Considering Corsica

We had a very pleasant tour of the town of Ajaccio, the largest city on the island of Corsica. It started with a bus ride out to a sun-drenched beach fringed with islands. We learned that up to the discovery of the New World, this island was strategically important. The strait between Corsica and Sardinia was a crucial waterway, and this island was controlled at different times by Greece, Pisa, Genoa, Venice, Aragon, France and England. Since 1769 Corsica has been owned by France, but the language is a mix of French, Italian and native Corsican. As various invaders occupied the coast, native Corsicans were driven inland into the steep, barely penetrable mountains. Although the views are breathtaking, the sides of the hills here are so steep that roads to these remote villages are still often rendered impassable by landslides. In these isolated pockets government control was weak. Blood-feuds between warring families became a way of life until the mid-twentieth century. Historically there have been a few short periods when Corsica existed as an independent country. The longest lasted 12 years. Now there is another growing independence movement. Obviously some of the legislation passed at the National Assembly in Paris is totally irrelevant to the lives of Corsicans. President Macrom has introduced legislation to allow Corsica to establish its own Assembly, which would permit the people here to modify national laws to fit local conditions. So far, however, the National Assembly has not considered his proposal.

At the end of our tour we went into the downtown area to see the home of the Bonaparte family, where Napoleon was born. I suppose there are few historical figures as controversial as he. On one hand he was a dictator. On the other hand, every country he defeated profited from his rule. Every area he ruled experienced the same improvements. First, sanitation and health improved. Then his regime improved education. In due course they fostered science and the arts. Finally they standardized measurement using the metric system. I would like to have a long discussion with you over coffee about whether Napoleon was a genuinely benevolent dictator or just an egomaniac. One of the things I cannot forgive is his secretly abandoning his army in the desert during his Egyptian campaign. You may want to read the book “Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier” by Jakob Walter. It certainly provides food for thought. It is hard to think about the consequences when a General is guilty of desertion. Whatever one’s opinion of Napoleon might be, one cannot deny that Corsica possesses a unique culture in a beautiful location.Läs mer