Kingdom of Corsica

Regno di Corsica
Kingdom of Corsica
1736
Official language	Corsican , Italian
Capital	Corte
Form of government	Constitutional monarchy
Head of state , also head of government	Theodor von Neuhoff
surface	8,680 km²
independence	1736

The Kingdom of Corsica was a short-lived kingdom on the Mediterranean island of Corsica that existed for a few months in 1736. The only ruler was the Westphalian baron Theodor von Neuhoff .

history

prehistory

In the 13th century, Corsica went to the Republic of Genoa , which was then at its peak. Over the centuries, the Crowns of Aragon , France and Genoa fought over dominance on the island. There were several military conflicts and anarchy. Ultimately, Genoa prevailed: in 1559, Genoa's sovereignty over the island was confirmed by the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis . In 1553 and 1564 there were Corsican uprisings led by Sampiero Corso . Despite considerable success, the Corsicans could not win due to a lack of unity. In 1568, after Sampiero Corso was murdered, a peace treaty was finally negotiated with Genoa. In the following years the Corsican population suffered very badly. For the Genoese, Corsica was still just an area that they could exploit for profit. The originally agreed autonomy was not granted either. In 1729 the Corsicans rose up in revolt , outraged by a new stove tax called due semi . In 1732 the authority of Genoa was restored. Two years later, however, the Corsicans rose again and in 1735 a meeting in Corte proclaimed the independence of Corsica.

The kingdom

Theodor von Neuhoff was a Westphalian baron who found employment at various European courts. In 1732 he became an agent for Austria in Italy. There he came into contact with Corsican freedom fighters, whose leaders had been arrested by the Genoese, breaking their promise of safe conduct, and deported to Genoa. Neuhoff managed to get his release, which raised his reputation among the Corsicans in exile in Tuscany to such an extent that they offered him the title of king if he could organize enough support. After collecting funds from all over Europe for four years, Neuhoff crossed to Corsica in 1736 with a ship loaded with money and weapons.

Theodore I. King of Corsica

On April 15, 1736, he was elected King Theodor I of Corsica by a convention of the Corsican population in the Alesani monastery. According to the constitution he had enacted, he himself was hereditary king, but in the government relied on the consent of 24 freely elected Corsicans. Neuhoff resided in the former bishop's palace in Cervione . He had his own coins minted and expanded the infrastructure and economy. He also founded an order of knights called "De la Liberazione". Militarily he inflicted a heavy defeat on the Genoese and shortly afterwards conquered the port city of Porto Vecchio . He had the coastal cities held by Genoa besieged. Before Bastia , however, his triumphal march came to a standstill, as the provisional Corsican army lacked the strength to take the heavily fortified city. When the aid he had promised (mainly Turkish ) did not arrive, and when the European governments, whose influence he had boasted of, distanced themselves from him, the general mood turned against him.

End of the kingdom

In November Neuhoff left Corsica to seek support on the European mainland. He also had to fear for his life after he had one of his generals executed because blood revenge was common in Corsica at the time. Despite several attempts, he was unable to return to the island. The Corsicans, tired of the war, opened negotiations with Genoa. But the Genoese refusal to treat them as anything other than rebels made mutual understanding impossible. There were further riots. In the Peace of Aachen , Corsica was again transferred to Genoa.

Neuhoff, the first and only king of Corsica, died on December 11, 1756, impoverished and in debt in London.

See also

• Corsica flag

literature

• Alexis Freiherr von Engelhardt: The King of Corsica and the Corsican's fight for freedom . Salzwasser Verlag, 2011, ISBN 978-3-86195-710-2 .
• Michael Kleeberg: The King of Corsica . btb Verlag, 2010, ISBN 978-3-442-74014-7 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Theodor. In: Johann Heinrich Zedler : Large complete universal lexicon of all sciences and arts . Volume 43, Leipzig 1745, column 707 f (Corsican constitution).
2. ^ About Neuhoff's life , accessed on October 13, 2012.
3. ↑ About the Corsican history ( Memento of the original from September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 258 kB) accessed on October 13, 2012