The Spaniards on the island of Elba

Spain was also interested in having a stronghold towards the center of the Mediterranean, and so in 1603, Philip III, King of Spain, managed to seize the natural inlet of Longone (Porto Azzurro), and began the construction of a fortress according to the designs of Don Garcia di Toledo, who used the great port of Antwerp as a model.

Here, for almost a century and a half, a garrison of Spaniards was established. In 1646, as many as three thousand infantrymen and three hundred French cavalrymen landed on Elba, after having conquered Piombino, and went to lay siege to Rio, the fortress of Giogo and finally Longone; France was also interested in a stronghold for the conquest of Italy.

The Spaniards, seeing the numerical superiority, surrendered but managed to reconquer their domains 4 years later, led by Don Juan, son of Philip IV.

Meanwhile, attacks from the sea by pirates continued, and partly due to this, and partly to defend against potential attacks by the French, the Spaniards decided to build another fortress in the bay of Longone: Forte Focardo (1659). Built in front of the Fortress of Longone, it made it practically impossible to enter the bay.

Through the turbulent events affecting much of Europe, we reach 1708, a date marking a landing of Austrian troops, allied in the meantime with the Spaniards and against the French, near Rio, still defended by the Spaniards.

Unaware of the agreements, the Spaniards resisted, especially at Longone and Capoliveri, for at least 4 months, after which they managed, through a series of moves, to drive the Germans away. Accusing the local population of aiding the enemy, the Spaniard Pinel ordered the destruction of the walls that had surrounded Capoliveri until then, the fortress of Giogo, damages to the fortress of Marciana and more. Then, given the protests of the Elbans in Madrid, he was dismissed.

In 1713, Ferdinand, heir to Cosimo III, died. By order of Grand Duke Gian Gastone, the fort of San Giovanni Battista, near Portoferraio, was demolished, as if it had fallen into enemy hands, it could have posed a serious threat to Cosmopoli. In 1738, Gian Gastone was succeeded by Carlo Borbone, the son of Elisabetta Farnese and Philip V of Spain, due to the lack of male heirs, although political agreements left Elba to the Germans, to Francis I of Austria.

After a few years, his second son Pietro Leopoldo succeeded him. After an initial phase where he considered giving Portoferraio to the English, he placed great importance on his Elban domain, building the lighthouse of Portoferraio and facilitating mercantile development.

In the summer of 1796, under the pretext of protecting them from the French, the English obtained permission from the Grand Duchy governor to land on Elba, and given the numerical and firepower superiority of the English, the island became a British stronghold.

The protests of Grand Duke Ferdinand, however, led the English to leave the island in April 1797. Meanwhile, France had expelled the Italian sovereigns one by one, imposing in 1799, not without opposition, the transition to the French republic for Elba as well.