produced a number of known artists: Most Corsican football clubs are currently littered through the top 5 tiers of French football. AC Ajaccio and SC Bastia play in Ligue 2 in 2024–25, although both have played in Ligue 1 in

9120-580: The field and reversed the tide of the battle. The Austrian army fled leaving behind 14,000 casualties. The following day, the Austrians signed an armistice and agreed to abandon Northern Italy. When peace negotiations with Austria stalled, Bonaparte reopened hostilities in November. A French army under General Moreau swept through Bavaria and scored an overwhelming victory over the Austrians at Hohenlinden in December. The Austrians capitulated and signed

9240-646: The first Corsican to graduate from the École militaire . Upon graduating in September 1785, Bonaparte was commissioned a second lieutenant in La Fère artillery regiment . He served in Valence and Auxonne until after the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789, but spent long periods of leave in Corsica which fed his Corsican nationalism. In September 1789, he returned to Corsica and promoted

9360-440: 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. Moreover, many islanders sympathised with the national struggle which was taking place in nearby Italy in those years: several political refugees from the peninsula, like Niccolò Tommaseo , spent years on

9480-494: The foreign immigrants in Corsica come from the Maghreb (particularly Moroccans , who made up 29.0% of all immigrants in Corsica at the 2019 census) and from Southern Europe (particularly Portuguese and Italians , 23.9% and 12.5% of immigrants on the island respectively). French ( Français ) is the official and most widely spoken language on the island. Italian was the official language of Corsica until 9 May 1859, when it

9600-493: The fortress of Acre , so he marched his army back to Egypt in May. Bonaparte was alleged to have ordered plague-stricken men to be poisoned with opium to speed the retreat. Back in Egypt on 25 July, Bonaparte defeated an Ottoman amphibious invasion at Abukir . Bonaparte stayed informed of European affairs. He learned that France had suffered a series of defeats in the War of the Second Coalition . On 24 August 1799, fearing that

9720-704: 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. 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

9840-464: 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

9960-499: The island drastically, and – last but not least – Napoleon himself, whose existence alone constituted an indissoluble link between France and Corsica. Thanks to all these factors by around 1870 Corsica had landed in the French cultural world. 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

10080-476: The island from the threat of Arab invasion. After that, the island came under the influence of the Republic of Pisa . Many polychrome churches which adorn the island date from this period. Corsica also experienced a massive immigration from Tuscany, which gave to the island its present toponymy and rendered the language spoken in the northern two-thirds of the island very close to the Tuscan dialect . This led to

10200-465: The island has retained many Italian cultural elements, and many Corsican surnames are rooted in the Italian peninsula . French ( Français ) is the official and most widely spoken language on the island with Corsican , the native language and an Italo-Dalmatian language , also recognized as one of France's regional languages . Corsica is the third-least populated region of France after Mayotte and French Guiana . Corsica has been occupied since

10320-498: 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 . Between the late 1950s and the 1970s, proposals to conduct underground nuclear tests in the Argentella mines , the immigration of 18,000 former settlers from Algeria (" Pieds-Noirs ") in

10440-784: 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

10560-414: The island, forming a single chain. Forests make up 20% of the island. It is also the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean, after Sicily , Sardinia and Cyprus . Corsica has nature reserves covering about 3,500 km (1,400 sq mi) of the total surface area of 8,680 km (3,350 sq mi), primarily located in its interior is Parc naturel régional de Corse . Corsica contains

10680-466: The island, while some Corsicans, like Count Leonetto Cipriani  [ fr ] , [ it ], took active part in the fights for Italian independence. Despite all that, during those years the Corsicans began to feel an increasingly strong attachment to France. The reasons for that are manifold: the knowledge of the French language, which thanks to the mandatory primary school started to penetrate among

10800-492: The key to its defence. He ordered a young cavalry officer, Joachim Murat , to seize cannons and Bonaparte deployed them in key positions. On 5 October 1795— 13 Vendémiaire An IV in the French Republican calendar —he fired on the rebels with canister rounds (later called: "a whiff of grapeshot "). About 300 to 1,400 rebels died in the uprising. Bonaparte's role in defeating the rebellion earned him and his family

10920-406: The local youth, the high prestige of French culture, the awareness of being part of a big, powerful state, the possibility of well-paid jobs as civil servants, both in the island, in the mainland and in the colonies, the prospect of serving the French army during the wars for the conquest of the colonial empire, the introduction of steamboats , which reduced the travel time between mainland France and

11040-710: The lower Middle Ages: as a result, the Cismuntanu became very similar to the Tuscan dialects, being part of the Italo-Dalmatian language group , while the Ultramuntanu maintained its original characteristics which make it much more similar to a Southern Romance language , such as Sardinian ( Sardu ). Therefore, due to the differences between the main dialectal varieties, many linguists classify Corsican as an Italo-Dalmatian language, while others consider it

