Sunday, April 20, 2014

Origins & History of the Corsicans

        As I briefly mentioned in the “Introduction,” the Corsican people are either originally from the island of Corsica or have origins in CorsicaRomans Corsi was the name of the people who first inhabited the island.  The Romans Corsi have roots in both the Nuragic and Torrean civilizations.  The Nuragic civilization dates back to 18th century B.C. based out of the island of Sardinia, Corsica’s northern neighbor.  The Torrean civilization is extremely similar to the Nuragic civilization except the Torreans are based out of Corsica rather than Sardinia.  Some scholars believe the two civilizations were the same. 
File:Corsica-Romana.jpg
Corsica's original tribes
            Modern day Corsicans are also believed to have Greek and Roman ties.  The island of Corsica was broken down into twelve tribes during its origins such as: Belatones, Cervini, Cilebenses, Cumanenses, Lucinini, Macrini, Opini, Subasani, Sumbri, Tarabeni, Titiani, and Venacini. 

Pasquale Paoli, Corsican Patriot
            While the date of occupation is unknown, Corsica at one point was a province of the Roman Empire.  When the Roman Empire fell, the island of Corsica became populated by several groups of people.  However in 1347, the Republic of Genoa (which is currently a part of Italy) took possession over Corsica up until 1729, when a revolution for independence occurred.  From 1729-1755, the Corsican Revolution took place against Genoa.  Finally in 1755, the Corsican Republic was established as an independent, sovereign state.  Pasquale Paoli was viewed as a patriot and took up the leadership role in Corsica’s newly formed republic.  Paoli also established the nation’s official language as Italian and created its Constitution.  Unfortunately, independence did not last as Corsica could not fend off Genoa.  The island was sold to France in 1764.  Corsica remains a French territory today. 

File:Corsican nationalism.jpg
Corsican Nationalists cross out French names on road signs in Corsica.
          During World War II, Corsica fell under the Nazi’s Vichy France regime.  During this time, fascist Italian dictator Benito Mussolini claimed the island of Corsica belonged to Italy.  Today, Corsica has very nationalistic ideals as it pushes for self-government and the security of the island’s culture.  In 2001, France granted Corsica limited autonomy.       




Sources:
Google Books - Caird, L.H. The History of Corsica. T.F. Unwin: Harvard University, 1899.   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corsica#History 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corsican_people

Pictures: 

Pasquale Paoli, Corsican Patriot: 
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Paoli.png/270px-Paoli.png
Corsica's original tribes: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Corsica-Romana.jpg
Corsican Nationalists cross out French names on road signs in Corsica:
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Corsican_nationalism.jpg

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