Korčula: Encyclopedia II - Korčula - History

Korčula - History

The island has a long prehistoric, ancient, Byzantine, Croatian and Venetian history. Though Korculans like to identify Antenor, fleeing from Troy, as the city's founder, there are even older neolithic burial mounds, a possible Phoenician settlement, and a Greek colony founded from Cnidus. Besides its ship timbers and pitch, Korčula's quarries supplied stone for buildings as far away as Vienna and Stockholm. The island's earliest name, Korkyra Melaina, means "Black Corfu" — "black" perhaps for its dark pine forests that have always provided shipbuilding materials.

The island was part of the Roman province of Dalmatia until the Great Migrations. In the early 7th century, the Avar invasion brought the Slavs. As the barbarians started settling on the coast, the Italic population had to take refuge in the islands. Along the Dalmatian coast the Slavic invaders from the upper Balkans seized control of the area where the Narenta (Neretva) River enters the Adriatic, as well as the islands, such as Hvar (Lesina), Korčula (Curzola) and Lastovo (Lagosta), that protect the river mouth. A painting dated 1800 in the museum at Korčula patriotically represents “The arrival of Croatians at the sea”, showing a group of medieval knights who, from the neat mountain heights of the Croatian coast, admire the bright vista of the Adriatic Sea. Christianizing of the Slavs began later in the century.

At first Venetian merchants were willing to pay annual tribute to keep their shipping safe from the "Narentine" (Neretvan) pirates of the Dalmatian coast, but in 998 "Curzola" came under direct Venetian control, and eventually Venetian diplomacy and force established hegemony in the upper Adriatic. Doge Pietro II Orseolo assumed the title Dux Dalmatinorum ("Duke of the Dalmatians"). During the 12th century the hereditary Counts of Curzola were loosely governed from Hungary and from Genoa in turn, and also enjoyed a brief period of independence; but after 1255 its hereditary counts again submitted to Venice. According to a local tradition, Marco Polo was born at Curzola in 1254, to an established family of merchants. Genoa defeated Venice at Curzola in 1298, but in the long run was eliminated from the Adriatic. Marco Polo was possibly taken prisoner by the Genoese in the battle and spent his time in a Genoese prison writing of his travels.

"Curzola" surrendered to the Hungarians in 1358, and was purchased by the Republic of Dubrovnik (1413-1417), and finally declared itself subject to Venice in 1420. In 1571 it defended itself so gallantly against the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Lepanto that it obtained the designation Fidelissima from the Pope. From 1776 to 1797 Curzola succeeded Lesina (Hvar) as the main Venetian fortified arsenal in this region. During the Napoleonic wars it was ruled successively by Russians, French (Illyrian provinces) and British, ultimately passing to Austria in 1815.

Korčula was under the Italian occupation in the period 1918-1921, and after that was annexed to Croatia, which was then the part of Yugoslavia. After fall of second Yugoslavia in 1990, Korčula is part of Croatia.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki