Invasion of Corsica (1553) Invasion of Corsica (1553) The Invasion of Corsica of 1553 occurred when French, Ottoman and Corsican exile forces combined to capture the island of Corsica from the Genoese. The island had considerable strategic importance in the western Mediterranean, being at the heart of the Habsburg communication network and serving as a forced stopover for small boats sailing between Spain and Italy. The island had been administered since 1453 by the Genoese Bank of Saint George. The invasion of Corsica was accomplished for the benefit of France. The island had major strategic importance, as it was located on the sea route
Ancient Corsica also interested in Corsica even at this early stage. A first attempt to found a Roman colony on the island in 425 BC was a failure. In 296 BC, the island was used by the Romans as a place of exile for Galerius Torquatus. The Roman conquest of Corsica began in 259 BC, when Lucius Cornelius Scipio captured Aleria (Greek 'Alalia') and several Corsican tribes, in the course of the First Punic War. The Roman invasion of the island marked the expansion of the war beyond Sicily to the entire western Mediterranean. In the subsequent peace treaty in 241 BC