Il consolato del Regno di Napoli a Corfù. Il console Michele Gicca e il reclutamento degli albanesi (1806-1807)

On the arrival of the French, the Kingdom of Naples turned its attention to the Balkan coast, at that moment under both Ottoman and Russian influence. The reports from the new consul in Corfu, Michele Gicca, an Albanian former soldier in the Bourbon Neapolitan army, focused mainly on the movement of the Tsar’s troops. A great number of letters, however, tell a parallel story, namely, attempts by the European powers to recruit the local peoples, the remains of an ancient practice but still prevalent at the time.