Editing Elba (section)

==History==
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|image1=Aufstieg-und-Niederfall-Napoleons.png
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|caption1=The map of Elba in ''The Rise and Fall of Napoleon'', 1814 cartoon by [[Johann Michael Voltz]]
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|caption2=Napoleon on Elba
|image3= Beaume - Napoléon Ier quittant l'île d'Elbe - 1836.jpg
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|caption3=[[Napoleon Bonaparte]] leaving Elba on 26 February 1815
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|caption4=''Boney's Elb(ow)a chair'', satirical image about Napoleon at Elba, published exactly seven years before his death.
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===Early history===
The island was originally inhabited by [[Ligures]] [[Ilvates]] and was called '''Ilva''' (Ἰλούα). It was well known from very ancient times for its [[iron]] resources and valued mines. The [[Greeks]] also called it '''Aethalia''' (Αἰθαλία or Αἰθάλεια) and '''Aethale''' (Αἰθάλη) from "smoky" (αἰθάλη), after the fumes of the metal producing furnaces.<ref name="Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography">[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0064%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DI%3Aentry+group%3D4%3Aentry%3Dilva-geo Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), Ilva]</ref>

[[Apollonius of Rhodes]] mentions it in his epic poem ''[[Argonautica]]'', describing that the [[Argonauts]] rested here during their travels. He writes that signs of their visit were still visible in his day, including skin-coloured pebbles that they dried their hands on and large stones which they used at discus. [[Strabo]] (5.2.6) presents a slightly different account: "because the scrapings, which the Argonauts formed when they used their [[strigils]], became congealed, the pebbles on the shore remain variegated still to this day."<ref>{{cite book |author=Race, W. H. |title=Apollonius Rhodius: Argonautica |publisher=Loeb Classical Library |date=2008 |volume=II |pages=654–58, 381–3}} See note 95, p. 383 for Strabo quote.</ref> The port which is now called Porto Ferraio, was known in ancient times as the portus Argous (Ἀργῶος λιμήν), because it was believed that the Argonauts landed there on their return voyage.<ref name="Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography"/>

The island was then settled by the [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscans]], who started mining iron at Elba, and later (after 480 BC) by the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]], who called the island Ilva.<ref>{{cite web |title=Elba ISLAND, ITALY |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Elba-island-Italy |website=www.britannica.com |publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica |access-date=29 March 2020}}</ref>

===Middle Ages and early modern===
In the early [[medieval period]], Elba was invaded by the Ostrogoths and the [[Lombards]], and later it became a possession of the [[Republic of Pisa]]. After the [[battle of Meloria]], the [[Republic of Genoa]] took possession of Elba, but it was regained by Pisa in 1292.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elbaworld.com/en/elba-island/p-332-elba-history.htmlHistory |title=History of Elba Island |website=elbaworld.com }}{{Dead link|date=June 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The island was retained for two centuries by the [[Appiani family]], Lords of [[Piombino]], when they sold Pisa to the [[Visconti of Milan|house of Visconti]] of Milan in 1399.

In 1544, the [[Barbary pirates]] from North Africa devastated Elba and the coasts of Tuscany.<ref>{{cite book |author=David, Robert C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5q9zcB3JS40C&pg=PR14 |title=Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters: White Slavery in the Mediterranean, the Barbary Coast and Italy, 1500–1800 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2004 |isbn=1-4039-4551-9}}</ref> In 1546, part of the island was handed over to [[Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany]], who fortified Portoferraio and renamed it "Cosmopoli", while the rest of the island was returned to the Appiani in 1577. In 1596, [[Philip II of Spain]] captured Porto Longone and had two fortresses built there. This part of Elba came into the direct power of Spain through the [[State of the Presidi]], including [[Porto Longone]]. In 1736, the sovereignty of this part of Elba was claimed by the [[Kingdom of Naples]] but remained abandoned.<ref>Roberto Ferretti (a cura di), Aspetti e problemi di storia dello Stato dei Presìdi in Maremma, 1979;
Giuseppe Caciagli, Stato dei Presidi, Pontedera, Arnera Edizioni, 1992</ref>

===Late modern and contemporary===
The [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] landed on the island of Elba in 1796, after the occupation of [[Livorno]] by the [[First French Republic|French Republican]] troops, to protect the 4,000 French royalists who had found asylum in Portoferraio two years earlier. In 1801, the [[Peace of Luneville]] gave Elba to the [[Kingdom of Etruria]], and it was transferred to France in 1802 by the [[Peace of Amiens]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05371c.htm |website=Catholic Encyclopedia |title=Elba}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elbaworld.com/en/elba-island/p-332-elba-history.html |title=History of Elba Island |website=Elbaworld.com}}</ref>

The French Emperor [[Napoleon]] was [[Principality of Elba|exiled to Elba]], after his forced abdication following the [[Treaty of Fontainebleau (1814)|Treaty of Fontainebleau]], and conveyed to the island on [[HMS Undaunted (1807)|HMS ''Undaunted'']] by Captain [[Thomas Ussher]]; he arrived at Portoferraio on 4 May 1814.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Thompson |first=J.&nbsp;M. |date=January 1950 |title=Napoleon's Journey to Elba in 1814 Part II. By Sea |journal=American Historical Review |volume=55 |issue=2 |pages=301–320 |doi=10.2307/1843729 |jstor=1843729}}</ref> He was allowed to keep a personal guard of 400 men<ref>Alphonse de Lamartine, p. 206. ([[s:Treaty of Fontainebleau (1814)#ART.XVII|Article XVII]]) ''His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon can take with him, and keep for his guard, 400 men, volunteers, officers, subofficers, and soldiers.''</ref> and was nominally [[Principality of Elba|sovereign of Elba]], a step down from Emperor of the French. However, the nearby sea was patrolled by the [[French Navy|French]] and [[Royal Navy|British navies]] to ensure he could not escape. During the months that he stayed on the island, Napoleon carried out a series of economic and social reforms to improve the quality of life. After staying for almost ten months, he managed to escape back to France on 26 February 1815 with about 1,000 men.

At the [[Congress of Vienna]], Elba was given to the [[Grand Duchy of Tuscany]]. In 1860, it became part of the new unified [[unification of Italy|Kingdom of Italy]].

During the [[Second World War]], the island was liberated from German occupation by the French ''[[I Corps (France)#Elba 1944|1<sup>er</sup> Corps d'Armée]]'' supported by British forces including Royal Naval Commandos on 17 June 1944, in ''[[Invasion of Elba|Opération Brassard]]''. Faulty intelligence and strong defences made the battle more difficult than expected.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/85/a2943885.shtml |title=Operation Brassard {{!}} The Invasion of Elba |first=Bill |last=McGrann |work=Peoples' War Stories |publisher=BBC |access-date=16 March 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.combinedops.com/Elba%20-%20Op%20Brassard.htm |title=Operation Brazzard {{!}} The invasion of Elba |website=www.combinedops.com|access-date=31 August 2020}}</ref>

In 1954, [[BOAC Flight 781]] crashed in the waters off the coast of Elba.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19540110-1 |title=BOAC Flight 781, Database |publisher=Aviation Safety Network |access-date=3 October 2021}}</ref>

In recent decades, thanks to its rich cultural heritage, cuisine and nature, the island has become an important international tourist destination.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bohlen |first1=Celestine |title=Italian Island of Elba Clings to Napoleon's Legacy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/15/world/europe/italian-island-of-elba-clings-to-napoleons-legacy.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/15/world/europe/italian-island-of-elba-clings-to-napoleons-legacy.html |archive-date=2022-01-01 |url-access=limited |access-date=29 March 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=14 July 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref>