Populated since prehistorical times, Corsica was occupied by the Greeks from Phocéa before being colonised by the Romans in the 3rd century B.C.

        Administered by Byzance then by the Saint-Siege from the 8th century, it was subjected to incursions by the Saracens then came under the authority of the Archbishop of Pisa in 1077.

        The Pisans were replaced by the Genoans at the end of the 13th century, and in 1347 Corsica came under the sovereignity of the Republic of Gênes for the next four centuries.

        This authority was often contested by localised uprisings that eventually led to the intervention of the French.

       In the 18th century, Paoli strived for the independence of Corsica. He could not prevent the transfer of the island to the French. In 1789 the island was incorporated as part of France by the French revolutionary Assembly.      >As is well known, the most famous native son, head of the largest empire of all times, was NAPOLEON BONAPARTE.

        In the middle of the 19th century, a regionalist movement started with the object of saving the Corsican language. The island was occupied by the Italian army from november 1942 but liberated in 1943.

        Since 1960 autonomists and independentist movements strengthened, sometimes resorting to violent action. In 1982, established as one of 22 regions, Corsica elected its first regional assembly by universal suffrage. In 1991 it was given special adminastrive status.