Corsican Crisis

The Corsican Crisis was an event in British politics during 1768–69. It was precipitated by the invasion of the island of Corsica by France. The British government under the Duke of Grafton failed to intervene, for which it was widely criticised and was one of many factors that contributed to its downfall in early 1770.

Corsica had been owned by Republic of Genoa for five centuries when a major rebellion broke out on the island in the 1750s. In 1755 their leader Pasquale Paoli had declared the Corsican Republic establishing rule over much of the island. After nine years of attempts to re-establish their rule over the island, the Genoese sold the island to the French in 1764 in a secret treaty.

Paoli had created a liberal Corsican Constitution heavily influenced by that of Britain. He created the most extensive voting franchise in the world, and attempted radical reforms in education. Because of Britain's enmity of France, and because the British had historically been supportive of Corsican exiles — Paoli sought to establish an alliance with Great Britain. Britain opened a consulate on the island, but events in Corsica did not feature prominently in Britain until 1768.

Britain's relations with France had remained strained since the Treaty of Paris had brought the Seven Years' War to an end. France now tried to acquire new territory such as Guiana and Lorraine to replace lands lost during the war.

In 1768 French troops landed and attempted to establish control over the island, while the Treaty of Versailles (1768) officially acknowledged the transfer of the island from Genoa to France. The scheme had been the project of Choiseul, who had been searching for a way for France to strike back at Britain since the end of the Seven Years' War in 1763.

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