11160-547: The modernizing legal and administrative reforms he enacted in France and Western Europe, embodied in the Napoleonic Code . He established a system of public education, abolished the vestiges of feudalism , emancipated Jews and other religious minorities, abolished the Spanish Inquisition , enacted the principle of equality before the law for an emerging middle class, and centralized state power at

11280-636: The mountains. From Ormea, it headed west to outflank the Austro-Sardinian positions around Saorge . After this campaign, Augustin Robespierre sent Bonaparte on a mission to the Republic of Genoa to determine the country's intentions towards France. After the Fall of Maximilien Robespierre in July 1794, Bonaparte's association with leading Jacobins made him politically suspect to the new regime. He

11400-414: The murderer of Claude Érignac , was murdered in prison. The August 2022 Corsica derecho swept across the island and killed six people, injured dozens of others, and caused significant damage. Corsica was formed about 250 million years ago with the uplift of a granite backbone on the western side. About 50 million years ago sedimentary rock was pressed against this granite, forming the schists of

11520-426: The park. The Corsican red deer was re-introduced after it was extinct due to overhunting . This Corsican subspecies was the same that survived on Sardinia, so it is endemic . There are other species endemic to Corsica especially in the upper mountain ranges, i.e. Corsican nuthatch , Corsican fire salamander and Corsican brook salamander and many plant subspecies. Corsica, like all the other Mediterranean islands,

11640-810: The patronage of the new government, the French Directory . On 26 October, he was promoted to commander of the Army of the Interior, and in January 1796 he was appointed head of the Army of Italy. Within weeks of the Vendémiaire uprising , Bonaparte was romantically involved with Joséphine de Beauharnais , the former mistress of Barras. Josephine had been born in the French colonies in the Lesser Antilles , and her family owned slaves on sugar plantations The couple married on 9 March 1796 in

11760-481: The peace and his controversial Concordat of 1801 with Pope Pius VII under which the Pope recognized Bonaparte's regime and the regime recognized Catholicism as the majority religion of France. In a further step towards national reconciliation (known as "fusion"), Bonaparte offered an amnesty to most émigrés who wished to return to France. With Europe at peace and the economy recovering, Bonaparte became increasingly popular, both domestically and abroad. In May 1802,

11880-449: The recovered colonies except Saint-Domingue and Guadeloupe which were under the control of rebel generals. A French military expedition under Antoine Richepanse regained control of Guadeloupe and slavery was reintroduced there on 16 July. Corsica Corsica ( / ˈ k ɔːr s ɪ k ə / KOR -sik-ə ; Corsican: [ˈkorsiɡa, ˈkɔrsika] ; Italian : Corsica ; French : Corse [kɔʁs] )

12000-402: The regional government. From the mountains to the plains and sea, many ingredients play a role. Game such as wild boar ( Cingale , Singhjari ) is popular. There also is seafood and river fish, such as trout . Delicacies, such as figatellu (also named as ficateddu ), made with liver, coppa , ham ( prizuttu ), lonzu , are made from Corsican pork ( porcu nustrale ).Characteristic among

12120-504: The sensitive Hermann's tortoise , which are found at A Cupulatta at Vero and Moltifao Regional Natural Park. Corsican brook and fire salamanders , leaf-toed gecko , and yellow and green grass snakes are also common. The European pond turtle can be seen, especially in the waters of Fango Estuary, southern Calvi , Biguglia Lagoon and Pietracorbara . The island has a natural park ( Parc Naturel Régional de Corse , Parcu di Corsica), which protects rare animal and plant species. The park

12240-470: The spirit of the age," and "soft despotism." Local and regional administration was reformed to concentrate power in the central government, censorship was introduced, and most opposition newspapers were closed down to stifle dissent. Royalist and regional revolts were dealt with by a combination of amnesties for those who lay down their arms and brutal repression of those who continued to resist. Bonaparte also improved state finances by securing loans under

12360-462: The time that he reached Paris in October, France's situation had been improved by a series of victories. The Republic, however, was bankrupt and the ineffective Directory was unpopular. Despite the failures in Egypt, Bonaparte returned to a hero's welcome. The Directory discussed Bonaparte's desertion but was too weak to punish him. Bonaparte formed an alliance with Talleyrand and leading members of

12480-445: The traditional division of Corsica into two parts, along the main chain of mountains roughly going from Calvi to Porto-Vecchio : the eastern Banda di dentro , or Cismonte , more populated, developed, and open to the commerce with Italy, and the western Banda di fuori , or Pomonte , almost deserted, wild and remote. The crushing defeat experienced by Pisa in 1284 in the Battle of Meloria against Genoa had among its consequences

12600-536: The younger brother of Maximilien Robespierre , a leading Jacobin. He was promoted to brigadier general and put in charge of defences on the Mediterranean coast. In February 1794, he was made artillery commander of the Army of Italy and devised plans to attack the Kingdom of Sardinia. The French army carried out Bonaparte's plan in the Second Battle of Saorgio in April 1794, and then advanced to seize Ormea in

