Corsica , French Corse, Island (pop., 2006 est.: 279,000) in the Mediterranean Sea and an administrative unit of France. The fourth largest island in the Mediterranean, it has an area of 3,352 sq mi (8,681 sq km). While remains of human occupation date from at least the 3rd millennium bce, recorded history begins c. 560 bce, when Greeks from Asia Minor founded a town there. Taken by the Romans in the 3rd–2nd centuries bce, it, together with Sardinia, became a prosperous Roman province. It was conquered later by several peoples, including Byzantines and Arabs, and was granted to Pisa in the 11th century ce. It later was ruled mainly by Genoa through the mid-18th century, and in 1768 it became a province of France. It was the birthplace of Napoleon. Corsica’s official administrative status was changed in 1991 from région to collectivité territoriale à statut particulier (“territorial collectivity with special status”). The island’s economic life is based on tourism and agriculture.
