hood was aware of the vulnerability of his position and sought a nearby safe harbour, settling on the island of corsica. corsica had been invaded and annexed by the french in 1768 and its inhabitants were still rebellious; shortly before hood's arrival an attempt by the french to arrest the island's leader pasquale paoli had led to an uprising which had driven the french garrison into a three fortified towns on the northern coast. hood sent a squadron under commodore robert linzee to attempt to negotiate the surrender of these strategically important positions, with orders that if these overtures failed, linzee was to attack the port of san fiorenzo. the attack failed, and linzee withdrew to cagliari on the allied island of sardinia. in early october, "agamemnon" was sent to join linzee for an operation against a french convoy anchored in the neutral port of tunis; nelson's crew was substantially under-strength at 345 sailors.