12720-514: 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. Despite being the birthplace of the Emperor, the island

12840-483: Was admitted to the École militaire in Paris where he trained to become an artillery officer. He excelled at mathematics, and read widely in geography, history and literature. However, he was poor at French and German. His father's death in February 1785 cut the family income and forced him to complete the two-year course in one year. In September he was examined by the famed scientist Pierre-Simon Laplace and became

12960-465: Was arrested on 9 August but released two weeks later. He was asked to draw up plans to attack Italian positions as part of France's war with Austria and, in March 1795, he took part in an expedition to take back Corsica from the British, but the French were repulsed by the Royal Navy. From 1794, Bonaparte was in a romantic relationship with Désirée Clary whose sister Julie Clary had married Bonaparte's elder brother Joseph. In April 1795, Bonaparte

13080-615: Was assigned to the Army of the West , which was engaged in the War in the Vendée —a civil war and royalist counter-revolution in the Vendée region. As an infantry command, it was a demotion from artillery general and he pleaded poor health to avoid the posting. During this period, he wrote the romantic novella Clisson et Eugénie , about a soldier and his lover, in a clear parallel to Bonaparte's own relationship with Clary. In August, he obtained

13200-477: Was baptized as a Catholic , under the name Napoleone di Buonaparte . In his youth, his name was also spelled as Nabulione , Nabulio , Napolionne , and Napulione . Napoleon was born one year after the Republic of Genoa ceded Corsica to France. His father fought alongside Pasquale Paoli during the Corsican war of independence against France. After the Corsican defeat at the Battle of Ponte Novu in 1769 and Paoli's exile in Britain, Carlo became friends with

13320-616: Was created in 1972 and includes the Golfe de Porto, the Scandola Nature Reserve (a UNESCO World Heritage Site ), and some of the highest mountains on the island. Scandola cannot be reached on foot, but people can gain access by boat from the village of Galéria and Porto (Ota). Two endangered subspecies of hoofed mammals, the European mouflon ( Ovis aries musimon ) and Corsican red deer ( Cervus elaphus corsicanus ) inhabit

13440-587: Was elected a member of the French Academy of Sciences . His Egyptian expedition included a group of 167 scientists, with mathematicians, naturalists, chemists, and geodesists among them. Their discoveries included the Rosetta Stone , and their work was published in the Description de l'Égypte in 1809. En route to Egypt, Bonaparte reached Hospitaller Malta on 9 June 1798, then controlled by

13560-477: Was given command over a battalion of Corsican volunteers and promoted to captain in the regular army in 1792, despite exceeding his leave of absence and a dispute between his volunteers and the French garrison in Ajaccio. In February 1793, Bonaparte took part in the failed French expedition to Sardinia . Following allegations that Paoli had sabotaged the expedition and that his regime was corrupt and incompetent,

13680-549: Was home to endemic mammals during the Late Pleistocene , most or all of these are shared with Sardinia (as Sardinia was joined to Corsica for much of the Pleistocene). After the arrival of humans during Mesolithic around 8000 BC, these began to disappear. Some of the smaller mammals managed to survive until at least the early Iron Age, but are now all extinct. Extinct mammals formerly native to Corsica include

13800-406: Was occupied by British and allied forces. He quickly increased the available artillery and proposed a plan to capture a hill fort where republican guns could dominate the city's harbour and force the British to evacuate. The successful assault on the position on 16–17 December led to the capture of the city. Toulon brought Bonaparte to the attention of powerful men including Augustin Robespierre ,

13920-470: Was particularly brutal. Bonaparte discovered that many of the defenders were former prisoners of war, ostensibly on parole, so he ordered the garrison and some 1,500–5,000 prisoners to be executed by bayonet or drowning. Men, women, and children were robbed and murdered for three days. Bonaparte began with an army of 13,000 men. 1,500 were reported missing, 1,200 died in combat, and thousands perished from disease—mostly bubonic plague . He failed to reduce

14040-610: 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

14160-409: Was replaced by French. Corsican ( Corsu ), a minority language that is closely related to medieval Tuscan ( Toscano ), has a better prospect of survival than most other French regional languages : Corsican is the second most widely spoken language after French. However, since the annexation of the island by France in the 18th century, Corsican has been under heavy pressure from French, and today it

14280-482: 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

14400-522: Was the first Italian military department to equip itself, as a banner, with a tricolor flag. It fought at the battle of Arcole on 15 November 1796 and then against papal forces on the river Senio . The Legion's fourth cohort joined Cisalpine troops to put down insurrections at Pesaro then at Urbino . By February 1797 it was stationed in Brescia and on 26 February 1797 it was reorganised into two demi-brigades of three cohorts, an artillery company and

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