Settlement and Conflict in Corsica

Abstract

The evolution of settlement in Corsica is reviewed in relation to three categories of conflict, geopolitical, economic and developmental, each coinciding with specific forms of domination. External domination has been exacerbated by internal divisions, which also have influenced settlement patterns. THE growing tide of political and social unrest which has marked Corsica during the last decade is but the latest episode in a pattern of conflict which extends back to the dawn of history. Significantly, the present disturbances have been evoked by the struggle to gain freedom from what is perceived as excessive external domination of the island's life. Significantly too, this struggle has been characterized by internal dissension between the Union du Peuple Corse, a party which favours an autonomous status within the French Republic, and the Front de Liberation Corse, which seeks a 'national' independence. Both these parties denounce a further internal element, the 'clan chiefs', who constitute the prevailing power structure of ruling and influential families in local and island politics and economic organization. For good measure, the Bona- partist party rejects all notions of autonomy and remains devoted to integration within France. These two themes, external domination and internal division, have been the major causes of conflict throughout the island's troubled history and have exerted a powerful influence on the development of settlement. This paper attempts a survey of the effects of conflict on settlement location and development and in particular proposes a three-fold chronological classification of conflict types with related specific effects on settlement. Before embarking on this classification it is necessary to summarize physical conditions on the island from the standpoint of man's occupancy and use of resources.