WI an Italian Corsica?

A recent news item made me wonder: How, exactly, Corsica could have become Italian?

One decent possibility might be in 1814-1815, at the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Perhaps France might trade Corsica for other territories--Nice or Savoy, perhaps? Or, perhaps after Waterloo, France might be punished for the final upsurge of Napoleonic war by being forced to cede Napoleon's homeland? When I raised the question elsewhere, some suggested an Italian alliance with Prussia in the Franco-Prussian War, one that would see Italy receive its irredentist claims, too.

Another possibility might occur in the 20th century. If Italy could be convinced to join the Central Powers in the First World War, and if the Central Powers won, Corsica might be an obvious target for an Italy seeking to expand.

Thoughts?
 
Corsica was only obtained by France in the latter half of the 18th century, only a little while before Napoleon was born. Prevent France obtaining it, and that is some major butterflies. Without Napoleon and the Napoleonic Wars, Italy (and Germany) feel less inclined to unify and it happens later, with Corsica as part of Italy.
 
It's more likely it would be Independent perhaps under a Hapsburg, Bourbon, or another Italian Dynasty as the last time it was Independent was 1796 as the Anglo-Corsican Kingdom, before that it was the Corsican Republic in the 1760s and the Corsican Kingdom in the 1730s.
 
Genoa sold Corsica to France as it had revolted and become a de facto independent state (which France then suppressed). Perhaps find a way to keep Corsicans reconciled to Genoan rule?
 
If it had remained independent I'd rate it more likely than not that it would have ended up a part of modern Italy, similar to the smaller stated in the peninsula. It eould likely be a carbonari heaven under some form of British protection, but I doubt that, absent French rule, the Corsican identity would have become strong enough to win over against the panitalianist sentiments.

There is also the matter of a certain Buonaparte family that, in such a situation (independent Corsica under British protection) would certainly have difficulties in having one of their sons attend a French officer school... He might instead find brighter prospectives elsewhere, maybe in His Majesty's Navy?
 
During the War of Austrian Succession, Charles Emmanuel of Sardinia and the British sponsored a proxy "invasion" of Corsica, as the Genoese who ruled it were Bourbon allies. Since Corsica was already in rebellion, this wasn't too hard; in fact in 1745-ish the Corsican rebels sent a letter to the British begging for assistance. The British resident in Tuscany, Horace Mann, recommended Domenico Rivarola to lead the battalion of exiles and mercenaries, who was a Corsican-born former Genoese official who had been sacked for supporting the rebels and had since ended up in Sardinian service. Rivarola landed at Bastia and captured it with the help of the British Navy, but thereafter the venture fell apart. Rivarola was an arrogant man with no military experience whatsoever, and he managed to antagonize the other rebels so much that they started fighting each other instead of the Genoese. Eventually the British decided that Corsica was a pointless sideshow and that their ships were better used blockading Liguria, so they withdrew their support and eventually Rivarola went home. In 1748, at the very end of the war, Sardinian troops actually landed on the island, but then the peace happened and they withdrew, as the terms of the treaty restored all Genoese territory to Genoa.

Give this expedition to someone more competent than Rivarola, provide that person with more men/support, or maybe delay the end of the war by a bit, and it's quite possible that the Genoese could have been ejected from the island. In fact Genoa was completely occupied during the war, but rebelled against the Austrians and kicked them out again - if that rebellion fails and Genoa is at the mercy of the Pragmatic Allies, they might simply be forced to yield Corsica before the war ends. It's quite plausible for Corsica to end up as a Sardinian province at the end of the war, which probably would have suited the rebels. They weren't set on total independence so much as total independence from Genoa. Have the rest of Italian unification go as IOTL, and there you have it, Italian Corsica.
 
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French ownership of Corsica was something of a fluke, and the fact they got Napoleon out of the bargain right after a sign that God is cheating on their behalf.:p

Any medieval or early modern unification of Italy will result in an Italian Corsica barring very strange circumstance, the island could also readily end up Spanish (or aragonese) with a Pod in the 1400s to 1700s.

Kill Talleyrand, or otherwise weaken French diplomacy at the Congress of Vienna and the island could be made independent or given to Sardinia Piedmont to punish the Napoleons and weaken france in the meditereanean, thus getting swept up in Italian unification. Alternately a different outcome in the cabinet wars of the 18th century could see it ceded to whomever as part of the peace deal (Britain?).

Finally have a Pod with either world war where Italy does well against France and they are likely to get the island along with Nice and Savoy and Malta.
 
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Is there any way with a POD pre-French Revolution to have Corsica set up as an independent Kingdom (ala Sardinia or Sicily) with its own resident king (aka not the Anglo-Corsican Kingdom)? Perhaps a cadet Savoy, Bourbon or Habsburg? Someone else?

Or maybe if the Habsburgs weren't so intent on monopolizing Italy post-Napoleon (which didn't turn out well for them at all), they could have separated Corsica from France (as punishment for the 100 days) and given it to Marie Louise as a life fief instead of Parma? If the Allies wanted to really be ironic they could have given it to ever-loyal to Napoleon - yet still respected by the Allies - Eugene Beauharnais, former Viceroy of Italy in the post-Vienna treaties.
 
Is there any way with a POD pre-French Revolution to have Corsica set up as an independent Kingdom (ala Sardinia or Sicily) with its own resident king (aka not the Anglo-Corsican Kingdom)? Perhaps a cadet Savoy, Bourbon or Habsburg? Someone else?

But my friend, this is OTL!

LlycIey.jpg


Of course he was only king for a few months. Success, however, was not impossible, and indeed a "successful King Theodore" TL is hopefully going to be my next project when I take a break from my present TL for a bit.

