Corsican Riots in the Eighteenth Century

Tensions over the church had created bad blood between citizens and national guard. Some sources say spark came when two sailors arguing over gambling or a woman drew their stilettos. Others claim a large public argument broke out over two young girls playing a game in the street, and things escalated from there. The smart move for napoleon at this point was probably d escalation. A national guard lieutenant was killed instantly others were injured. And in that moment it suddenly became very apparent just how huge the mob was compared to napoleon's small detachment of guardsmen. Bonaparte and his men fled the scene, leaving the centre of ajaxio in the hands of rioters.