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

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

between 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 ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, in which Genoa ceded

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 ...

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

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

, which already possessed

Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from , 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 Mallorca. Its capital is Maó, situated on the isl ...

and

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

. In 1755, a full-fledged

Corsican Republic The Corsican Republic () was a short-lived state on the island of Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea. It was proclaimed in July 1755 by Pasquale Paoli, who was seeking independence from the Republic of Genoa. Paoli created the Corsican Constitutio ...

was founded under

Pasquale Paoli Filippo Antonio Pasquale de' Paoli (; or ; ; 6 April 1725 – 5 February 1807) was a Corsican patriot, statesman, and military leader who was at the forefront of resistance movements against the Republic of Genoa, Genoese and later Kingd ...

, 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, and Genoa was not capable of suppressing the Corsican struggle for independence. However, the treaty also established that France would return to Genoa the possession of neighboring Capraia 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 in 1769,1001 Battles that Changed the Course of History
Grant, R, G. 2011. Quintessence Editions. p446 and until the French Revolution, the island was considered the personal possession of the King.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Versailles 1768 Treaties of the Republic of Genoa French conquest of Corsica 1768 treaties 1768 in France Treaties of the Kingdom of France 1768 in the Republic of Genoa France–Republic of Genoa relations History of the Palace of Versailles Military history of Île-de-France