Anyway, if Theodore isn't to your taste, there are other alternatives. Before Theodore, the Corsican rebels offered the crown of Corsica to the King of Spain, who politely refused. Theodore himself, who had been a Jacobite spy, at one point attempted to gin up interest in making the island into a kingdom for the exiled Stuarts, which would have been interesting.
 
Wait, what?

Theodore's very colorful life was spent partially as a secret agent in England, first for the Swedes and then for the Spanish, both of whom were engaging in skulduggery with the Jacobites. He was in Rome for a while as well, and personally befriended
Philipp von Stosch, Britain's key informant on the Pretender in Rome, who had no idea that the man going by "Baron Romberg" was actually a Jacobite spy.

Although Theodore's reign on Corsica only lasted a few months, he continued to be active in promoting the rebel cause for the rest of his life, shipping them arms and supplies and attempting to get foreign princes interested in an independent Corsica. One of his plans, which never went anywhere, was to suggest that the island be given as a kingdom to Charles Edward Stuart, the Young Pretender. He apparently wrote various foreign ministers and his own friends in high places to this effect, but nobody really took an interest in it.
 
Kill Talleyrand, or otherwise weaken French diplomacy at the Congress of Vienna and the island could be made independent or given to Sardinia Piedmont to punish the Napoleons and weaken france in the meditereanean, thus getting swept up in Italian unification. Alternately a different outcome in the cabinet wars of the 18th century could see it ceded to whomever as part of the peace deal (Britain?).

Ceding it to Sardinia-Piedmont as punishment at the Congress of Vienna is how I would do it.
 
I often wonder what the result of a British intervention in the 1760s Corsica crisis would be. I don't think either the British or the French could face another war, so they would probably try to work out a compromise that saves face on both sides. One potential option is that it is sold to a less powerful Bourbon state. Perhaps the Kingdom of Naples.
 
If it had remained independent I'd rate it more likely than not that it would have ended up a part of modern Italy, similar to the smaller stated in the peninsula. It eould likely be a carbonari heaven under some form of British protection, but I doubt that, absent French rule, the Corsican identity would have become strong enough to win over against the panitalianist sentiments.

There is also the matter of a certain Buonaparte family that, in such a situation (independent Corsica under British protection) would certainly have difficulties in having one of their sons attend a French officer school... He might instead find brighter prospectives elsewhere, maybe in His Majesty's Navy?
Admiral Napoleone, known as the giant by the French because of misunderstanding between the 2 different measurement system of the 2 countries.
 
There was also a proposal discussed by some of the rebel leaders, after the assassination of Ghjuvan Petru Gaffori in 1753, to offer Corsica to the Knights of Malta. That idea, and others, was quashed by the arrival of Paoli, who supported (and subsequently led) an independent republic. I'm not sure it stood a realistic chance of happening, but perhaps "Maltese Corsica" might be acceptable to France and Spain, as the knights were as far as I can tell on good terms with the Bourbon powers. Certainly the grandmaster, Manuel Pinto da Fonseca, would have jumped at the chance, as it would not only be a massive increase in the population and land under the control of the order but would also give him a royal title.
 

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I don't think it would be too hard of a sell to give Corsica to Sardinia-Piedmont at Vienna. With the Savoyards taking what was formerly Genoa/the Lingurian Republic at the conference, Corsica being former Genoese territory and sitting smack in the middle between their two realms, it wouldn't take much pull for Corsica to get taken away from France in 1815. Perhaps a longer Hundred Days or, you know, the Savoyards actually asking for the place could do it.

With Corsica just another province ruled from Torino, I can't see that really changing all that much about the Risorgimento and I wouldn't be suprised if Corsica ended up as part of a Savoyard-unified Italy.
 
It took some pretty appalling oppression and mismanagement by the Genoese to provoke the Corsican revolt, and if the Savoyard kings are even slightly less exploitative and cack-handed they'll probably have no trouble with it. The economic benefit to Sardinia is slight, although militarily speaking it might make a difference, as Corsica was a pretty well-militarized society in the 18th century which supplied officers or national units to a number of European countries (France, Sardinia, Naples, Britain, Genoa, and Venice, just off the top of my head). The Genoese found them especially valuable as mountain troops and the British used them as light infantry/riflemen.

I'm no Napoleonic-era expert, but I wonder if the absence of Napoleon (as he is presumably butterflied away or shifted to another line of work) and the presence of a few extra regiments of crack mountain troops would make Sardinian resistance against the French Revolutionary armies quite a bit more effective given a pre-1768 POD where Corsica is annexed to Sardinia.
 
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It took some pretty appalling oppression and mismanagement by the Genoese to provoke the Corsican revolt, and if the Savoyard kings are even slightly less exploitative and cack-handed they'll probably have no trouble with it. The economic benefit to Sardinia is slight, although militarily speaking it might make a difference, as Corsica was a pretty well-militarized society in the 18th century which supplied officers or national units to a number of European countries (France, Sardinia, Naples, Britain, Genoa, and Venice, just off the top of my head). The Genoese found them especially valuable as mountain troops and the British used them as light infantry/riflemen.

I'm no Napoleonic-era expert, but I wonder if the absence of Napoleon (as he is presumably butterflied away or shifted to another line of work) and the presence of a few extra regiments of crack mountain troops would make Sardinian resistance against the French Revolutionary armies quite a bit more effective given a pre-1768 POD where Corsica is annexed to Sardinia.
A weaker French performance in Italy (especially if Sardinia has alt!Napoleon as an officer... he might not rise as far as OTL but he'd be a damn good Artillery captain) would have pretty massive consequences. If nothing else I doubt Austria would have a blank slate to just annex/puppetize everything; OTOH without the French republic and the Austrian reaction against liberalism you probably don't get calls for Italian unification.
 
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