Sovereign Pontiff and the seizure of his dominions did not satisfy the ambition of Choiseul. The annexation of Corsica had long been a favourite idea of French policy, and the time was now come for putting the idea into execution.
Corsica had been in the possession of Genoa ever since 1481; but the rule of the Republic was oppressive, and the island became the scene of constant insurrections. The idea of selling their troublesome possession to France had in consequence been more than once entertained by the Genoese, but in 1743 England formally notified that she would not under any circumstances allow such a transaction. Gastaldi, the Genoese Minister, declared in reply that no such intention was entertained.[1] During the war of the Austrian succession, England assisted the rebels, and even after the peace of Aachen clandestine support continued to reach the island, notwithstanding the issue of prohibitory Orders in Council in 1753 and 1763. When finally it became known that a fresh insurrection had been organised under the leadership of Pascal Paoli, the patriotic son of a patriotic father, and a man said to be as eminent for virtue and ability as the leader of the previous insurrection, Theodore Neuhof, a Westphalian adventurer, had been conspicuous for the opposite qualities, the enthusiasm for Corsican independence grew stronger than ever, especially after the publication of Boswell's account of his tour in the island. The material interests of England were also held by many to be at stake. Burke himself solemnly declared that "Corsica a French province was terrible to him."[2] The advantages which as a naval station commanding the Mediterranean, it might give to any power desiring to interfere with the commerce and maritime supremacy of England, were insisted upon, and not without reason. On the other hand there were those who with Johnson "wished England to mind her own affairs, and to leave the Corsicans to mind theirs."[3]
