The Invasion of Corsica of 1553 occurred when French, Ottoman, and

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

n exile forces combined to capture the island of

from the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Maritime republics, maritime republic from the years 1099 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italy, Italian coast. During the Late Middle Ages, it was a major commercial power in ...

. The island had considerable strategic importance in the western

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

, being at the heart of the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

communication network and serving as a forced stopover for small boats sailing between

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

.''The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean world in the age of Philip II'' by Fernand Braudel p.929''ff''
/ref> The island had been administered since 1453 by the Genoese

Bank of Saint George The Bank of Saint George ( or informally as ''Ufficio di San Giorgio'' or ''Banco'') was a financial institution of the Republic of Genoa. It was founded on 23 April 1407 to consolidate the public debt, which had been escalating due to the war ...

. The invasion of Corsica was accomplished for the benefit of France.''The Cambridge History of Islam'', p. 328

Background

The French king

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

had entered the

Italian War of 1551–1559 The Italian War of 1551–1559 began when Henry II of France declared war against Holy Roman Emperor Charles V with the intent of recapturing parts of Italy and ensuring French, rather than Habsburg, domination of European affairs. The war e ...

against Habsburg Emperor Charles V. Looking for allies, Henry II, following the

Franco-Ottoman alliance The Franco-Ottoman alliance, also known as the Franco-Turkish alliance, was an alliance established in 1536 between Francis I of France, Francis I, King of France and Suleiman the Magnificent, Suleiman I of the Ottoman Empire. The strategic and s ...

policy of his father Francis I, sealed a treaty with

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...

in order to cooperate against the Habsburgs in the

.Miller, p.2 As for the island of Corsica itself, it was ruled by the

. The Ottomans, accompanied by the French ambassador Gabriel de Luetz, had already defeated a Genoese fleet under

Andrea Doria Andrea Doria, Prince of Melfi (; ; 30 November 146625 November 1560) was an Italian statesman, ', and admiral, who played a key role in the Republic of Genoa during his lifetime. From 1528 until his death, Doria exercised a predominant influe ...

in the Battle of Ponza the previous year in 1552. On 1 February 1553, a new Franco-Ottoman treaty of alliance, involving naval collaboration against the Habsburgs, was signed between France and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

.''History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey'', Ezel Kural Shaw, p. 10

/ref>

Operations

Summer campaign (1553)

The Ottoman admirals Turgut Reis, Turgut and Koja Sinan, together with a French squadron under Baron Paulin de la Garde, raided the coasts of

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, Sicily,

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, and then

.''New Turkes: Dramatizing Islam and the Ottomans in Early Modern England'', Matthew Dimmock, p. 4

/ref> The Ottoman fleet supported the French by ferrying the French troops of

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

under Marshal Paul de Thermes from Sienese Maremma to Corsica. The French were also supported by Corsican exiles under Sampiero Corso and Giordano Orsini (Gallicized as "Jourdan des Ursins") in this adventure. The invasion had not been explicitly approved beforehand by the French king however.

Bastia Bastia ( , , , ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest popu ...

was captured on 24 August 1553, and Paulin de la Garde arrived in front of Saint-Florent on 26 August. Bonifacio was captured in September. With only Calvi remaining to be captured, the Ottomans, loaded with spoils, decided to leave the blockade at the end of September, and return to Constantinople. With the help of the Ottomans, the French had managed to take strong positions on the island and finally occupied it almost completely by the end of the summer, to the dismay of the

Papacy The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

Turgut Reis bust at Istanbul Naval Museum

With the Ottoman fleet gone for the winter and the French fleet having returned to

Marseilles Marseille (; ; see below) is a city in southern France, the prefecture of the department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the Provence region, it is located on the coast of the Mediterranean S ...

, the occupation of Corsica was jeopardised. Only 5,000 old soldiers remained on the island, together with the Corsican insurgents.

Genoese counter-attack (1553–1554)

Henry II started negotiations with Genoa in November, but Genoa sent a force of 15,000 men with the fleet of

and started the long recapture of the island with the siege of Saint-Florent. An Ottoman fleet sailed in the Mediterranean under

Dragut Dragut (; 1485 – 23 June 1565) was an Ottoman corsair, naval commander, governor, and noble. Under his command, the Ottoman Empire's maritime power was extended across North Africa. Recognized for his military genius, and as being among "the ...

but was too late, and only sailed the coast of

before returning to Constantinople. The French only obtained the cooperations of

galliot A galiot, galliot or galiote, was a small galley boat propelled by sail or oars. There are three different types of naval galiots that sailed on different seas. A ''galiote'' was a type of French flat-bottom river boat or barge and also a fla ...

s from

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

Franco-Turkish operations (1555–58)

Battle of of the Corsicans with the Genoese

By 1555, the French had been cleared from most of the coastal cities and Doria left, but many areas remained under French control. In 1555, Jourdan des Ursins replaced de Thermes, and was named ''"Gouverneur et lieutenant général du roi dans l'île de Corse"''. The ambassador to the Ottoman Porte Codignac had to go to the Ottoman headquarters in Persia, where they were waging a war against the

Safavid Empire The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

, in the Ottoman-Safavid War (1532–1555), to plead for the dispatch of a fleet. The Turkish fleet only stood by during the siege of Calvi, and contributed little. The same inactivity took place during the siege of

, which had been retaken by the Genoese. The Turkish fleet sent to help was severely undermined by the plague and went home towing empty ships. Another Ottoman fleet was sent to the Mediterranean in 1558 to strategically support France, but the fleet was delayed from joining a French fleet in

near

, possibly due to the failure of the commander

to honour Suleiman's orders. The Ottoman fleet led an invasion of the Balearic islands instead. Suleiman would apologize in a letter to Henry at the end of the year 1558.''The Papacy and the Levant'' Kenneth M. Setton p.696''ff''
/ref>''The Papacy and the Levant'' Kenneth M. Setton p.700''ff''
/ref> The Franco-Ottoman military alliance is said to have reached its peak around 1553. Finally, in the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559, the French returned Corsica to the Genoese Republic.

Gallery

File:Pauldelabarthe.jpg, Paul de Thermes, Commander of the French forces File:Arolsen_Klebeband_01_457_3.jpg, Koja Sinan Pasha, Commander of the Ottoman forces File:Antoine Escalin.jpg, Baron de la Garde, Admiral of the French fleet File:Andrea Doria.jpg,

, Commander of the Genoese forces File:Bastelica (Santo) 1 JPG.jpg, Statue of Sampiero Corso at Bastelica. He combined with the French and the Ottomans to occupy Corsica

Notes

References

* Peter Malcolm Holt, Ann K. S. Lambton, Bernard Lewis, ''The Cambridge History of Islam'',

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

, 1977. * William Miller, ''The Ottoman Empire and Its Successors, 1801–1927'' Routledge, 1966 {{ISBN, 0-7146-1974-4 Military campaigns involving France Military campaigns involving the Ottoman Empire Conflicts in 1553 Military history of Corsica Campaigns of the Italian Wars 1553 in the Ottoman Empire 1553 in Europe

Invasions by the Ottoman Empire in Europe Invasions of former countries Wars involving the Republic of Genoa 1553 in the Republic of Genoa Italian War of 1551–1559