Treaty of Bastia

The Treaty of Bastia was an agreement signed in 1814 between Britain and representatives of Corsica which conferred sovereignty of the island to the British crown. The treaty was agreed near the end of the Napoleonic Wars. British troops had been landed by the British commander in Italy Lord William Bentinck to take control of Corsica from French forces.

At a request of councils in Bastia, Saint-Florent and L'ille Rousse Bentinck despatched troops to Corsica and signed the Treaty of Bastia. Bentinck had in mind the recreation of the Anglo-Corsican Kingdom which had lasted between 1794 and 1796 when British forces had been invited in by the Corsican Parliament and sovereignty of the island given to British. Bentinck was also an advocate of a united, independent Italy and may have regarded the treaty as a step towards Corsica later forming a part of this.^[1]

The possibility of reviving the Anglo-Corsican Kingdom was rejected by the British Foreign Secretary Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh who was a strong supporter of a restoration of the Bourbon family of kings who had been overthrown in the French Revolution. Castelreagh sent an order that the treaty was to be repudiated as it had already been agreed by Britain and her allies that Louis XVIII was to rule Corsica.^[2]

The Treaty was not universally accepted on the island, and was unpopular with many. The Court of Appeals in Ajaccio specifically rejected its legality.^[3]

References

1. ^ Gregory p.182
2. ^ Gregory p.182
3. ^ Gregory p.182-183

Bibliography

• Gregory, Desmond. The Ungovernable Rock: The Anglo-Corsican Kingdom. Associated University Press, 1985.