This next update is difficult for me because it’s a major departure from OTL, and I’d like to talk about it a bit because it touches on an important issue that those of you who are new to the history of Theodore are probably unaware of: why he lost.
Those of you who guessed that Theodore is coming back in the near future are quite correct, although it wasn’t too difficult to figure out. In fact, Theodore came back around this time IOTL, on board a British ship. He even had guns and supplies, although probably not as much as he had brought with him to Corsica in 1736. The island was in a similar moment of unrest, if not quite as severe. It seemed like a perfect moment for a comeback.
But nothing happened. The Corsicans seemed indifferent to his return. A few leaders did comply with his orders to besiege Ajaccio, but not enough, and when d’Ornano decided to withhold his support the enterprise collapsed. Humiliated by this failure and despondent at the lack of enthusiasm from the Corsicans, Theodore left Corsica. Although he continued to advocate for Corsican independence for years afterwards, he never returned.
The “traditional” explanation for Theodore’s failure is that, in short, he was a charlatan. This was Theodore’s third attempted voyage to Corsica; the first time he had reigned for ~200 days and then fled, having won a few battles but failed to decisively defeat the Genoese. The second time was with the “syndicate fleet,” which failed because no payment had been arranged and the captains decided to sail for Naples instead. Since the very beginning, he had promised the world to the Corsicans - guns, money, international recognition, powerful allies - but constantly under-delivered. In the estimation of historians from the 19th century up to fairly recent times, Theodore was simply a con-man, and by 1743 the Corsicans were too wary of his game to be conned any more.
But this explanation is unsatisfying. In the first place, within months of Theodore’s humiliating departure in 1743, a consulta held by the new national government of Gaffori, Matra, and Venturini declared itself to be a “Regency” governing for Theodore, and a year later another national consulta once more affirmed the eternal loyalty of the rebels to the king. Obviously this “national” declaration didn’t include everybody, but even d’Ornano, whose narrow self-interest had killed Theodore’s prospects against Ajaccio in 1743, was a signatory. If the Corsicans had gotten wise to Theodore and thought him nothing more than a fraud, what were they doing proclaiming their loyalty to him and electing generals to rule as regents in his name? Some have argued that it was merely a negotiating tactic, a way to use Theodore as a bogeyman against the Genoese: “If you don’t give us better terms, we might just bring that Theodore fellow back!” Yet the Corsican leaders continued to be in communication with Theodore himself, and there’s plenty of evidence that he still exerted influence on them from abroad.
In my view, the best way to understand the Corsican rebellion is through the lens of sheer pragmatism. There aren’t a lot of starry-eyed, better-to-die-on-my-feet-than-live-on-my-knees nationalists in this story. The Corsicans had plenty of brave men, but most of them were fighting for their own advantages, not for the mere idea of a Corsican nation. They wanted real, concrete things like less exploitative taxes, and their leaders wanted power, influence, and autonomy for themselves and their clans. When Theodore arrived in 1736, Genoa’s offer on the table was no better than America’s offer to Japan in 1945 - surrender or be destroyed. The Genoese thought they had this thing in the bag, and they would soon be able to dictate whatever terms they wanted to the Corsicans. As such, it made sense to fight even if the odds looked grim, and to use whatever resources were presented to them. Was it all that strange to embrace this German baron as their king when the only alternative appeared to be abject surrender?
Things were different in 1743. The Corsicans now felt that they had the whip hand. Spinola was ever on the back foot and knew full well that he was just one major uprising away from a total collapse of Genoese authority. The Senate was desperate to compromise, and large swaths of the island were basically government-free zones without a soldier or taxman in sight. When Genoese were forced to evacuate the interior in the summer of 1743, you might have expected another massive uprising - but instead, having captured Corti, the rebel leaders decided that it was time to talk peace. They erected the “Regency” but resumed talks with the Genoese, simultaneously claiming to be ruling in Theodore’s name and yet stating openly that they would accept a return of Genoese sovereignty so long as the terms were good enough.
Thus, when Theodore arrived in early 1743 and urged the Corsicans to begin the war again, they balked. Here he was, the king-for-nine-months, offering only a few hundred muskets and some supplies. The deputies pointedly asked him whether the British fleet that had brought him was going to fight the Genoese. Theodore gave vague promises about foreign support, but the inevitable answer was “no,” because Britain and Genoa were not at war and would not be at war for more than two years. Theodore was no clown or pariah to the Corsicans; they wouldn’t have sent deputies to meet with him, nor later elected regents to rule in his name, had he been so. But they did realize that they had a strong negotiating position with the Genoese, and that to do what Theodore wanted - to go to back to war - would end those negotiations. All they would be left with was the hope of military victory, and how likely was that given Theodore’s previous track record and the absence of real foreign support?
