From 1796 to 1815, during the Italian campaign in Waterloo, Napoleon, contrary to popular belief, was concerned about the future of his native island. In his letters he gives orders, making sure that they are well executed
January 14, 1801, Napoleon inform the citizen LitterCouncilor of State, of a law authorizing the municipality of Ajaccio ” to sell part of his possessions to obtain water “, and at the same time, he orders the citizen Gaudin, Minister of Finance “ to establish a directorate of direct contributions in Corsica “, appointing at its head” a man who knows the country and the language “. A pharaonic project torments the First Consul: to link Ajaccio and Bastia by a road worthy of the name. On January 15, a sum of 200,000 francs was allocated to Miot ” so that we make a good road, so that cars and artillery can cross the island “. A thousand Austrian prisoners are assigned to this task, fed a little bread, and paid 3 sous a day. Learning of this, Napoleon wrote to citizen Chaptal on September 30, 1801: I want you to make my dissatisfaction known to citizen Miot, and that you give him the order to give these individuals 20 sous a day when they work. (1 and following).
Miot arrived in Ajaccio in December 1800, following a mission order perfectly framed by the First Consul. ” Your first care will be to call near you, the prefects of Golo, of Liamone, the military commands, and to proclaim the setting out of the constitution of Corsica. “Napoleon demands first” to bring peace » : « You will begin by instituting your extraordinary tribunal, and you will have all those who are detained in the prisons of Ajaccio tried and executed as thieves, assassins or instigators of rebellion. ” Faced with the threatening presence of the galleys of the King of Sardinia, Napoleon ordered Citizen Berthier, Minister of the Navy and the Colonies to send a corvette to Bonifacio and ” to seize all the enemy buildings which would like to pass the strait “. The island of Elba, former possession of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and the Kingdom of Naples, now belongs to the Republic. ” Give the order to General Murat to send two expeditions from Livorno and Piombino and to neglect no means of seizing this island. Give the order to citizen Miot, commissioner in Corsica, to send an expedition of 5 or 600 men, which would leave at the same time as that of Livorno and Piombino in order to take possession of the island of Elba. The idea is to take advantage of the forests of Corsica for wood and the mines of the island of Elba for iron.
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To General Morand: “Corsica is surly, but basically, fair”
The First Consul does not just give orders, he verifies their proper execution. To the Minister of the Interior Chaptal, he wrote: I realize that the 200,000 francs which had been earmarked for the roads have been used for something else. Let Citizen Miot know that I attach great importance, commercially and militarily, to having the main road from Ajaccio to Bastia completed during the year X. » (1801).
However, on May 31, 1805, the Ajaccio-Bastia road axis was still not completed. From Milan, the Emperor wrote to the director of Ponts et Chaussées asking him to take all measures to complete this year, the great communication from Ajaccio to Bastia. It is a job to which I attach the greatest importance, and which must come before any other “. From Potsdam on October 26, 1806, Napoleon had 500 galley slaves sent to Corsica. to work on the roads and be distributed among the inhabitants ».
At the same time, in order to prevent any epidemic, he asked that the Sanguinaires tower be repaired in order to establish a health guard there, and that we send to Ajaccio ” 6,000 fathoms of cast iron pipes to transport good water to the middle of the public square “. In the same way to ward off the famine which threatens after bad harvests, he orders ” to send from Le Havre to Corsica ten thousand quintals of wheat ».
Commissioner Miot was succeeded by General Joseph Morand. However, on April 9, 1803, while the loads of wheat had arrived in Bastia, the famine persisted. Napoleon wrote to Morand: I am informed on all sides of the famine which desolates your division. Let me know straight what happened. But communication is slow between Paris and Corsica, while orders have been given to the post office to maintain the number of boats needed for correspondence. General Morand – known for his fierce repression in the Fiumorbo – Bonaparte gives precise instructions: ” Corsica is surly, but basically fair. Talk to them and have the patience to listen to what they tell you; but be a little severe in the duties assigned to you. In March 1805, Napoleon, who had become emperor, wrote to Morand to show his confidence in him and recommend that he relaunch conscription: Bring before military commissions and make stern examples of the cowards who would correspond with the English. »
These tips are applied to the letter and even beyond. So much so that complaints reach the Emperor in Vienna. On September 28, 1809, Napoleon wrote to the Minister of War, Clarke: You will show my displeasure to General Morand on his conduct which has become abusive and tyrannical. I entrusted him with the command of Corsica with extraordinary powers to maintain tranquility there and not to worry the good citizens. You will let him know that he has no right to prevent any good citizen of the island of Corsica from going to France and bringing his grievances to the government; that, it is strangely abusing the rights that I gave him, that I want to hope that he will change, and that I will not be obliged to disregard the services he rendered several years ago… He does not don’t know the spirit of the country; it must be carried out with firmness, but not treated arbitrarily. The same year, a strange rumor agitated Corsica. General Morand would lead a conspiracy to deliver the island to the English. Several people were arrested, some of whom were sentenced to deportation, but Napoleon did not believe in Morand’s involvement in this affair. He writes : ” The supposition of a conspiracy to deliver the city of Ajaccio to the English is pitiful and ridiculous. To get the heart of it, Napoleon dispatches to Corsica Senator Raphael de Casabianca recommending him ” special but secret attention to the conduct of General Morand “. On August 15, 1810, Napoleon awarded Morand the title of baron, but considering ” that his place is no longer tenable Morand left Corsica in April 1811. Appointed general of division in the Grande Armée, he was killed by a cannonball in Lunebourg on April 2, 1813.
(1 and following) Letters from Napoleon 1st concerning Corsica. Bulletin of the Society of Sciences 1911. No. 331-332
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