Pasquale Paoli

As the founder of the town, Pasquale Paoli is a key figure in L’Isula – L’Île-Rousse. Place Paoli, Rue Paoli, the Spaziu Pasquale Paoli… Even today, his name is everywhere. An Enlightenment thinker, nicknamed ‘U Babbu di a Patria’ – the father of the Corsican nation – he was the architect of a constitution whose principles inspired the nascent democracies of Europe and as far afield as the United States.

Young Paoli

Pasquale Paoli was born on 6 April 1725 in Morosaglia. The son of Giacinto Paoli – a Corsican patriot and renowned military figure – and Dionisia Valentini, he grew up in a Corsica under Genoese rule.

In 1739, aged fourteen, he followed his father into exile in Naples. This move to Italy initially meant being separated from his homeland. There, he received a high-quality education at the Royal Military Academy in Naples, where he studied science, philosophy and literature. He was influenced by the works of Enlightenment philosophers such as Montesquieu and Rousseau, and by ancient authors such as Polybius, Plutarch and Livy.

This exposure to philosophy and history would shape his progressive political thinking, characterised by social justice and freedom.

The Father of the Nation

In 1755, on his return to Corsica, Paoli took the lead in the uprising against the Republic of Genoa. On 14 and 15 July, he was elected General of the Corsican Nation. The island’s independence was proclaimed as early as November, and Corsica became the first democratic state in Enlightenment Europe. Its constitution, which affirmed the sovereignty of the people and equality before the law, made the island a political laboratory ahead of its time.

‘There is still one country in Europe capable of enacting laws: it is the island of Corsica. The courage and steadfastness with which this brave people has managed to regain and defend its freedom would well merit that some wise man should teach them how to preserve it. I have a feeling that one day this island will astonish Europe.” – Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract (1762)

For fourteen years, Paoli and his government set about building a nation: he established modern institutions, minted a currency, created a fleet and a national army, and founded the University of Corsica in Corte in 1765, demonstrating his commitment to education and culture.

‘Studià hè libertà ’ – to study is freedom – he said.

His struggle for independence inspired people far beyond the island, not only the American Insurgents but also other revolutionary movements across Europe. The Corsican Constitution of 1755 influenced the Founding Fathers of the United States. Iconic figures such as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and Jean-Jacques Rousseau praised his ideas. Paoli was thus a major figure of the Age of Enlightenment, whose principles fuelled the revolutions of the 18th century.

Exile

In 1768, the Republic of Genoa ceded Corsica to France under the Treaty of Versailles. French troops set about conquering the island. After months of resistance, Paoli’s forces were defeated at the Battle of Ponte Novu on 8 May 1769. Corsica once again lost its independence and Paoli went into exile in England, where he was received with the honours befitting a head of state. He rubbed shoulders with the greatest minds of his time – Samuel Johnson, Joshua Reynolds, Daniel Defoe, Edmund Burke and John Pringle. Portrayed by Lawrence and Cosway, and sculpted by Ceracchi and Flaxman, Paoli led a busy social life. He was admitted to elite circles such as the Literary Club and the Royal Society. As a Freemason, he joined the Lodge of the Nine Muses in 1778.

The Return and the End

The French Revolution presented Paoli with an unexpected opportunity to return to Corsica. In 1789, the Corsican revolutionaries, recognising his role and influence, officially requested his return to the Constituent Assembly. However, tensions with the Jacobins soon arose – particularly with Napoleon Bonaparte – and led to a break.

Faced with this situation, in 1793 Paoli turned to the United Kingdom to seek its protection. An Anglo-Corsican Kingdom was established in 1794 under British sovereignty, but the experiment came to an end in 1796 with the British withdrawal, forcing Paoli into further exile in England. He died in London on 5 February 1807, and his ashes were not returned to Corsica until 1889. They now rest in his native village of Merusaglia – Morosaglia, where a museum is now dedicated to him.

The founding of L’Isula – L’Ile-Rousse

In 1759, whilst visiting his nephew Leonetti in Balagne, at the Palazzo Fabiani in Monticellu, Paoli took a strategic decision: to provide Corsica with a port in the north-west of the island. His aim was twofold: to disrupt maritime traffic between Genoa and Calvi and to open up new trade routes with Europe. On 10 December 1765, he obtained authorisation from the government of Balagne – which sat in Algaiola (Algajola) – to build a fortified enclosure around the port, known as U Scalu, a former landing point. And so the port of L’Isula – L’Île-Rousse – came into being.

This initiative marked a major turning point, enabling the Corsicans to trade freely and export goods without the intermediaries of the Genoese and without being subject to their taxes. This unprecedented situation led to the enrichment of many families.

In 1766, the first house was built around the old town, whose cobbled streets follow an almost straight, north-south layout. The first inhabitants came from neighbouring villages and Cap Corse, but the town also attracted French and Italian settlers, as evidenced by the Florentine-style internal staircases still found in some of the houses.

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