The first Corsican Constitution was drawn up in 1755 for the short-lived

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 ...

independent from Genoa beginning in 1755, and remained in force until the annexation of Corsica by

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 1769. It was written in Tuscan Italian, the language of elite Corsican culture at the time. It was drafted by

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 inspired by

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Republic of Geneva, Genevan philosopher (''philosophes, philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment through ...

who, commissioned by the Corsicans, in 1763 wrote '' Projet de constitution pour la Corse''. The second Corsican Constitution was drawn up in 1794 for the short-lived (1794–96) Anglo-Corsican Kingdom and introduced suffrage for all property owners. It was considered a highly democratic constitution for its time. Linda Colley credits Paoli with writing the first written constitution of a nation state.

Notes

External links

Text of constitution (in French)

Second Corsican constitution (1794)
1755 in law 1794 in law Democracy

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

Constitutions of former countries 1755 documents 1794 documents {{Italy-hist-stub