Kim Mears, age 9, of Monroe, La., for her question:
WHERE IS CORSICA?
Corsica is a French island in the Mediterranean Sea. It can be found nine miles north of the island of Sardinia, between southeastern France and northwestern Italy. It is famous as the birthplace of Napoleon.
Corsica's name in French, the official language, is Corse. The island is one of the departments or main administrative districts of France.
The island has a coastline of 275 miles and it covers 3,352 square miles. High and craggy cliffs are common and there are few natural harbors. The wild, rocky interior is covered with scrub and cut by narrow, fertile valleys.
Corsica has mild climate and crops flourish in the rich soils of the valleys. Farmers raise olives, grapes and other fruits, grains, vegetables and tobacco. Cork, pine, oak and chestnut trees cling to the steep slopes of the mountains.
The people of Corsica grind chestnuts into meal to make bread. Wool is made for clothing that is taken from sheep that graze in the mountains. Mountain quarries provide granite and marble.
Since World War II, wool and cheese have been Corsica's principal exports. But the island has a fast growing tourist industry that provides much income. Tourists enjoy the island's climate, the rugged scenery and the colorful villages.
First settlers of the island were the Phoenicians who arrived about 560 B.C. and called the spot Cyrnos. It was conquered in turn by Etruscans, Carthaginians and Romans.
The Romans renamed the island Corsica. Vandals captured the island in A.B. 469 but the Romans recaptured it in 534. Later it came under the rule of Charlemagne.
Corsica came under the control of the Italian city of Genoa and then in 1768 it was ceded to France, who lost it to the British in 1794. In 1976, Napoleon sent an expedition to Corsica to re establish French control. France has held the island ever since.
There were only two periods of time during recent history when France didn't have control over Corsica: British soldiers occupied the island briefly in 1814 and it was occupied for a time by Italians and Germans during World War II.
Allied forces freed Corsica in 1943 and it again became part of France.
During the 1970s, protests against French rule arose in parts of Corsica. Some Corsicans wanted complete independence from France while others favored greater local control over the island's government.
Ajaccio, the capital of Corsica, lies on the western side of the island beside the Gulf of Ajaccio. Bastia, Corsica's largest city, lies on the island's extern side.
There were only two periods of time during recent history when France didn't have control over Corsica: British soldiers occupied the island briefly in 1814 and it was occupied for a time by Italians and Germans during World War II.
Allied forces freed Corsica in 1943 and it again became part of France.
During the 1970'x, protests against French rule arose in parts of Corsica. Some Corsicans wanted complete independence from France while others favored greater local control over the island's government.
Ajaccio, the capital of Corsica, likes on the western side of the island beside the Gulf of Ajaccio. Bastia, Corsica's largest city, lies on the island's eastern side.
Along the coast of the island, sardine fishing is an important industry.
Some iron, lead and copper are also mined, although mining isn't considered to be an important part in the island's economy.