Kingdom of Corsica (1736) explained

Native Name:

Conventional Long Name:Kingdom of Corsica
Common Name:Corsica
Status:Unrecognized state
Life Span:1736
Date Start:March 1736
Event1:Constitution
Date Event1:15 April 1736
Date End:11 November 1736
P1:Republic of Genoa
Flag P1:Flag of Genoa.svg
S1:Republic of Genoa
Flag S1:Flag of Genoa.svg
Flag:Flag and coat of arms of Corsica
Flag Border:no
Symbol:Flag and coat of arms of Corsica
Image Map Caption:1737 map of Corsica commissioned by King Theodore
National Motto:Prudentia et industria vincitur tyrannis;
Pro bono publico regno corsice
National Anthem:Dio vi salvi Regina
()
Capital:Cervione
Corte
Religion:Roman Catholicism
Government Type:Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Title Leader:King
Leader1:Theodore I
Year Leader1:1736
Legislature:Diet
Stat Area1:8680
Currency:soldi
Today:France
Corsica

The Kingdom of Corsica was a short-lived kingdom on the island of Corsica. It was formed after the islanders crowned the German adventurer Theodor Stephan Freiherr von Neuhoff as King of Corsica.

History

Formation and downfall

At Genoa, Neuhoff made the acquaintance of some Corsican rebels and exiles, and persuaded them that he could free their country from Genoese tyranny if they made him king of the island. With the help of the Bey of Tunis, he landed in Corsica on March 12, 1736 [1] with military aid. The islanders, whose campaign had not been successful, elected and crowned him king. He assumed the title of King Theodore I, issued edicts, instituted an order of knighthood, and waged war on the Genoese with consent of the 24-member Diet, at first with some success. But in-fighting among the rebels soon led to their defeat. The Genoese put a price on his head and published an account of his colourful past, and he left Corsica on November 11, 1736,[1] ostensibly to seek foreign assistance. After sounding out the possibility of protection from Spain and Naples, he set off to Holland, where he was arrested for debt in Amsterdam.

On regaining his freedom, Theodore sent his nephew to Corsica with a supply of arms; he himself returned to Corsica in 1738, 1739, and 1743, but the combined Genoese and French forces continued to occupy the island. In 1749 he arrived in England to seek support, but eventually fell into debt and was confined in a debtors' prison in London until 1755. He regained his freedom by declaring himself bankrupt, making over his kingdom of Corsica to his creditors, and subsisted on the charity of Horace Walpole and some other friends until his death in London in 1756.

See also

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. L. H. Caird, The History of Corsica (T. Fisher Unwin, 1899) pp. 92–97