AHC: Swap Corsica and Sardinia

[octaviuz]

The relative fates of Sardinia and Corsica have always struck me as strange since linguistically Corsica is part of the Italian dialectical continuum and Sardinian is an entirely different branch of the Romance languages.
So, make Corsica part of a unified Italy and Sardinia either independent or part of another country. Bonus points if it's part of Spain (or a unified Iberia).

 

[Vitruvius]

The relative fates of Sardinia and Corsica have always struck me as strange since linguistically Corsica is part of the Italian dialectical continuum and Sardinian is an entirely different branch of the Romance languages.

I always thought the same thing. And its relatively easy, I think. Just have Spain keep Sardinia after the War of Spanish Succession. The rest of the settlement is the same. Then during the War of Polish Succession Don Carlos gets Naples and Sicily like OTL. Savoy is compensated with Tuscany and Francis Stephen gets Parma. A few decades later Savoy, rather than France, buys Corsica from Genova since it lies right off the coast of its Tuscan territories. The rest of Italian unification plays out like OTL except Italy has Corsica instead of Sardinia. Sardinia then remains a thorn in the Spanish side supporting the Carlists in the 19th century and claims for independence cropping up in the 20th century with an armed liberation movement based out of the interior. Like a cross between Corsica, Catalonia and the Basques.

 

[Super Parker Brothers]

I always thought the same thing. And its relatively easy, I think. Just have Spain keep Sardinia after the War of Spanish Succession. The rest of the settlement is the same. Then during the War of Polish Succession Don Carlos gets Naples and Sicily like OTL. Savoy is compensated with Tuscany and Francis Stephen gets Parma. A few decades later Savoy, rather than France, buys Corsica from Genova since it lies right off the coast of its Tuscan territories. The rest of Italian unification plays out like OTL except Italy has Corsica instead of Sardinia. Sardinia then remains a thorn in the Spanish side supporting the Carlists in the 19th century and claims for independence cropping up in the 20th century with an armed liberation movement based out of the interior. Like a cross between Corsica, Catalonia and the Basques.

Safer than simply invading Genoa. Too risky someone else grabs the islands.

 

[Thande]

I always thought the same thing. And its relatively easy, I think. Just have Spain keep Sardinia after the War of Spanish Succession. The rest of the settlement is the same. Then during the War of Polish Succession Don Carlos gets Naples and Sicily like OTL. Savoy is compensated with Tuscany and Francis Stephen gets Parma. A few decades later Savoy, rather than France, buys Corsica from Genova since it lies right off the coast of its Tuscan territories. The rest of Italian unification plays out like OTL except Italy has Corsica instead of Sardinia. Sardinia then remains a thorn in the Spanish side supporting the Carlists in the 19th century and claims for independence cropping up in the 20th century with an armed liberation movement based out of the interior. Like a cross between Corsica, Catalonia and the Basques.

This is basically a good idea but it ignores the fact that French possession of Corsica was a huge part of the catalyst for the French Revolution. The revolution may still happen, but it will be very different, and that means Italy may not be turned upside down by Napoleon, therefore you can't assume Italian unification will play out the same.

 

[Falecius]

This is basically a good idea but it ignores the fact that French possession of Corsica was a huge part of the catalyst for the French Revolution. The revolution may still happen, but it will be very different, and that means Italy may not be turned upside down by Napoleon, therefore you can't assume Italian unification will play out the same.

yep, let alone what happens in France before, assuming that Napoleon is still born TTL, he would be fighting for Savoy. However, giving Tuscany to the Sabaudians pretty much puts them in pole position as unifiers of Italy even more than OTL, especially if they have their army under Napoleon.

 

[Thande]

yep, let alone what happens in France before, assuming that Napoleon is still born TTL, he would be fighting for Savoy.

Well, not necessarily seeing as his father nearly sent him away to join the Royal Navy OTL, but yes, that is a possibility.

 

[Falecius]

Well, not necessarily seeing as his father nearly sent him away to join the Royal Navy OTL, but yes, that is a possibility.

Well, I recall both an Admiral Bonaparte TL somewhere, and another one with Nappy being the leader of the Piedmontese military.
However, I think it would heavily depend upon the relation Corsica in general and the Bonaparte in particular are going to have with the Sabaudian rule.

 

[Falastur]

Well, not necessarily seeing as his father nearly sent him away to join the Royal Navy OTL, but yes, that is a possibility.

Almost but not quite. His father sent him to study at the Ecole Militaire as he thought he needed to study in Paris to become someone and gain career prospects. While there, his instructors said that he would make a first rate naval officer, and he contemplated leaving Paris to join the RN Academy in Portsmouth. However, he of course didn't and his father never had any influence on his decision - or even heard of the possibility, so far as I am aware.