Establishment of the Anglo-Corsican Kingdom
- When
- 1793–1796
- Where
- Corte, Corsica; Corsica; Bastia, Corsica
- Episodes
- 4
The Anglo-Corsican Kingdom, a British client state on Corsica, was established in 1794 during the French Revolutionary Wars, after Pasquale Paoli's secession of Corsica from France and his request for British protection. It lasted until the French reconquest of 1796.
Episodes
- Corsican Secession from France
Accused of treason, Paoli presided over a consulta at Corte in 1793 that declared Corsica's formal secession from France.
- British Fleet Sent to Corsica
In 1794 Britain, at war with revolutionary France, dispatched a fleet to Corsica under Admiral Samuel Hood.
- Capital Moved to Bastia
In early 1795 Sir Gilbert moved the kingdom's capital from inland Corte to coastal Bastia, a centre for French and Corsican royalists.
- French Reconquest of Bastia
On 19 October 1796 the French reconquered Bastia, and Corsica became two French départements, Golo and Liamone.
Background and detail
Background. By the time of the French Revolution, Corsica had been part of France for only two decades. Pasquale Paoli, exiled under the monarchy, had become an idol of liberty and democracy and was celebrated before the National Constituent Assembly in Paris in 1789.
Secession and British Intervention. Accused of treason by the French National Convention, Paoli summoned a consulta at Corte in 1793, presiding over its declaration of Corsica's formal secession from France. He then requested British protection and proposed Ireland as a model for an autonomous kingdom under the British monarch. In 1794 Britain sent a fleet under Admiral Samuel Hood.
Governance and Tensions. The relationship between Paoli's government and the British was never clearly defined, producing questions of authority. Tensions arose between Sir Gilbert's loyalty to the British monarchy and Paoli's republican leanings and defense of Corsican autonomy. A division also persisted between inland Corte and coastal Bastia, where Sir Gilbert moved the capital in early 1795.
People involved
- Pasquale Paoli · Corsican leader who declared secession from France and requested British protection
- Samuel Hood · Admiral commanding the British fleet sent to Corsica in 1794
- Sir Gilbert (unresolved named mention) · British figure named only as 'Sir Gilbert' in the sources; his loyalty to the monarchy conflicted with Paoli's republicanism, and he moved the capital to Bastia. Identity unresolved: no surname or further identifying detail appears in the supplied passages.
Sources
- Anglo-Corsican Kingdom Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-26
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.