The Revolution Comes to Italy 585
The Kingdom of Corsica
But what if Counter- Revolution came instead? What happened if not the French,
but their enemies, prevailed? What were the issues in this war, which if not ideo-
logical in intention was certainly so in its consequences? An answer is suggested by
what happened in Corsica, a region which since it belonged to France had been
revolutionized since 1789, but which was Italian in language and in many of its
cultural contacts (so far as a region still so primitive may be said to have had any)
and which experienced a counter- revolution from 1794 to 1796, when the island
was occupied by the British. Before proceeding to an account of the Cisalpine
Republic, it is more than a mere digression to glance at this Corsican Kingdom.^40
Corsica was divided by the revolution in France into revolutionary and counter-
revolutionary parties. Among locally prominent families favoring the new order
were the Bonapartes. The aged patriot Paoli, on the other hand, became a rallying
point for the anti- French and anti- revolutionary elements. He made overtures to
the British, proposing that Corsica be set up as a semi- autonomous kingdom on
the model of Ireland. When the British were forced out of Toulon at the end of
1793 they occupied Corsica, hoping to use it as a base for naval power in the
Mediterranean, for maintaining resistance in southern France against the Paris
government, and for bringing Genoa and Tuscany into the Coalition.
On the arrival of the British a general election was held, which produced an as-
sembly, which in turn adopted a constitution, declared the country a constitutional
monarchy, and offered the crown to King George III. The crown was accepted, and
Sir Gilbert Elliot became Viceroy of Corsica. The purpose of the new regime, as
stated by the Corsicans now in power, was to protect “liberty and religion” against
“the tyrannical anarchy of the present republic of France.”
The new constitution was intended to resemble that of England. A Parliament
was created, with that name. Legislative power rested in King and Parliament
together; that is, the Viceroy had a veto, and laws were enacted, following the
British formula, “by the king’s most excellent Majesty.” Each country district or
coastal town sent two members to Parliament, as in England. Men could vote
who were at least twenty- five years old, and possessed of landed property. To be
elected to Parliament, however, the qualifications were rather high; an annual
landed revenue of 6,000 lire was required, the equivalent of some £200 sterling.
Here again the parallel to England was striking. Members of Parliament served
without compensation, as in England. Since persons resembling lords could not
be found in Corsica, the Parliament had only a single house. To protect religion,
however, the Catholic bishops sat as members of Parliament, like Anglican bish-
ops in the English or Irish House of Lords. Executive power lay with the Viceroy.
Courts were instituted, trial by jury was provided for, and various civil rights were
promised. Roman Catholicism was declared the national religion, with toleration
for others.
40 For somewhat more detail, with references, see my “Kingdom of Corsica and the Science of
History,” in Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. 105 (1961), 354–60.