In November 1755, Pasquale Paoli proclaimed Corsica a sovereign nation, the Corsican Republic, independent from the Republic of Genoa. He created the Corsican Constitution, the first constitution written in Italian under Enlightenment principles, including the first implementation of female suffrage revoked by the French when they took over the island in 1769; the republic created an administration and justice system, founded an army. After a series of successful actions, Paoli drove the Genoese from the whole island except for a few coastal towns, he set to work re-organizing the government, introducing many reforms. He founded a university at Corte and created a short-lived "Order of Saint-Devote" in 1757 in honour of the patron saint of the island, Saint Devota; the Corsican Diet was composed of delegates elected from each district for three-year terms. Suffrage was extended to all men over the age of 25. Traditionally, women had always voted in village elections for podestà i.e. village elders, other local officials, it has been claimed that they voted in national elections under the Republic.

The Republic minted its own coins at Murato in 1761, imprinted with the Moor's Head, the traditional symbol of Corsica. Paoli's ideas of independence and liberty gained support from such philosophers as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire and Mably; the publication in 1768 of An Account of Corsica by James Boswell made Paoli famous throughout Europe. Diplomatic recognition was extended to Corsica by the Bey of Tunis. In 1767, Corsica took the island of Capraia from the Genoese who, one year despairing of being able to subjugate Corsica again, sold their claim to the Kingdom of France with the Treaty of Versailles; the French invaded Corsica the same year, for a whole year Paoli's forces fought for their new republic against the invaders. However, in May 1769, at the Battle of Ponte Novu they were defeated by vastly superior forces commanded by the Comte de Vaux, obliged to take refuge in the Kingdom of Great Britain. French control was consolidated over the island, in 1770 it became a province of France.

The fall of Corsica to the French was poorly received by many in Great Britain, Corsica's main ally and sponsor. It was seen as a failure of the Grafton Ministry that Corsica had been "lost", as it was regarded as vital to the interests of Britain in that part of the Mediterranean; the Corsican Crisis weakened the Grafton Ministry, contributing to its ultimate downfall. A number of exiled Corsicans fought for the British during the American Revolutionary War, serving with particular distinction during the Great Siege of Gibraltar in 1782. Conversely, at the beginning of the same war, the New York militia named Hearts of Oak - whose membership included Alexander Hamilton and other students at New York's King's College - called themselves "The Corsicans", evidently considering the Corsican Republic as a model to be emulated in America; the aspiration for Corsican independence, along with many of the democratic principles of the Corsican Republic, were revived by Paoli in the Anglo-Corsican Kingdom of 1794-1796.

On that occasion, British naval and land forces were deployed in defence of the island. To this day, some Corsican separatists such as the Armata Corsa, advocate the restoration of the island's republic. Account of Corsica Corsican Constitution Corsican Crisis Pasquale Paoli History of Corsica First Corsican constitution, in French

The Short S.1 Cockle was a single-seat sport monoplane flying boat, with a novel monocoque duralumin hull. It was underpowered and so did not leave the water but it proved that watertight and corrosion-resistant hulls could be built from metal. From about 1921, Oswald Short had been thinking about the construction of seaplane floats and flying boat hulls made from metal duralumin, rather than the traditional wood; the latter always did not last well in the tropics. He assembled a team, including C. P. T. Liscomb who had extensive experience with that alloy to look into the hydrodynamics and corrosion characteristics of such hulls, by 1924 was looking out for an opportunity to apply their results, it came with an Australian order for an aircraft suitable for fishing trips around Botany Bay, which Short proposed should be a small flying boat. It was named the Stellite and was the first aircraft to have a Short's design index number, S.1. When it was built and registered as G-EBKA the Air Ministry objected to the name on the reasonable grounds that the Short Stellite might well be confused with the Short Satellite, built at much the same time.

It was the smallest flying boat built at that time. A contemporary source claimed it to be "the first light seaplane to be built and in the world" and the first British all-metal flying boat; the Cockle was an all-metal aircraft apart from the fabric-covered flying surfaces. The hull was a duralumin monocoque structure with a concave V-shaped planing bottom incorporating two steps, the main one near the centre of gravity; these steps were external to the monocoque to prevent step damage leading to water leakage into the hull. The top of the hull was rounded, with a single-seat open cockpit near the nose; the wings had steel spars and were mounted on the top of the fuselage, with pairs of bracing struts to the chines. The wings carried full-span ailerons which could be drooped flap-like, for landing. There were stabilising floats near the wingtips in trouser-like fairings; the two engines were mounted on top of the wing at about mid-chord, the twin-bladed propellers being driven via long extension shafts to the leading edge.

