Imvros

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Imvros (Turkish Gökçeada or Imroz) is an island in the Aegean Sea which is part of Çanakkale Province in Turkey. Before the First World War, Imvros was mainly inhabited by Greeks.

In classical antiquity, Imvros, like Lemnos, was an Athenian colony, although since the Imbrians appear on the Athenian tribute lists, there may have been a division with the native population.

Because of its strategic position near the Dardanelles, the western powers, particularly Britain, insisted at the end of the Balkan Wars in 1913 that Imvros, along with Tenedos should be retained by the Ottoman Empire when the other Aegean islands were ceded to Greece.

In 1920 the Treaty of Sevres, following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, granted the islands to Greece. The islands reverted to Turkish rule by the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 with the proviso that they would have local autonomy.

Gökçeada today has a population of about 8,000. The population today is mostly Turkish after much migration from the mainland but about 500 Greeks remain. The main industries of the island are fishing and tourism.

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