I. Pasquale

Pasquale, a Corsican patriot, born near Morosaglia in 1726, died in London, Feb. 5, 1807. His father Giacinto was a leader of the Corsicans in their struggles against the Genoese and the French. Being exiled, he went in 1739 to Naples. There Pasquale was educated, and subsequently served as an officer in one of the Corsican regiments of Naples, formed of refugees from that island. In 1755 he returned to Corsica, was unanimously chosen for the annual magistracy, and in a consulta, held July 16, was offered the supreme command of the troops. He shared the command, however, with Mario Matra, who was killed in 1757, when Paoli procured from the con&ulta the confirmation of his rank as general for life, and, pursuing the war against the Genoese, beat them back from the interior of the island, hemmed them in within a few seaports, defeated their army under Grimaldi, and organized a navy that seriously interfered with their trade. Turning his attention next to civil affairs, he established permanent courts, introduced uniformity of weights and measures, regulated the coinage, encouraged agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, instituted a national printing press, and opened a university at Oorte. In 1765 he was visited by Boswell, whose journal, published in 1768, contributed much to Paoli's European reputation.

In 1767 he again repelled the Genoese, and captured the island of Oapraja. The Genoese then sold their right to the French, and another and more terrible conflict began. At first Paoli checked the advance of the invaders under Marboeuf and Ohauvelin, and routed them at San Nicolao and at Borgo, forcing them to seek refuge within the walls of Bastia. But in 1769 an army of 22,000 men, under the count de Vaux, landed in the island, and soon completely subdued it. Paoli went to Holland, and finally to England, where he received a pension of £1,200, and lived for 20 years. The constituent assembly of France having allowed the Oorsican exiles to return home, Paoli went to Paris, and was made a lieutenant general and military governor of Corsica. When the island was formed into a department, he became president of the administration and commander of the national guard. But the lawless and sanguinary proceedings of the convention soon estranged him; and, assisted by Great Britain, he organized a revolt, and was elected in June, 1793, generalissimo and president of a consulta which met at Oorte. The French garrisons were driven from the island; English troops were landed there, and George III. was proclaimed " king of Corsica," but Paoli was treated with neglect.

In 1795 he removed to England, and in the following year the island was permanently annexed to France. His biography has been written by Arrighi (2 vols., Paris, 1843), by Klose (Brunswick, 1853), and by Bartoli (Ajaccio, 1867). He bequeathed a large part of his fortune to establish schools in Corsica.

II. Clemente

Clemente, a Oorsican patriot, elder brother of the preceding, born at Rostino in 1715, died there in 1793. During his exile he became a Franciscan friar. He accompanied his brother in 1755 to Corsica, was a prominent leader in the war of independence against the Genoese and French, and greatly distinguished himself in the battle of Borgo. After the battle of Ponte Nuovo he retired to a convent near Vallambrosa, and there remained 20 years, returning to Corsica an old man.