Corsica

Ionian Greek settlements existed on Corsica as early as 550 bc. The Romans conquered the island in 259 bc, during the first of the Punic Wars. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in ad 476, Corsica was ruled for a time by the Vandals, then was successively a part of the Byzantine Empire and of the Lombard Kingdom, and from 850 to 1034 was held by the Moors. Late in the 11th century Corsica became subject to the Holy See, and in 1077 Pope Gregory VII sent administrators from Pisa to Corsica. In 1132, however, Genoa, a commercial and political rival of Pisa, induced Pope Innocent II to divide jurisdiction over Corsica between Pisa and Genoa, and in 1312 the Genoese achieved supremacy in Corsica. They ruled the island until the 18th century, except for the period from 1458 to 1558, when it was held by the French. In the 18th century a series of revolts against Genoese rule brought the Corsican patriot Pasquale Paoli to prominence and involved the intervention of European powers, principally England and France. The Genoese ceded the island to France in 1768; one significant result of the cession was that Napoleon, born at Ajaccio the following year, was a French citizen. During the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, the island was twice held by the British.

During World War II the island was occupied by German and Italian troops, but the people revolted against them, and the island was liberated in late 1943. In 1958 Corsica was occupied by rebellious right-wing elements supporting the insurrection of the French colonists in Algeria. The occupation helped return Charles de Gaulle to power as premier and then president of France. A movement for the independence of Corsica has become prominent since the 1970s, and radical groups have undertaken bombing campaigns and other terrorist actions. In response the French parliament created the Corsican Regional Assembly composed of 51 elected members to give Corsica a greater degree of autonomy. The separatists declared a ceasefire in 1999 but sporadic violence continued.

In December 2001 the French parliament narrowly passed a bill that made provisions for limited autonomy of the island, including the extension of Corsican language teaching, devolution of regulatory authorities, and introduction of limited law-making powers. However, in January 2002, France’s Constitutional Council ruled the bill unconstitutional. In March 2003 the French parliament approved amendments to the constitution allowing for the devolution of power to the country's 22 regions and 96 departments, which once again raised the question of the future status of the island. In a public referendum held in July 2003, the people of Corsica narrowly voted against the implementation of the proposals for increased autonomy.