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PASQUALE PAOLI
1725 - 1807
Pasquale Paoli, also spelled Pascal
Paoli, was born on beautiful
Corsica.
In full, his name was Philippe Antoine Pascal Paoli.
Pasquale's nickname was Père de la Patrie,
if you speak French, or Babbu di a Patria, if you speak
Corsican (Corsu). Kind of the George Washington of the island.
Another nickname, if on a slightly more formal note, was Général
de la Nation.
Pasquale's father was Giacinto Paoli.
Among many other things, Paoli was responsible for creating a
Corsican navy
and founding Corsican universities and schools. Also, he had a heavy
hand on politics.
And here is what Paoli's pen pal, the great
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
said.
There is still in Europe one country
capable of being given laws — Corsica. The valor and persistency
with which that brave people has regained and defended its liberty
well deserves that some wise man should teach it how to preserve
what it has won. I have a feeling that some day that little island
will astonish Europe.
JJRousseau, Social Contract, Book 2, Chapter 10.
PASQUALE PAOLI'S
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY
1725, April 26 - Birth at Stretta di Morosaglia, Corsica
1729 - The Corsicans gain independence of Genoa
1735, January 30 - Corsicans declare their independence at Orezza
1739 - Paoli goes into exile at Naples, Italy
1755 - Back to Corsica
1769 - France invades Corsica, Paoli flees to England, Napoleon
Bonaparte was born at Ajaccio, Corsica
1789 -
French Revolution starts
1790 - Back to Corsica
1795 - Back to England
1807, February 5 - Death at London, England
Check out an interview with some real Corsicans.
Paoli Trivia
The town of Paoli in Chester
County, Pennsylvania, was named after Pasquale Paoli. Same goes for
Paoli in Colorado.
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