The Treaty of Versailles was a treaty concluded on 15 May 1768 at

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

between the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the La ...

and France, in which Genoa ceded

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

to France. Genoa and Corsica

Corsica had been ruled by Genoa since 1284. In the 18th century Corsicans started to seek their independence.Ethnic Groups of Europe
Cole, J. 2011. pp76-79. ABC-CLIO A German adventurer,

Theodore von Neuhof Theodore I of Corsica (25 August 169411 December 1756), born Freiherr Theodor Stephan von Neuhoff, was a low-ranking German title of nobility, usually translated "Baron". was a German adventurer who was briefly King of Corsica. Theodore is the subj ...

, briefly became King of Corsica in 1736, supported by the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands ( Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiograph ...

and Great Britain, which already possessed

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its cap ...

and

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = "Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gibr ...

in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

. In 1755 a full-fledged

Corsican Republic In November 1755, Pasquale Paoli proclaimed Corsica a sovereign nation, the Corsican Republic ( it, Repubblica Corsa), independent from the Republic of Genoa. He created the Corsican Constitution, which was the first constitution written in I ...

was founded under

Pasquale Paoli Filippo Antonio Pasquale de' Paoli (; french: link=no, Pascal Paoli; 6 April 1725 – 5 February 1807) was a Corsican patriot, statesman, and military leader who was at the forefront of resistance movements against the Genoese and later ...

, and in 1764 Genoa asked France to send troops to the island. In the Treaty of Versailles Genoa had no option but to put Corsica in pledge to France, to repay its debts. There was no chance that Genoa, which was in decline, could ever repay its debts otherwise, nor was Genoa capable of suppressing the Corsican struggle for independence. However, the treaty also established that France would return to Genoa the possession of neighboring

Capraia Capraia is an Italian island, the northwesternmost of the seven islands of the Tuscan Archipelago, and the third largest after Elba and Giglio. It is also a ''comune'' (Capraia Isola) belonging to the Province of Livorno. The island has a p ...

island, previously occupied by the

. In September 1768 France began its conquest of Corsica. France gained full military control of the island following the

Battle of Ponte Novu The Battle of Ponte Novu took place on May 8 and 9, 1769 between royal French forces under the Comte de Vaux, a seasoned professional soldier with an expert on mountain warfare on his staff, and the native Corsicans under Carlo Salicetti. It ...

in 1769,1001 Battles that Changed the Course of History
Grant, R, G. 2011. Quintessence Editions. p446 and until the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

, the island was considered the personal possession of the King.

References

{{reflist Treaties of the Republic of Genoa History of Corsica Versailles (1768) 1768 in France Treaties of the Kingdom of France 1768 in the Republic of Genoa France–Republic of Genoa relations