v48_0463 - CORSICA - PASCAL PAOLI 1 soldo

CORSICA - PASCAL PAOLI

(1761-1768)

Corsica had been a Genoese possession since 1347 when the Corsicans revolted in 1731-1732. Pascal Paoli (1725-1807) was elected general-in-chief in 1755 and Corsica was independent from 1761 until 1768 when the Treaty of Versailles of May 15, 1768 united Corsica to the Kingdom despite fierce resistance from the Corsicans who wanted maintain their independence. Laetitia and Charles Bonaparte, also resistants, were to give birth to Napoleon in French Corsica on August 15, 1769. Pascal Paoli, beaten at Pontenuovo in 1769, left Corsica. He will return there in 1793 with an English squadron which will occupy the island until 1796. Pascal Paoli will die in exile in London.