He is undoubtedly the most Bastian of the 227 governors who have ruled Genoese Corsica, and the most experienced. Nicknamed “il Corsetto”, DM Spinola dies in Bastia at the age of 77, in the same room where he was born. A sign of destiny
Born in Bastia on December 10, 1665 to Cristoforo Spinola and Ersilia Centurione, Domenico Maria Spinola presents an unprecedented and atypical career among all the governors who sat in Bastia, capital of the Kingdom of Corsica. Because Domenico Maria, son of the governor in office, Cristoforo, was called to the highest destinies within the Republic since he would become its Doge, before returning to Bastia as governor at the height of the struggles against Genoa. On the very day of his birth, Domenico Maria was baptized in the Cathedral of Santa Maria in Terra Nova by the Bishop of Mariana, Mgr Carlo Fabrizio Giustiniani. His career was promised great success to the extent that at the age of 21, he was already invested with public offices reserved for members of the Genoese patriciate, such as the Conservatori delle Leggi and the magistrato dei Poveri.
From 1710, Domenico Maria Spinola had to deal with important international affairs relating to the territories, as ambassador extraordinary from Genoa to the court of the Habsburgs. Back in Genoa, he was appointed procuratore della Repubblica in 1731.
On January 29, 1732, Spinola was proclaimed « Doge of the Republic » and consequently King of Corsica. Undoubtedly the most difficult task of his career, because he immediately found himself faced with the revolts which agitated Corsica, two years after the fiscal jacquerie of the “peasants” who ransacked the city of Bastia, forcing the inhabitants to take refuge in Capraja. However, the troubles persist. The sector of Castagniccia and the Bastia hinterland as part of Balagne, are invested by the rebels who lead negotiations with the Genoese leaders. “A fact seemed new and particularly worrying in the eyes of the Genoese leaders, it was the firm and unanimous will to free themselves from the Genoese sovereignty which seemed to reign in an island generally dominated by its divisions. This circumstance, doubtless more than any other, left the Ligurian Republic with no other resource than to appeal to the military aid of foreign powers. » (1)
At the beginning of January 1732, two thousand men under the orders of Colonel Baron Wachtendonck marched on Balagne. But these reinforcements already seem insufficient. The Genoese obtain from the Emperor a new corps of 6,000 men which must arrive in February. Duke Louis of Württemberg will be in charge of the command.
Faced with the aggravation of the conflict which did not turn in favor of the Republic, the Doge Domenico Maria Spinola temporized and worked to calm people down. The King’s extraordinary envoy to Genoa, Campredon, writes: “The Doge, who has property in that country, and whose experience had made him understand that the real interest of the Republic was to adapt to the times, by granting tolerable conditions to the rebels, had made the project jointly with Mr. Veneroso. But he was beaten to ruin in the councils. Most of the votes were against him in the ballot…”. In other words, the Senate of Genoa ignores the advice of Doge Spinola, a native of Bastia, and therefore doubtless suspect in the eyes of some. THE ” hard » of Genoa, rejecting any approach “diplomatic”, close the door to a negotiated outcome, leaving the field open to the military. The Corsican chiefs whose head has been priced at 200 genuines, reply with irony, by putting a price on that of the doge!
Spinola succeeds against all odds in having two Corsican bishops appointed by the Pope
Does Genoa have the means for a military victory? Maintaining foreign troops in Corsica cost him 30,000 florins per month without any notable success in return. Nevertheless, an agreement took shape in the spring between the Emperor, the Duke of Württemberg and the revolted Corsicans: “On April 17, it was therefore a unilateral edict of guarantee which was proclaimed by a letter from Duke Frédéric Louis of Württemberg, new head of the expeditionary force: expression of the grievances of the Corsicans, guarantee of forgiveness by the emperor. » (2)
But the armistice will be short-lived. In November 1732, Genoa raises eight new battalions bringing the strength to 5,000 men. Hostilities resumed until the end of the mandate of Domenico Maria Spinola in 1734. The grateful Republic then gratified the Doge with the title of “Perpetual Prosecutor”offering him the opportunity to extend his influence over the government.
In Corsica, the agitation continues, amplified by the echo of the gazettes throughout Europe.
Two major events will mark a breaking point between the belligerents. The consultation of January 1735 advocating breaking ties with the Republic. Then, the arrival of a new king, Théodore de Neuhoff, enthroned on April 15, 1736 in the convent of Alesani, thus causing an irreversible resumption of the war against Genoa.
The conflict widened on July 12, 1737 thanks to a so-called Versailles convention which allowed France to enter the game in order to guarantee Genoese sovereignty in Corsica. “The French troops commanded by the Comte de Boissieux landed at the beginning of February 1738 in Saint-Florent and Bastia in the bad climate maintained by the Genoese governor with regard to the French. » (3) In 1739, Boissieux died, immediately replaced by Maillebois.
At this time, the former Doge Domenico Maria Spinola, strong in his influential authority and skill, was sent to Bastia as governor, a post previously held by his father. In 1740, his native town, Bastia, welcomed a governor’s son, called to an arduous task at a critical moment, at the age of 75.
Spinola was primarily responsible for providing the Genoese troops with supplies and ammunition. Under his aegis, the Holy See agrees to appoint two island bishops, against the current practice favoring ecclesiastics from Genoese families. “He thought that with these appointments the intolerance of the population would somehow subside, and indeed the news of the election of the two bishops was well received by the Corsican people”. (4)
But the political situation remains blocked, Genoa refusing the grievances of the insurgents: tax relief, carrying arms, and authorization to meet without the presence of the governor. When Domenico Maria Spinola died in Bastia on February 21, 1743, the Corsican question was far from resolved.
His death is recorded in Genoa in his parish San Luca, where is mentioned as an epitaph: “He died in the same room where he was born when his father was governor of Corsica. » Governor Spinola will be buried in Bastia in the Saint-Charles church.
In the end, the personality of the most Bastiais of Genoese governors upsets a received idea about power: “Appointed for thirteen months, the governor sometimes called general commissioner is not – contrary to an abusive historiography – a monster of greed. The governors are great Genoese lords from the greatest houses of the Republic, relatives of several great characters of their name, who were governors of Corsica before them, or who will be after them… » (5)
(1, 3) Antoine Franzini. A century of Corsican revolutions. Vendémiaire (2) J.-M. Arrighi, O. Jehasse. History of Corsica and the Corsicans. Perrin (4) Encyclopedic dictionary Treccani (5) Michel Vergé-Franceschi. History of Corsica. Ed du Felin.
