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Fine Large Map of Corsica from the late 18th Century

This detailed and finely engraved late 18th-century map presents the island and kingdom of Corsica with remarkable precision. Published in 1794, it offers a comprehensive depiction of the island’s geography, featuring meticulously rendered topographical details, including the extensive mountain ranges, roads, rivers, and coastal features such as bays and inlets.  

One of the defining characteristics of Corsica’s geography is its division by a great range of mountains, beginning beyond Alleria and running unevenly across the island. This range creates two distinct regions: di qua monti ("on this side of the mountains") and di là monti ("on the other side of the mountains"), with the town of Bastia serving as the reference point for this division.  

Unlike some other contemporary maps, this edition does not depict Corsica’s division into its nine official provinces or jurisdictions, nor does it delineate the 68 Pieves, the ecclesiastical jurisdictions that played a dual role in the island’s administrative and religious structure. Each Pieve was governed by a Pievano, who oversaw local parishes and was responsible for tax collection, particularly tithes. These ecclesiastical subdivisions were also crucial in Corsica’s militia system, as they determined military quotas.

During the second half of the 18th Century, the map notes that Corsica’s population and military strength were subjects of debate among cartographers and historians. Captain Vogt’s Amsterdam map, commissioned by the self-proclaimed King Theodore, estimated Corsica’s military force at 32,380 fighting men, while the Abbé d’Expilly, writing in 1758, suggested a more conservative figure of 28,000. Later, James Boswell, in his well-known writings on Corsica, exaggerated the total population to 220,000 inhabitants, a number regarded as an overstatement. In contrast, Jacques Necker, the French statesman and finance minister, estimated Corsica’s population at approximately 130,000 in his political treatise on finance.

A text note in the lower right corner of the map provides historical and statistical observations, reflecting the ongoing discourse regarding Corsica’s demographics and military organization. This map serves as an essential artifact for understanding Corsica’s late 18th-century territorial structure and geopolitical significance during a period of frequent conflict and shifting allegiances.