Such is the situation in early 1743, and ITTL there are a fair number of similarities. Theodore is back (or will be soon), but while Britain will help him on the sly they’re not going to war yet. He’s got more resources than he did historically (as well as a regular battalion), but he’s still proposing war to a people who seem like they’re on the verge of getting a very favorable deal from peace.
So what are the differences? Well, for starters, Theodore’s reign. The “king for nine months” is, ITTL, a king for more than four years (albeit minus his excursion to Amsterdam partway through). It consisted of not merely a few skirmishes against the Genoese, but the capture of their capital and the defeat of French armies. A four year reign is not altogether ephemeral, and there is undoubtedly a sense among many Corsicans that they could have been independent but for the French invasion. Since the syndicate fleet actually worked ITTL, it also means Theodore made good at least once on his promise of massive foreign support, even if it wasn’t exactly the aid of a great power.
There’s Colonna and his battalion, of course, who were not a factor IOTL. There’s also Rauschenburg, who held out the entire time instead of being forced to surrender in 1740 - for him and his men, the war never ended, and even though his band of followers is fairly small he has a lot of respect in the interior. Neither Rauschenburg nor Colonna have much to gain from a negotiated peace, unlike d’Ornano, Matra, Gaffori, or other big chieftains who could very plausibly gain a lot from negotiations. And the Castagniccia is more violent than it was historically - Andergossen was cruelly murdered, and the Genoese were actually defeated at Morosaglia.
But is it enough? That’s the difficulty - how do you account for the changed perceptions of the Corsicans owing to Theodore’s longer and more successful reign? Does nationalism, at least for some of them, outweigh pragmatism? Or, if they are still driven mainly by pragmatic concerns, is Theodore’s better showing in 1736-1740 enough to convince them that war presents them with a better opportunity than peace?
That, anyway, is my thought process right now. I know where I want to go in a vague sense, but I’m still trying to work out exactly what path I want to take to get there.
Well, sort of. It was called New Smyrna because Turnbull had been a consul in Smyrna and it was the birthplace of his wife, who was the daughter of a Greek merchant. Turnbull’s Greek family connections were indeed one reason why he recruited a bunch of Greeks for his colony, but strictly speaking the colony was named because of his wife and her family, not for the Greek colonists themselves.
Those of you who guessed that Theodore is coming back in the near future are quite correct, although it wasn’t too difficult to figure out. In fact, Theodore came back around this time IOTL, on board a British ship. He even had guns and supplies, although probably not as much as he had brought with him to Corsica in 1736. The island was in a similar moment of unrest, if not quite as severe. It seemed like a perfect moment for a comeback.
But nothing happened. The Corsicans seemed indifferent to his return. A few leaders did comply with his orders to besiege Ajaccio, but not enough, and when d’Ornano decided to withhold his support the enterprise collapsed. Humiliated by this failure and despondent at the lack of enthusiasm from the Corsicans, Theodore left Corsica. Although he continued to advocate for Corsican independence for years afterwards, he never returned.
The “traditional” explanation for Theodore’s failure is that, in short, he was a charlatan. This was Theodore’s third attempted voyage to Corsica; the first time he had reigned for ~200 days and then fled, having won a few battles but failed to decisively defeat the Genoese. The second time was with the “syndicate fleet,” which failed because no payment had been arranged and the captains decided to sail for Naples instead. Since the very beginning, he had promised the world to the Corsicans - guns, money, international recognition, powerful allies - but constantly under-delivered. In the estimation of historians from the 19th century up to fairly recent times, Theodore was simply a con-man, and by 1743 the Corsicans were too wary of his game to be conned any more.
But this explanation is unsatisfying. In the first place, within months of Theodore’s humiliating departure in 1743, a consulta held by the new national government of Gaffori, Matra, and Venturini declared itself to be a “Regency” governing for Theodore, and a year later another national consulta once more affirmed the eternal loyalty of the rebels to the king. Obviously this “national” declaration didn’t include everybody, but even d’Ornano, whose narrow self-interest had killed Theodore’s prospects against Ajaccio in 1743, was a signatory. If the Corsicans had gotten wise to Theodore and thought him nothing more than a fraud, what were they doing proclaiming their loyalty to him and electing generals to rule as regents in his name? Some have argued that it was merely a negotiating tactic, a way to use Theodore as a bogeyman against the Genoese: “If you don’t give us better terms, we might just bring that Theodore fellow back!” Yet the Corsican leaders continued to be in communication with Theodore himself, and there’s plenty of evidence that he still exerted influence on them from abroad.