The Cockle had a shallow triangular fin and rudder, but this was extended upwards to a curved and pointed profile which more than doubled the area, to cope better with single-engine flying. A tube ran transversely across the hull just above the main step, into which the axle of a pair of ground-handling wheels could be inserted. Deterred from using 32 hp Bristol Cherub flat-twin engines owing to vibration problems, the Cockle began with a pair of V-twin Blackburne Tomtits. Ungeared and so limited to the maximum 2,400 rpm of the propellers, the Tomtits could produce only 16 hp, it is not surprising. Before the aircraft was complete the bare hull was floated for a day in April 1924 and found to be satisfactorily watertight. Attempts to get it off the water began in September, but did not succeed until 7 November 1924, with its wing at a higher angle of incidence and its pilot dressed, it has been suggested that it flew only because the atmospheric pressure was exceptionally high that day. Given the poor performance, it is not surprising.

In January 1925 the fin and rudder modifications were made and in March there were unsuccessful attempts to get certification. In July it went on loan to the Air Ministry at Felixstowe, with the serial N193, it was not easy to get into the air, but John Parker, Short's test pilot gave a demonstration in September. Despite the performance limitations, the aircraft impressed because of its corrosion resistance. In August 1926 the Cockle was returned to Short Brothers and re-engined with a pair of geared-down Cherubs, it flew several times in June and July before being purchased by the Air Ministry and returned to Felixstowe. It flew at least one more time, again with Parker as pilot, thereafter being used for corrosion testing. Though not a successful flyer, the Cockle gave Short Brothers valuable experience in building metal hulls for flying boats, their first large hull, the Short S.2 metal replacement for the wooden hull of a Felixstowe F5 was started at the same time as that of the Cockle, but the smaller hull progressed faster and the solution to problems encountered with it transferred to the S.2.

The S.2 experience led on to the successful Singapore and Short Calcutta of 1926 and 1928. Data from General characteristics Crew: one Length: 24 ft 8 in Wingspan: 36 ft 0 in Wing area: 210 sq ft Empty weight: 880 lb Gross weight: 1,205 lb Powerplant: 2 × Bristol Cherub flat twin, 32 hp eachPerformance Maximum speed: 73 mph Related lists Short Mussel List of seaplanes and amphibious aircraft

"The Statue Got Me High" is a song by American alternative rock band They Might Be Giants. The song was released as the lead single from the band's 1992 album, Apollo 18; the song reached number 24 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart. The B-sides "I'm Def" and "Which Describes How You're Feeling" are both taken from the band's 1985 demo tape, recorded using low-quality equipment. "The Statue Got Me High" was written by John Linnell. Of the meaning of the song's lyrics, Linnell said: It's kind of a song about having an epiphany or something; the song started with different lyrics. That's. I think the song was called'The Apple of My Eye'; when I came up with the line'the statue got me high', it amused me. It was taking two things and putting them together - not a non sequitur but something sort of interesting and odd about the juxtaposition of those two things. Part of it is that it's the idea that the statue would be in a monument. Not a work of art, but something that's just utterly immobile and represents something that's in the past - just the idea of that blowing somebody's mind.

It seems like one of the least things to make the top of your head come off, that's what happens in the song. Since its release Linnell has compared the lyrics of the song to the Mozart opera Don Giovanni, which features a deadly confrontation with a statue. Somebody compared the song to the story of Don Giovanni, it was kind of wonderful. It made the song more interesting to me. A music video was produced for the single, directed by Adam Bernstein, it premiered on MTV's 120 Minutes in February, 1992. The video features John Linnell and John Flansburgh among various space-themed sculptures and suited astronauts at the Sepulveda Dam. At certain points, the video depicts John Linnell's head over a red silhouette of flames. A second version of the video, which does not show the flames, was produced, according to Flansburgh, flames are not allowed to be shown on British television. Like Apollo 18, the single's art features photography from the NASA archives. US cassette / European CD"The Statue Got Me High" – 3:06 "Which Describes How You're Feeling" – 1:24 "I'm Def" – 1:08European 12""The Statue Got Me High" – 3:06 "She's Actual Size" – 2:05 "I'm Def" – 1:08 "Which Describes How You're Feeling" – 1:24European 7""The Statue Got Me High" – 3:06 "She's Actual Size" – 2:05 They Might Be GiantsJohn Flansburgh John LinnellAdditional musiciansJim Thomas - drums on "She's Actual Size"ProductionThey Might Be Giants - producers Bill Krauss - producer for "I'm Def" and "Which Describes How You're Feeling All the Time" Edward Douglas IV - engineer Alan Winstanley - mixing Paul Angelli - recording The Statue Got Me High EP on This Might Be A Wiki "The Statue Got Me High" on This Might Be A Wiki