urisdiction of the court in Kor?ula. In the 1840s, the municipality fell into a deep economic crisis that resulted in its selling most of its forests to foreigners.
20th century
During World War I, the Austro-Hungarian Army established a military garrison on Glavica consisted mostly of Hungarian troops. The authorities ordered blackouts and forbade the ringing of church bells during the war. At the end of 1917 four French planes bombed Lastovo. Some French troops landed on the island to reconnoiter it. Italian forces soon followed and clashed with the garrison. Some members of the Austro-Hungarian garrison escaped. The Italians took those they caught to Italy as prisoners of war. A French plane dropping leaflets on the island on 4 November brought the news that the war was finally over. On 11 November 1918 Italian troops took possession of the island based on the 1915 Secret Treaty of London, which allocated much of Dalmatia to Italy upon Italy entering the war on the side of the Triple Alliance. The Italians based their claim upon the presence of ethnic Italians in all parts of maritime Dalmatia. However, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, who was a supporter of the nationality principle, blocked the allocation.
As a consequence, under the Rapallo agreement of 1920, Italy only got Zara (today Zadar), due to its Italian majority, and Lagosta. Apparently Italy got Lagosta for strategic reasons . Although the Italian population was in the minority, it was smaller than other Dalmatian places such as Vis (Lissa)[clarification needed]. After the advent of Fascism in Italy (1922), the Italians followed a policy of Italianization in all its possessions]. The Italians closed the Croatian schools and press, and Italian became the only official language[citation needed]. At the same time, living standards improved. Many public works were started, and the island reached its peak population of approximately 2,000. This growth resulted in part
