History of Otok Susak

nd 1280, the oldest surviving nautical chart mentioning Susak, the Carta Pisana is published. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, cartographers detail a settlement on Susak. In 1593, Christiaan Sgrooten was the first to chart a settlement on the island. In the late 17th century, the cartographer Cornellius mentioned a tower on Susak: Villa e torre di Sansego. In 1771, cartographer Alberto Fortis cited a settlement on Susak with a church, harbor, and several coves and capes.

After the Benedictine monks, the Republic of Venice was next to rule Susak. Venetian rule lasted until April 17, 1797 when Napoleon Bonaparte signed the Treaty of Leoben ceding the land between Istria and Dalmatia (including Susak) to Austria. The proposed secession of this land to Austria was ratified on October 17, 1797 by the Treaty of Campo Formio.

Napoleon through modern times

Although Susak was now part of the Austrian Empire, it was still under Napoleon's jurisdiction. This area between Istria and Dalmatia during this time (1797 through 1815) was known as the Illyrian provinces of Napoleon’s Empire or Napoleon’s Illyria for short.

After Napoleon’s exile, the Austrian Empire annexed Susak and much of the region per a Viennese congressional resolution. The Austrian Empire and subsequently the Austro-Hungarian Empire ruled over the island for the next 100 years from roughly 1815 through the end of World War I, in 1918. Under Austro-Hungarian rule, Susak became part of the Austrian Littoral or Küstenland.

After the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War I, the 1919 Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye gave Susak and several other territories to the relatively new nation of Italy. The