Pasquale Paoli, Rousseau, and the Lost Republic That Shaped the New World

In the mid-18th century, the small Mediterranean island of Corsica became the unlikely stage for one of the most ambitious republican experiments of the Enlightenment era. Long under Genoese rule, the Corsican people had a long tradition of resistance, but it was under the leadership of Pasquale Paoli that Corsica briefly emerged as an independent constitutional republic. This short-lived but remarkable period, known as the Corsican Revolution (1755–1769), was not only a product of Enlightenment ideals—it also helped inspire other revolutionary movements, including the American War of Independence. What makes this moment particularly significant is the intellectual endorsement and involvement of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, whose philosophical contributions shaped political thought both in Corsica and abroad. Though Corsica’s bid for freedom ended in French annexation, its influence lingered, particularly in the ideological foundations of American independence and constitutionalism.

                Portrait of Pasquale Paoli

The revolution began in 1755, when Paoli, then a young Corsican patriot educated in Italy, returned to his homeland to lead the fight against Genoese oppression. After years of unrest, Paoli successfully established an independent government. What followed was one of the earliest modern republican constitutions in Europe. This new Corsican state introduced  representative government through a national assembly elected by male citizens, maintained a separation of powers, and emphasized local autonomy. Paoli’s government also laid the groundwork for a modern civic culture, founding a university in the city of Corte, encouraging the spread of education, and establishing a functioning judiciary. The Corsican Republic, though limited in size and resources, stood out as a beacon of Enlightenment governance at a time when most of Europe remained under absolute monarchy. 

It was in this context that Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the Geneva-born philosopher and one of the foremost thinkers of the Enlightenment, took interest in the Corsican experiment. In 1765, he was approached by Corsican representatives—particularly the envoy Matteo Buttafuoco—who asked him to draft a constitution for the young republic. Rousseau accepted the proposal with enthusiasm. In a famous remark, he wrote: “I have a presentiment that one day this little island will astonish Europe.” Though he ultimately never completed the project, due to political instability and his own declining health, his partial manuscript—Projet de Constitution pour la Corse—remains a revealing document. It provides a rare glimpse of Rousseau’s vision for a real-world application of his political theory.

In this constitutional draft, Rousseau advocated for a small-scale, agrarian republic grounded in civic virtue, local autonomy, and popular sovereignty. He believed that Corsica’s mountainous geography and resilient culture made it uniquely suited for a republican form of government. The plan called for education systems designed to cultivate patriotism and moral discipline, and for institutions that would nurture active citizenship. These ideas aligned closely with the central themes of Rousseau’s earlier works, particularly The Social Contract (1762), which had laid out his theory of legitimate political authority as being based on the "general will" of the people. While Rousseau’s constitution was never adopted by Corsica, his endorsement elevated the island's revolution in the eyes of intellectuals across Europe and beyond.  

        View of Corsica in the 18th century

The Corsican Republic, however, was not to last. In 1768, Genoa ceded Corsica to France, and in 1769, French troops invaded and crushed the Corsican resistance at the Battle of Ponte Novu. Paoli fled into exile, and the island was fully annexed into the French kingdom. Yet, even in defeat, Corsica captured the imagination of revolutionaries elsewhere. The Corsican cause was widely reported in European newspapers and discussed in Enlightenment salons. Corsica’s struggle for liberty, coupled with the idea of a written constitution founded on popular sovereignty, resonated especially strongly across the Atlantic in the American colonies. Though the American Revolution (1775–1783) was shaped primarily by British political traditions and philosophers like John Locke and Montesquieu, the Corsican model contributed to the broader Enlightenment framework that inspired American leaders. Corsica’s example demonstrated that a small, oppressed people could reject imperial rule and establish a functioning republic grounded in Enlightenment ideals. Figures such as John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were familiar with Corsican affairs, and in political writings of the era, Corsica was often cited as a noble, though tragic, attempt at liberty. Adams, in his A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America, referenced Corsica while discussing various forms of republican government.

More fundamentally, the influence of Rousseau, carried partially through his Corsican project, seeped into the ideological foundation of the American political experiment. While the American system favored representative democracy over Rousseau’s more direct model, several of his core principles found a home in the U.S. Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The idea that legitimate government must rest on the consent of the governed was echoed by Jefferson in 1776. The emphasis on civic virtue and the moral education of citizens became central to early American republicanism, particularly in the writings of Jefferson, Madison, and others. The belief that a written constitution should serve as a social contract binding rulers and the ruled was a foundational concept both in Rousseau’s work and the American founding documents.

   Draft of Corsican constitution by Rousseau 

It is important to note that the American framers did not adopt Rousseau’s ideas wholesale—indeed, many were wary of the kind of direct democracy he championed. Still, his influence, particularly through his Corsican endeavor, helped shape the language and logic of revolution in the late 18th century. Corsica, in a way, became an Enlightenment prototype of the republican ideal, and its failure served as both a warning and an inspiration for American revolutionaries seeking a more durable framework.

In retrospect, the Corsican Revolution stands as an essential, though often overlooked, chapter in the history of modern democratic thought. It was an experiment that predated and influenced the better-known revolutions in America and France. Though crushed by imperial might, Corsica’s brief republic proved that Enlightenment ideals could be more than theoretical—they could be translated into constitutions, institutions, and nations. Rousseau’s attempt to shape Corsica’s future may have failed politically, but it succeeded intellectually, planting seeds that would bear fruit elsewhere.

Today, when reflecting on the foundations of American independence, it is worth remembering that the ideas of liberty and republicanism did not arise in isolation. They were part of a vibrant transatlantic conversation. In this conversation, the story of Corsica—and the hand that Rousseau attempted to lend it—played a subtle yet powerful role. The American republic may never have had a Rousseau-drafted constitution, but it was built in part on the dreams of men like him, and the daring example of places like Corsica.