In my view, the best way to understand the Corsican rebellion is through the lens of sheer pragmatism. There aren’t a lot of starry-eyed, better-to-die-on-my-feet-than-live-on-my-knees nationalists in this story. The Corsicans had plenty of brave men, but most of them were fighting for their own advantages, not for the mere idea of a Corsican nation. They wanted real, concrete things like less exploitative taxes, and their leaders wanted power, influence, and autonomy for themselves and their clans. When Theodore arrived in 1736, Genoa’s offer on the table was no better than America’s offer to Japan in 1945 - surrender or be destroyed. The Genoese thought they had this thing in the bag, and they would soon be able to dictate whatever terms they wanted to the Corsicans. As such, it made sense to fight even if the odds looked grim, and to use whatever resources were presented to them. Was it all that strange to embrace this German baron as their king when the only alternative appeared to be abject surrender?
Things were different in 1743. The Corsicans now felt that they had the whip hand. Spinola was ever on the back foot and knew full well that he was just one major uprising away from a total collapse of Genoese authority. The Senate was desperate to compromise, and large swaths of the island were basically government-free zones without a soldier or taxman in sight. When Genoese were forced to evacuate the interior in the summer of 1743, you might have expected another massive uprising - but instead, having captured Corti, the rebel leaders decided that it was time to talk peace. They erected the “Regency” but resumed talks with the Genoese, simultaneously claiming to be ruling in Theodore’s name and yet stating openly that they would accept a return of Genoese sovereignty so long as the terms were good enough.
Thus, when Theodore arrived in early 1743 and urged the Corsicans to begin the war again, they balked. Here he was, the king-for-nine-months, offering only a few hundred muskets and some supplies. The deputies pointedly asked him whether the British fleet that had brought him was going to fight the Genoese. Theodore gave vague promises about foreign support, but the inevitable answer was “no,” because Britain and Genoa were not at war and would not be at war for more than two years. Theodore was no clown or pariah to the Corsicans; they wouldn’t have sent deputies to meet with him, nor later elected regents to rule in his name, had he been so. But they did realize that they had a strong negotiating position with the Genoese, and that to do what Theodore wanted - to go to back to war - would end those negotiations. All they would be left with was the hope of military victory, and how likely was that given Theodore’s previous track record and the absence of real foreign support?
Such is the situation in early 1743, and ITTL there are a fair number of similarities. Theodore is back (or will be soon), but while Britain will help him on the sly they’re not going to war yet. He’s got more resources than he did historically (as well as a regular battalion), but he’s still proposing war to a people who seem like they’re on the verge of getting a very favorable deal from peace.
So what are the differences? Well, for starters, Theodore’s reign. The “king for nine months” is, ITTL, a king for more than four years (albeit minus his excursion to Amsterdam partway through). It consisted of not merely a few skirmishes against the Genoese, but the capture of their capital and the defeat of French armies. A four year reign is not altogether ephemeral, and there is undoubtedly a sense among many Corsicans that they could have been independent but for the French invasion. Since the syndicate fleet actually worked ITTL, it also means Theodore made good at least once on his promise of massive foreign support, even if it wasn’t exactly the aid of a great power.
There’s Colonna and his battalion, of course, who were not a factor IOTL. There’s also Rauschenburg, who held out the entire time instead of being forced to surrender in 1740 - for him and his men, the war never ended, and even though his band of followers is fairly small he has a lot of respect in the interior. Neither Rauschenburg nor Colonna have much to gain from a negotiated peace, unlike d’Ornano, Matra, Gaffori, or other big chieftains who could very plausibly gain a lot from negotiations. And the Castagniccia is more violent than it was historically - Andergossen was cruelly murdered, and the Genoese were actually defeated at Morosaglia.
But is it enough? That’s the difficulty - how do you account for the changed perceptions of the Corsicans owing to Theodore’s longer and more successful reign? Does nationalism, at least for some of them, outweigh pragmatism? Or, if they are still driven mainly by pragmatic concerns, is Theodore’s better showing in 1736-1740 enough to convince them that war presents them with a better opportunity than peace?
That, anyway, is my thought process right now. I know where I want to go in a vague sense, but I’m still trying to work out exactly what path I want to take to get there.
So that’s how New Smyrna got its name.
Well, sort of. It was called New Smyrna because Turnbull had been a consul in Smyrna and it was the birthplace of his wife, who was the daughter of a Greek merchant. Turnbull’s Greek family connections were indeed one reason why he recruited a bunch of Greeks for his colony, but strictly speaking the colony was named because of his wife and her family, not for the Greek colonists themselves.