Washington sentinel., 1899-05-13
The History of EIba.
81. Peters Magazine.

81, LeEeT'S ZIdgdzfNe,
] do not propose with modern
writer to go back TO the stone age
and the Etruscans, TO Aristotle and
Diodorus Siculus. 1t is sufficient
to say that at the beginning of the
eleventh century Elba was a pos
session Of the Republic Of Pisa,
that at the close of the thirteenth
century it passed by force Of arms
to the sister Republic Of Genoa,
and once more back again to the
Pisans. In 1892 it became by
treacherY the possession Of JaCopo
Appiani, Secretary to the unhappy
Pietro Gambacorti, Lord OF Pisa,
and it remained undivided in the
Appiani family until I545, having,
however, been made a fef OF the
Holy Roman Empire in 1909. In
I545, the Emperor Charles v,
gave Portoferraio and some three
miles OF territory beyond it to
Casino l., Grand Duke of tuscany;
in 1908, Philip III I.of Spain acquired
Porto Longone and the castellated
hill tops around, which passed in
1889 to the Bourbon Kings OF
Naples; the remaining and far
greater part Of the island, includ-
ing the rich iron ore mines, con-
tinued in the hands Of the Appiani
until, on their extinction, it was
acquired by the Ludovisi, and sub
seQuently, through marriage, by
the Buoncnmpagni family. 1t will
thus be seen that this small cor
neT OF much divided Italy enjoyed
the sway Of three masters.
In 1914, El)a was TOR the first
time in its history to become an
independent princlpality, united
under one lord who lived upon its
soil, The Treaty OF Fontaine
bleau stripped Napoleon Of all his
ill-gotten possessions save this lit
tie island (for Elba. with Tuscany,
formed part ofthe French Empire). d..
1t is a mistake to suppose that
Napoleon was a prisoner IN Elba
in the same sense that he was IN
St. Helena; he was the indepen-
dent sovereign Of a new State,
theoretically free in his actions,
and possessing his own army and
navy, his court and ministers, and
capital city. Napoleon arrived at
Portoferraio on May 8, 1874, on
board the English frigate Un-
dsunted. and landed the day fol-
lowing, being greeted from the
forts with salute of twenty-one
guns. On the voyage out, he had
devised a coat-of-arms and flag Tor
his new kingdom: argent, on
bend gules, three bees on. The
flag was first hoisted on the Un.
daunted in Portoferraio harbor,
and when at erwards floating on
the citadel was solemnly saluted by
the English frigate. The Elbans
welcomed the Emperor with trans
ports of delight. II was natural
enough, perhaps. Their island
took a sudden dignity and impor-
tance in the eyes OF all the world;
for sovereign they had got the
greatest Conqueror OF the time,
famous also for his administrative
abilities. He was, moreover, re-
puted to be bringing a vast treas
ure with him. The people looked
forward to new era Of plenty and
prosperity. And they were not dis
appointed. The very next day
after landing Napoleon was up at s
IN the morning, making a minute
inspection Of his capital city,
and from that moment he never
relaxed his efforts 70 improve the
condition lElba. He made roads,
planted trees, built houses and a
theatre, and strengthened the tor
He developed trade and
local industries, and improved the
system ofworking the mines ofRio.
He formed an army Of fifteen hun
dred men (eight hundred of them
were of his "Old Guard'O, and a
navy Of five ships, the largest Of
them brig, in which he afterwards
returned to France for the memoir
able Hundred Days. HIS budget
was not much more than one hum
dred thousand francs, and the vast
treasure of which the Elbans gos-
slipped was only about three mil
lion francs. Nothing is more in
teresting .han to trace the daily
life oi.this extraordinary man in
his miniature Empire, He was
constantly busted for the welfare
Of the State, and coniesses to have |
been remarkably content and
happy. Napoleon's reign in EIba |
asted little over ten months. He
started tor France, quite openly, |
on February 20, 1873, with a flo |
lila OF ten ships and nine hundred |
men, lord ofthe smallest kingdom, |
commander OF the smallest army |
Ind navy, that ever undertook the |
conquest OF the world, and lived |
o look back with regret from his |
sland prison in the Atlantic to his
sland kingdom in the TYrrhenian
Sea-
MUNICIPAL uthorities OF Mons, |
QaH-