 Napoleon was born the same year the Republic of Genoa, a former commune of Italy, transferred Corsica to France.The state sold sovereign rights a year before his birth in 1768, and the island was conquered by France during the year of his birth and formally incorporated as a province in 1770, after 500 years under Genoese rule and 14 years of independence.Napoleon's parents fought against the French to maintain independence even when Maria was pregnant with him.