Neptune's Needle

Fr. Corse (KORS), anc. Cyrnus , island (area; 3,352 sq miles; pop. 251,000), a part of metropolitan France, situated in the Mediterranean Sea, S of Gulf of Genoa, about 100 miles SE of mainland France, but separated from Sardinia (S) by 7 mile Strait of Bonifacio; 42º00'N 09º00'E. After having belonged to the Romans (3d cent. B.C.-5th cent. A.D.), the Vandals, the Byzantines, and the Lombards, the island was granted (late 8th cent.) to the papacy by the Franks. It was threatened by the Arabs from c.800 to 1100. In 1077, Pope Gregory VII ceded Corsica to Pisa. Pisa and Genoa, and later Genoa and Aragon battled for control of Corsica. In the mid-15th cent. the actual administration of the isl. was taken up by the Bank of San Giorgio in Genoa; Genoese rule was harsh and unpopular. In 1755, Pasquale Paoli headed a successful rebellion against Genoa, but it resulted only in the cession (1768) of Corsica to France. Paoli expelled the French with Br. support in 1793, and Corsica voted its union with the Br. crown in 1794. The French (under Napoleon) recovered it, however, in 1796, and Fr. possession was guaranteed at the Congress of Vienna (1815). In World War II, Corsica was occupied by Ital. and Ger. troops. Late in 1943 the pop. revolted, and, with the assistance of Free Fr. forces, the Axis troops were driven out. A postwar exodus of pop. caused the Fr. govt. to launch programs of economic development in the 1950s.

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Compiler

Peter Richards