( so^ ) 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



DescriptloM, of Corsica. 



THE island of Corsica, now 

 united to the crown of Great 

 Britain, is situated nearly opposite 

 to the main-land of Genoa, between 

 the gulph of Genoa and the island 

 of Sardinia ; and according to the 

 best maps which Buschinjj had seen, 

 is in length thirty-two miles, and 

 in breadth twelve miles, * divided 

 almost longitudinally by a chain of 

 mountains J and indeed the greatest 

 part of the island is mountainous. 

 The soil is fruitful even on the 

 mountains, except the highest, 

 whose summits are covered with 

 snow the greatest part of the year. 

 Corn grows very well, and much 

 flax, and in many places excellt-nt 

 wine, and oil, and chesnuts. In 

 the interior part of the island is 

 plenty of cattle, and the inhabi- 

 tants drive a great trade with all 

 sorts of them, but more especially 

 goats, whose tlesh is the common 

 food of Corsica. There are seve- 

 ral mines of iron, lead, copper, and 

 silver, besides stones and minerals, 

 and a good coral fishery on the 

 coast. The number of parishes, in 

 1740, was 333 ; of villages, 427 5 

 of beanhs, 40,854; and of souls, 

 120, ybOj which, in 1/60, amount- 



ed to 130,000! Mr Boswell car- 

 ries it to 220,000,^ 



The kingdom of Corsica was 

 conquered by the Genoese, who 

 drove out the Saracens, A. D. 8&'4. 

 The Pisans took it from the Ge- 

 noese in the 11th century, ceded 

 it in the following, and recovered 

 it in the next. Alphonsus V. king 

 of Arrogan, attempted, without 

 success, to make bimsell:" master of 

 it 1420. In 1533, the French pos- 

 sessed themselves of the greatest 

 part of the island, but ceded it by 

 the treaty of Canr-.bresis, 1559. Iii 

 15(34, the inhabitants revolted from 

 the Genoese; and, though reduced 

 to obedience five years after, pre- 

 served an inveterate aversion to the 

 Genoese, who treated tbem with 

 the utmost rigour. An insurrec- 

 tion, on occasion of heavy taxes, 

 broke out in 1/20", which were 

 ended by the interposition of the 

 emperor. In 1735, fresh troubles 

 broke out, and the islanders chose 

 Theodore baron Neuhof their king ; 

 who, after some exertions, ended 

 his days in prison for debt at Lon» 

 don, where, in 1753, a subscrip- 

 tion was raised for him by a public 

 advertisen}ent. Peace was at length 

 restored during the years 1741" arul 

 1744j and, liiough our fleet bom- 



* Tiicsc a'C German miles, each of v.hicli is about five English miles. 



barded 



