The archipelago is found on maps from the start of the 14th century, as Pelagosa, Pellegoxa and Pelogosa. In the 15th and 16th centuries, there was a rise in fishing in the area, making the island the centre of a traditional fishing-ground of the community of Komiža, island of Vis, Croatia. Before 1861, the islands belonged to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and after 1861 therefore to the Kingdom of Italy, but was unilaterally occupied by Austria-Hungary in 1873, without any declaration of war. The first action of the new authorities was to build the important lighthouse mentioned above, in 1875. After Italy's entry into the First World War, the country's armed forces occupied the island. Italy's Regia Marina submarine Nereide was sunk there on the 5th of August 1915 by Austria-Hungary's Imperial and Royal War Navy submarine U-5. It reverted to Italy between the two World Wars, as part of the Province of Zara (now Zadar, Croatia), and was ceded to Yugoslavia in 1947. Since the break-up of Yugoslavia, it has formed part of the sovereign country of Croatia. Topography, economy and ecology Vela Palagruža is some long and wide. The highest point of the archipelago, on Vela Palagruža (), is about above sea level, and on this elevation is a lighthouse. Palagruža is surrounded by dangerous waters, and landing can be difficult. It is uninhabited, except by lighthouse staff and by summer tourists who occupy two units of residential accommodation. There is one beach of golden sand. The lighthouse is also the site of a meteorological station. Other important islands in this archipelago are Mala Palagruža (), Galijula () and Kamik od Tramuntane () Palagruža sits in the heart of fish-rich seas, including spawning grounds of sardines. It is a nature reserve, and the small amount of vegetation is of the Mediterranean type, for instance oleander (Nerium oleander) and tree spurge (Euphorbia dendroides). There are endemic plant species including a type of knapweed, Centaurea friderici Vis. (Palagruška zečina ). The algae, and their role in the production of the local mineral pelagosite, have been the subject of academic study (Montanari et al. 2007). The distinctive local fauna, including the black lizard now classed as Podarcis melisellenis ssp. fiumana and the related Podarcis sicula ssp. pelagosana (primorska gušterica in Croatian), was mentioned first by Babić and Rössler (1912). Geology Velika Palagruža is an apical part of subsurface geological