History of Corsica of 1755 and under partial control until its purchase by France in 1768. However, the dissension and political conflict at home did not always permit Doges of Genoa to govern Corsica well or at all. During such periods the island was subject to destructive conflict between coalitions of signorial families. The Bank of Saint George became involved as a major creditor of the Republic of Genoa. As security for their public loans they had obtained a franchise to collect public money; i.e., taxes. In 1453 the people of Corsica held a general assembly, or Diet, at Lago Benedetto at which
Corsica Anglo-American landings in North Africa was occupied by Italian and German forces. After the Italian armistice in September 1943, Italian and Free French Forces pushed the Germans out of the island, making Corsica the first French Department to be freed. Subsequently, the US military established 17 airfields, nicknamed "USS Corsica", which served as bases for attacks on targets in German-occupied Italy. During the May 1958 crisis, French paratroopers landed on Corsica on 24 May, garrisoning the island in a bloodless action called Opération Corse. Between the late fifties and the seventies, the project of building a nuclear polygon in the