Carta Moderna dell’Isola di Corsica.

Title

Carta Moderna dell’Isola di Corsica.

Description

Map shows the island of Corsica.

ca. 1868

Artist

Vallardi

Historical Description

The name of the island of Corsica or French Corse probably goes back to the Phoenician term Korsai, which roughly means “covered with forests”. Occasionally, the Greek term for the island Kalliste (“the beautiful”) is thought to be the root of the current name. From the 14th century, Corsica belonged to the Republic of Genoa. In 1729, several years of uprisings against the Genoese began. On April 15, 1736, Corsican rebels made the German adventurer Baron Theodor von Neuhoff (1694-1756) their king in the monastery of Alesani in Castagniccia. King Theodor I of Corsica was the only king Corsica ever had. However, the Kingdom of Corsica lasted barely a year. Independence was proclaimed in 1755. Genoa then sold the island to France, which defeated the Corsican troops at the Battle of Ponte Nuovo in 1769. Corsica has been a French territory ever since - apart from a brief period during the French Revolution, when the island belonged to England.