Paoli by Lady Rose
The context of the Corsican revolutions
The uprising of 1730 is not directed against feudalism, which in Corsica had almost disappeared, but by its rural and spontaneous character, it resembles the peasant riots that have been called « jaqueries ».
According to popular tradition, the revolt had its origin in the refusal of « Cardone », an infirm and indigent old man from Boziu who refused to pay a supplement of a « baiocca » (a small piece of copper) to a ruthless tax collector. Even if it is an image of Epinal, the case corresponds to a reality. Against the backdrop of discontent and misery, the villagers took Cardone's side. The most spectacular event being the bag of Bastia on February 19 and 20, 1730.
From this date, the revolt is organized. Triumvirs are named: Luigi Giafferi, Andrea Ceccaldi, and Abbot Carlo Francesco Raffalli. In March 1731, Canon Erasmo Orticoni played an important role during the congress of theologians in Orezza. The revolt began to take on an international scale, the Genoese were forced to call on foreign troops, especially Austrian, and various books, in Italian and French, testify to the interest aroused by these revolutions. A new notable Giacinto Paoli, the father of Clemente and Pasquale, began to impose himself from the second insurrection, of 1733.
His eldest son Clemente will take over as « leader of the « malcontenti » (insurgents) of Corsica ».
Dorothy Carrington and the « constitution » of Pasquale Paoli
Dorothy Carrington was particularly interested in the legislative work of the Corsican leader. Particularly noteworthy, she was the first to rediscover Paoli's talent in the legislative and political field to a predominantly Anglo-Saxon and academic public. She holds conferences in Moscow, Great Britain, Florida and Italy, publishes « the constitution of Pascal Paoli » from archives kept in Ajaccio, and articles published by the Society of Historical and Natural Sciences of Corsica, as evidenced by her notebooks kept at the Fesch Library. It should also be said that in 1970 (she herself acknowledges this), Dorothy Carrington has not yet had time to deepen her historical research method, and to study what Paoli owes to her philosophical and legal training. At this stage of her career as a historian, Dorothy did not take enough account of the fact that Paoli is nourished by the cult of antiquity, the philosophy of Machiavelli, classical republicanism and the defense of freedom as expressed by Cicero, and that he relies on the traditional institutions of Corsica for the drafting of the constitution.
Dorothy Carrington and James Boswell
Carrington is familiar with the Account of Corsica of Boswell, she rightly appreciates its importance. She claims that Boswell was the first author to introduce Corsica to the literate Anglo-Saxon public. Carrington uses it to demonstrate that Paoli is a Corsican hero, like Napoleon.
Boswell, a writer-in-waiting, managed to break through the door of Jean-Jacques Rousseau who granted him a letter of recommendation intended for the Corsican leader. In October 1765, he met Paoli in Sollacarò, took notes of his interviews, and gathered a rich documentation on Corsica: works that would lead to a book entitled An Account of Corsica. This book was a real bestseller, not only by the originality and novelty of the subject, but by the quality of Paoli's portrait captured on the spot, brushed with a talent that Carrington salutes. In 1768 and 1769, thanks to this account, Paoli was celebrated among the enlightened minds of Europe as a hero of patriotism and freedom, up to the English colonies of America.
You can see a series of the draft notebooks about his research on Boswell. In fact, in 1984, as part of the Royal Society of Literature, and for the British Council, Carrington toured Florence, Rome, Genoa, and Milan to give lectures on the subject of the Scot's book.
These notebooks cite a study by the eminent American professor at Yale University, Frederick A. Pottle, who published his study on the youth of Boswell, entitled James Boswell. The Earlier Years 1740-1769, (Heinemann: London, 1966).
Dorothy Carrington and the Bonapartes
From 1969 to 1989, Dorothy Carrington took the time to deepen her knowledge of Corsican history, and to refine her method in order to better meet the criteria of scientific writings. She did so by carefully following the advice of experienced academics and benefiting from their knowledge.
Paoli My photos
