Corsica the wars for the conquest of the colonial empire, the introduction of steamboats, which reduced the travel time between mainland France from the island drastically, and — last but not least — Napoleon himself, whose existence alone constituted an indissoluble link between France and Corsica. Thanks to all these factors by around 1870 Corsica had landed in the French cultural world. From the 19th century into the mid-20th century, Corsicans also grew closer to the French nation through participation in the French Empire. Compared to much of Metropolitan France, Corsica was poor and many Corsicans emigrated. While Corsicans emigrated globally,
Invasion of Corsica (1794) was defeated by the British fleet at the Battle of Genoa, and for the remainder of the British occupation of the island French privateers and agents regularly landed on the coast. In the aftermath of the successful invasion of Corsica, developments focused on the island's capital Bastia, where a series of personal disputes threatened to derail the government of the island. First Stuart and Elliott engaged in a bitter squabble over control of the military forces on the island which eventually resulted in Stuart's resignation. At about the same time, Elliott was also engaged in preventing Paoli from enacting reprisals