an island in the Mediterranean, between 8° and 10° E. Long. and 41° and 43° N. Lat. On the south it is separated from Sardinia, by the strait of Bonifacio; to the east it has the Tuscan sea; to the north the gulf of Genoa; and to the west it is opposite the coasts of France and Spain. It is 150 miles miles from north to south, and from 40 to 50 in breadth. It was known to the ancient Greeks by the names of Callifia and Cyrus, and to the Romans by its present appellation. On the coast are many excellent harbours. It is mountainous, but fruitful valleys are interspersed; and it has some fine lakes and rivers. With respect to products, Corsica has nothing peculiar to itself; but from the earliest times it has been famous for its swarms of bees, and produces vast quantities of honey, which, however, is reckoned bitter, on account of the box and yew with which the country abounds. The mountains are rich in lead, iron, copper, and silver; a mine of the latter was opened in the year 1767, from which a quintal of mineral produced 18 ounces of silver. There are also mines of alum and saltpetre.

The granite of Corsica is nearly equal to the oriental. Porphyries, jasper, talc, amianthus, emeralds, and other precious stones, are found scattered in the mountains; and the south coast abounds with beautiful coral. After many revolutions, this island was, for some centuries, under the dominion of the Genoese, whose tyranny was such, that the Corficans were almost in a perpetual state of insurrection. In 1736, a German adventurer, Theodore baron Newhoff, brought some assistance to them, and, on his affluences of more powerful aid, they elected him king; but, as he could not substantiate his promises, he was obliged to leave the island. He came to England, was thrown into the Fleet prison, released by an act of insolvency (after having registered his kingdom of Corsica for the benefit of his creditors), and suffered to die in extreme indigence. The Genoese tired of the contest, sold the sovereignty to France, in 1767, and the celebrated Paoli, who had been elected to the chief command, in 1755, was obliged to abandon the island in 1769. After the French revolution, in 1789, Corsica was admitted as an eighty-third department of France, at the particular request of a deputation, of which Paoli was at the head. In consequence, however, of some events which followed the revolution of 1792, Paoli revolted; the French, by the assistance of the English, were expelled from the island; and Corsica, on the 19th of June 1794, was declared annexed to the crown of Great Britain, according to a new constitution which had been previously formed. In October 1796, however, the English found it expedient to evacuate the island, of which the French immediately took possession, and again united it to their republic, dividing it into two departments, Golo and Liamone; of the former of which Bastia is the chief town, and of the latter Ajaccio.